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Review on 🌑️ Inkbird WiFi Temperature Controller ITC-306A, Wi-Fi Aquarium Thermostat for Heater Control - 120V~1200W, Two Probe System for Aquariums, Reptile Breeding, and Hatching by Todd Phillips

Revainrating 1 out of 5

Extremely inaccurate temperature changes

If you plan on using it in a reef tank, look elsewhere. The first annoying problem is that you have to set the temperature difference to 0.5 degrees. I like it when the temperature difference is a little less than 0.2 degrees from my main target temperature. If my target temp is 78 degrees Fahrenheit then I want the controller to keep it between 77.8 and no more than 78.2, I prefer to turn off the heater at 78. Again a 0.5 temp difference you have to keep it down in is just annoying, I can deal with that because theoretically I can set the target temp at 78 and have it turn on at 77.7 and turn off at 78.2 isn't any such a big deal. My problem is that I placed both temp sensors in my aquarium and initially registered 76.8 while my primary temp sensor and my secondary hand held analog and digital thermometers registered 78.4, 78.2 and 78.3 respectively. They were all within 0.2 degrees (ideal). Thus, based on all three readings, it can be assumed that the water temperature in my aquarium was 78.3. Remember the InkBird device said it was 76.8, so that's a temperature difference of 1.5. No problem, luckily this product has a good thing - a phone app that lets you change all settings on the fly, including sensor calibration. I calibrated the sensors to match my current tank temperature of 78.3. So I have to be in business now. I set up the alarms via the app and set low and high temperatures to control when the heating turns on and off. I was happy at first until about 30 minutes later I decided to check all my temperature sensors again. All three of my main tank sensors were again within 0.2 temp differences, averaging up to a tank temp of 77.8, InkBird said the temp was 78.4! It rose 0.1 degrees in the wrong direction. Buck is getting colder and InkBird insists it's getting hotter. Before you ask, I should mention that I placed the InkBird temp sensors right next to my main temp sensor, I wanted them all to read from the same spot in the tank. I waited another 30 minutes to see what happens. Well, the temp in the tank dropped to 77.5 while InkBird assumed the temp was 78.2. Eventually he noticed a drop in temperature, but it's still 0.7 less than my main sensor. I gave it another hour, I guess this thing needs to acclimate or something, I don't want to keep calibrating this thing or keeping an eye on it, that would defeat the purpose. So after another hour the main tank sensor registered 77.3 and InkBird showed 78.0. Thank god I have a backup heater, it turns on at 77.3 (which it did) and got the tank up to 78 within an hour. During that time InkBird (finally) dropped to 77.7 but it was too late. The tank was already at 78, but he turned on the extra heater and increased the temperature to 78.7 before InkBird registered 78.2 and shut off. My point is that this is not accurate enough to control temperature in a reef system. I need to find the best product to deal with this. It may seem like the InkBird isn't measuring temperatures often enough to detect fluctuations, or it's literal rubbish. I have an InkBird product in my chicken coop that monitors the outside temperature and turns on the heating when the temperature drops below 38 degrees. Outside. I've had it running for 3 winters now and it works great every time! No problem, it reads the temperature instantly and works like a charm. I regularly pull my local weather and compare the readings on the Inkbird and it's usually within 0.3 degrees. My chickens are not that sensitive to large temperature changes, so don't worry if the temperature reads around 1 degree. I can't speak for freshwater aquarium or terrarium use, maybe they'll be fine?

Pros
  • Good product for the price
Cons
  • weak