Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Product sources Thermometer

Help -- Need source fo a water Thermometer pond is 8'max depth, also at what depth do you take the reading-----Thanks Harvey

Harvey, I just bought one from Bass Pro Shops that measures temperature and dissolved oxygen. Cost $50.00. They had several models to choose from. Of course, North Texas turned into a sheet of ice so I haven't tried it.

Harvey, I just bought one from Bass Pro Shops that measures temperature and dissolved oxygen. Cost $50.00. They had several models to choose from. Of course, North Texas turned into a sheet of ice so I haven't tried it.

Dave - I think I bought one of those items several years back. The temperature probe is not bad, but it should be checked against an accurate thermometer over a normal pond's, annual, temperature range that you see in your area.

The oxygen part of your "meter' is in my opinion "hooey" or foolishness. If yours is like mine it just takes the temperature of the water and ASSUMES! how much oxygen can under optimum conditions be dissolved into it. It does not actually analytically measure the oxygen concentration dissolved in the water. It just tells you how much can optimally be there for a given temperature (%saturation). In most instances, it is dead wrong compared to the real oxygen in milligrams per liter(ppm) dissolved in the water.

Bill; OUCH! I paid about $20 extra for the DO part. After reading the manual, I had some questions but am glad to have your input. It goes back.

I am interested in DO. I had a crash last year that hit a 1/3 acre pond hard. Appears to have wiped out the 25 channel cat I had in it. Also hit the cats in my larger one where I found some floating with bluegills. Is there any way to get a reasonably priced (relatively cheap) DO meter?

Dave - I checked out BassProShops Temperature-Oxygen meter. Yep. It is the same one that I described above. It doesn't really measure dissolved oxygen it estimates it and assumes perfect conditions at specific temeperatures.

"Reasonably priced (relatively cheap) DO meter".??
$225 minimum from Aquatic Eco-systems Inc. By Pinpoint. One could also routinely search on eBay. Occassionally good used ones show up, but plan to have it refurbished at the manufacturer to standardize or recalibrate the components. YSI has the highest reputation for DO meters.

Trouble with DO meters is they are relatively complex, sensitive and high maintenance. To measure dissolved oxygen in water, meters with probes require diss.oxygen to permeate through a membrane. The oxygen is reduced at a cathode and the resulting current is measured & converted to a readout. A counter reaction of oxidation of silver at the anode/reference electrode also occurs which completes the electrolytic reaction. This oxidation of silver tends to over time decrease the accuracy of the probe/meter. Thus DO meters/probes are high maintenance & expensive items.

If you only want to only periodically measure dissolved oxygen in the water and do it inexpensively you should use the chemical test method. It is relatively simple & quite cheap but a little time consuming. DO measuring chemcials are low maintenance and have a relatively long shelf life. From my experience the chemical method is frequently more accurate than meters as they are typically used. Many meters are not calibrated properly nor are they adequately maintained. Thus they often provide inaccurate readings unbeknownst to the nieve user. Many electronic meters are frequently negelected and they are never ready when they are really needed. Even the best DO meters need to go to the factory routinely for standard servicing & recalibration; as I said high maintenance items. My water chemistry professor and a limnological methods professor were both sticklers for calibaration and maintenance of instruments.

I have been using a soil thermometer with an 18 inch probe inserted though a plastic fishing float and a nylon cord. Found the soil thermometer at Gemplers (Gemplers.com). The current issue of Pond Boss magazine has an article with reference to a digital thermometer that can give readings up to a depth of 23 ft. This would be most helpful to determine the thermocline. I think I'll replace the soil thermometer with the digital temperature sensor.

Bill, Thanks for the reply and analysis. The price doesn't bother me as much as the high maintenance. Sounds like the kind of thing that a neophyte like me might use to make wrong decisions. Or, the darned thing was broke or in the shop when I needed it. With the exception of wife, daughters and grandkids, I do my best to avoid problems.

Dave --Thanks for reply. I bought a swimming pool thermometer at Wall Mart seems to work ok , will stay away from the Bass Pro gizmo. Harvey

Getting back to Harvey's original question in February, at what depth should you take temperature readings and what do these readings tell you? Other than too warm of water for trout, I'm just curious on temperature reading benefits for bass and bluegill.

Proper depth to take water temperatures depends on what questions you are trying to answer.

Most temperature profiles are done to determine the location or thickness of the epilimnion, thermocline or hypolimnion. Or temps will indicate if a water body is stratified. Temps can indicate location of spring fed areas.

Some take temperatures to help in determining when fish will be spawning. Some fishermen take temps to find where fish might be located.

Surface temps in early spring will indicate how active fish could be and if they may be bitting or how fast to move the lure/bait.

If one knows their fish biology, temps will fine tune your annual calendar periods: pre-spawn, spawn, post spawn, pre summer, summer peak, summer, post summer, fall turnover, cold water, frozen.

Mark C. did you not see Bob's recent article. If not get the mag he had a temp calendar that should be helpful for lots of folks.

Mark C. did you not see Bob's recent article? If not get the mag he had a temp calendar that should be helpful for lots of folks.

Bill Cody,
Where can one purchase DO measuring chemicals and could you explain this process a little more?

I use a cheap digital indoor/ outdoor thermometer that I got from Radio Shack on sale for $9.99 has about a 15 ft lead for the external temp and I just stick a bobber about 5 ft up above the element and then toss it about 10 ft away from the dock. Cheap and reasonably accurate.

Greg:

I am a new subscriber to Pond Boss and just got the very latest issue and one before that. Is Bob's information in either one of these or somewhere else I might have missed? I guess what I was trying to learn ios what pond water temperature has to do with pond management? I know fisherman use thermometers to help locate fish, but I was curious as to what I would do with one and what it would tell me about my pond. So, if Bob has that information, lead me to it. Otherwise, can you fill me in?

P.f.dreams - LaMotte manufactures an inexpensive fairly accurate chemcial test kit for dissolved oxygen; abt $40.00. Kits are availabe from numerous suppliers of aquaculture and environmental products. Common one is Aquatic Eco-Systems ( www.aquaticeco.com ). LaMotte may have a web site.

Tests involve collecing a sample that is not agitated and collected with minimum exposure to the air. Exposing water to the air even air bubbles tends to add a little oxygen and error to the sample.

The test takes about 5 to 10 minutes and involves 3 chemical additions/reactions. Step 1, Fix or stabilize the oxygen in the sample that creates a wiskey colored flocculant. Step 2, Dissolve the flocculant. Step three, titrate the sample (add drops to create a color change). Amount of titrant indicates how much DO was in the water.

MC - Two articles about water temperature are in Jan-Feb 2003 PBoss mag. 1. Cover Story. B.Lusk, pg10. Water Temps Not Dates The Real Key. 2. pg 28, "Looking For Trouble Before It Starts", mentions all pond meisters should have a pond thermometer and a handy one is suggested.

Thank you, Bill. The Janaury-February 2003 issue was my very first from PondBoss and of course I kept it like I will with all the issue I receive. So, I found the articles and will read them CLOSELY again. I love the magazine so far.

Ok, while I have some folks tracking this forum topic, and no one has answered my other one on sprayers for liquid herbicides, can I ask anyone out there reading this if there are any special ones they use or is any good herbicide sprayer at a home imporvemnet store acceptable? Do you spray just like you would with land-based weeds, but mindful of wind, sun, and stirred up water, etc.? Thanks to all!

Go PondBoss!!

MC - Any basic sprayer will work. As with most other tools a better quality item will make work sometimes easier and last longer. You should consider sprayer handle length; longer is often better. Longer length of hose is sometimes helpful. Spray tip pattern are sometimes different among sprayers. Ssometimes capacity is important if you are spraying lots of chemical at each application. Large throat is handy for clean out and filling.
If you plan to use copper sulfate solution it is corrosive to metal sprayer parts. All plastic is probably a better choice.

Bob - That's exactly the same way i use mine seem's to work ok.

Oop's wrong spot for this reply was repling to thermometer i thought ?

Bob - thats exactly how i use mine seem's to work ok

Harvey - People get off the main topic in most of these posts and it makes it confusing when answering the posts; as you discovered. Who would think that a topic of thermometers would also discuss sprayer types and chemical test kits? Go figure. I wish people would post new questions/ideas in a new separate Topic. It would help us from getting so confused.