Inkbird Digital Outlet Heat Temperature Controller with Day Night Control for Brewing Aquarium Breeding Reptiles Hatching Heat Mat

So far so good. Once I figured out how to read the characters on the screen I understood the setup completely. I really like the unit. I use it to control my aquarium heater. Seems solid and well-made.

I love the duel screens that show actual and desired temp. Also it is so nice to finally have a timer that can maintain two different temps for day and night. Once I deciphered the instruction pages it was fairly simple to use. It took me a good 30 minutes of reading it over multiple times to understand what the menus and codes actually meant. You have to memorize the sequence of program steps because if you have to look at the manual for too long mid process it will time out and you have to start it over. Luckily it’s set it and forget it. I should have written down the instructions for myself in clear English while it was still fresh so I can remember how to use it when I need to change something.

There are three InkBird controllers with aquarium probes right now (Oct 2020). Ive tried this 306, the 306A (wifi), and 308S in my fresh and salt water tanks. The 308S is the best for aquarium use. The 306 and 306A temp display almost never changes. It may be tracking the temp internally as it changes, but if the display doesnt update, I dont trust it. Even though the wifi feature on the 306A is nice, it has an annoying alarm feature that makes it unusable for my purposes. I use heaters with internal thermostats paired with an InkBird so I have two levels of protection. I set the InkBird target temp slightly higher than the heaters target temp so it will stop a runaway heater. In any other situation, I want the InkBird to keep power applied to the heaters. But the 306A will alarm if the water does not reach the 306As target temp after a user-selected time ranging from 1-72 hours. Theres no way to turn that feature off. The 308S temp display changes frequently by 0.1 degrees as the water temp changes, so its clear that it actively monitors temp. It will alarm at whatever cold/hot temp you set, but it does not have the annoying time/alarm function. It also has a separable temp probe that can be easily replaced. The downsides are it doesnt have a wifi function, and the max sensitivity for target temp settings is 1.0 degree (instead of 0.1 degree on the others). The temp can be calibrated up or down if its not reading accurately. The 308S is also for heating and cooling. I use it connected to a heater and a cooling fan for one aquarium. For the others, I dont use the cooling feature, but I connect two heaters to the heating outlet using an adapter.

First of all, so far it has worked fine. I was worried about the noise other reviews mentioned but it is very faint. It is only noticeable with an ear close to the unit. My main criticism is that it seems to only update the temperature readout and heater function periodically. I would hope for it to readout the temperature more continuously but its only getting a new reading roughly every 10 minutes. This on top of the 1 degrees threshhold minimum for heater activation means the temperature may be significantly lower than the desired setting before the heater even turns on. Honestly for most setups this is perfectly fine as the water temperature isnt likely to drop rapidly enough for things to get too cold. It may be a dealbreaker for smaller setups and while I will be keeping mine, I do regret purchasing this specific controller.

Easy to set up and appears to be working well after 4 days

Hard to use and innacurate

These give me so much peace of mind, because I was so worried that the heaters in my aquariums would malfunction and basically boil my fish (it happens) or that theyd get cold and sick over the winter months. I accidentally purchased the wrong ones with the metal tips (these would be best used for beer-making or other such purposes). I returned those to purchase these, and theyre just what I need! They are very sensitive to the tank water temperature, and keep the heater on only as needed to maintain the acceptable temperature range I selected in my settings. Be warned that the instructions are terrible. The different settings and their corresponding display on the unit is poorly explained by someone who is clearly very familiar with the equipment but cannot teach. The display looks so analog and its a frustrating trying to determine what the settings are for and how they work. Additionally frustrating is the fact that the settings do not save until you hold the button (the same one you hold to go into the settings mode), but it simply drops back into working mode if you pause for mere seconds to try to understand which setting the display is allowing you to adjust. So while you move along through the settings, adjusting the first, then the second, if you get to the third and it takes you a couple of seconds to either understand or decide, you will be booted out of the settings mode with none of your previous decisions saved. This really needs to be changed by the manufacturers. I think Ive gotten these figured out, and I am getting a fourth after having already purchased 3 of these. They come with one suction cup threaded over the thermostat element wire. You will want to have more suction cups on hand to secure this, as the coated wire holds the wrapped shape its shipped in and doesnt just straighten out when unwrapped.

I like it so much I replaced a finnex controller with this one. It works perfectly so now I own two. One is on a 125 gallon aquarium the other is on a 330 gallon aquarium. So far they work perfectly. You can also read the display from across the room, if the controller is mounted visibly.

Yes

Directions sucked had to watch YouTube video to figure out.