I'm totally a waffler when it comes to some things. My friend and probably hundreds of other people swear you need some variety of heat regulator i.e. thermostat or rheostat. So far, I don't have one. I can see why you would want one, but I also can see why it isn't crucial. I have placed the back of my hand directly on the glass and it does not burn me, or feel uncomfortably hot. Of course, if the pad malfunctions, then thats another story and truthfully it is probably just a matter of time before I get some regulation mechanism. Right now it isn't a top priority.

I have stick on thermometers to read temperature. Again, not great, but better than guessing. Probably not totally accurate, but precise. I'll eventually stop by wal-mart and buy a probe from the garden section, but not a priority right now.

Humidity is measured from one of those crappy Petsmart analog dials. I'm sure its not completely accurate, but it is probably pretty precise.

The other method of temperature measurment is our airconditioner. At night we don't let the apartment reach below 73 (sometimes 72) and so I figure that the cool side of the tank must be at least that. I've calibrated our AC thermostat by comparing it to a digital NOAA weather thermometer. During the day, we bump the AC to 77 which again means the cool side has to be at least that. It also saves on our electric bill because its be unusually hot down here in Florida (or so they say. I'm new to the area). Seriously, the low tonight is 59 with rain. What kind of January is that!

So basically everything is an eventuality.