"My fermenter has the same temp. gauge as you would find on a fish tank and I have trouble reading it, depending on the lighting and not to mention the fact that I"m color blind.
Is there a better way for me to know the actual temp. of my fermentation?"

"Well fermentation will pick up whatever temp is predominate in the fermentation room, thats why some use a ferm/chiller, because you can regulate the temp inside and control your ferm temp. Of course you can do that in whatever room you choose too it just costs less to cool/heat a smaller area.

I used one of the 12"" digital thermometer and got a rubber gasket that fits the therm shaft snuggly and drilled a hole in the top of my fermenter, inserted the gasket and then the thermometer and that seemed to work too. It's 12 inches down in the wort so it seemed to be accurate for me."