30 gallon x-tall viv (planning stages, some newb questions)

[Inka4040]

Hahaha, thanks Paul, I try to keep carnival folk out of my tanks though, doesn't really seem to be enough room for them.

Is a fan an absolute necessity?

Just saw ChrisK's thread on a diy humidifier on Dendroboard. Seems almost simple enough that I could do it, lol. In any case, doing that would be a serious cost reduction compared to the mist king system. It seems that it would probably be better for terrestrial plants, but will it provide enough moisture for any aquatics? Also, if potential froggy tank inhabitants were to be using the mist for the drinking water, will that be safe for them? Crap, this is really turning out to be much more complicated than it all seemed at first blush... Dendroboard is also making my head spin, between all the info and the eye candy. I'm going a little bit crazy, lol.

Mellow, the issue with the eggcrate, is that I have no way of cutting it precisely. The best I have is the grinding tool on the dremel, and even that is pretty shoddy, doesn't leave a clean edge. Seems like building a false bottom, at least for the side pieces, needing a clean edge would be super important.

 

[mellowvision]

the screwdriver method is very precise, you just have to do it swiftly, like a single chop. it's how I make all my parts now. dremeling is seriously a waste of time. and you'll realize pretty quickly, that a clean edge isn't hard to get with a screwdriver... and it's not even necessary. if you plan your cuts right, you use the new sheet edge for the bottoms of the feet. this is the only edge that is contacting the bottom glass.

 

[Inka4040]

Ok... Just cut down the eggcrate to cover my simplex tank. Seems immensely easier than I remember it from the last time you told me to do that. Only managed to cut myself once, too

I guess we're going with a false bottom, but then how do I go about cutting the round area for the stand pipe? Been looking at threads on dendroboard. Not a lot of the smaller ones seem to have much in the way of ventilation, at least not as far as I can tell. I'd like to reduce the amount of necessary equipment, and the complexity of the project as much as possible. I just wanna get the hardware stages conceptualized and planned out, so I can start thinking about actual scaping and planting...

 

[mellowvision]

depending on where your standpipe hole will be, you can use pointed wire cutters or tin snips, even a really serious scissor, to snip the grid where you want the hole to be, just snip one bit at a time till your hole is clear. you want to end up with a square hole, and at least a full row on the back and sides of the hole.

 

[Inka4040]

Ok, cool. I was thinking the hole had to be round and fitted to the pipe. That makes things a lot easier.

 

[mellowvision]

nah, betewen the window screen and whatever hides the pipe, you'll be fine with a square.

 

[dundadundun]

yes, drilling the side will leave more water in the viv than drilling the bottom, but no built in drain will completely remove the water. even a bulkhead in the bottom is going to leave at least 1/4" or so of standing water.

keeping the front clear is simpler than it sounds. if you decide to go the route of the fan you'll have the added benefit in that it helps to keep mold break-outs to a minimum. just like a cycling aquarium with diatoms, vivs go through a cycle also. in this case mold is your diatoms. air movement helps. ground covers can really help, too. tank janitors can help too... and serve as supplemental snacks between meals. small, tropical pill bugs and springtails are commonly used for smaller species. with larger herp species red wiggler worms are also commonly added to the mix.

i've also seen landscaping fabric used in place of window screen, but frankly it doesn't sit well with me since i'm unsure of the coating on the fabric.

yes, the ultrasonic humidifiers will provide enough water if run for long enough. you just have to fill the reservoir more often... and i don't think r/o water would be necessary at that point unless it's a requirement of the plants you choose. (it would still be best to be de-chlored for the frog, though)

you could hand mist the thing with a $1 spray bottle or a quart garden sprayer if you wanted to. you'll be in there everyday to feed the frog, so you can spray it then... if you wanted to.

looks like mellow's got you on the right track. :y220e: if you haven't noticed, he has a knack for these things.

 

[Inka4040]

Thanks for the tips, dun! I'll read more into converting a humidifier over, as that is a crapton cheaper than a real deal misting system. As far as hand misting goes, I don't think that's for me. Misting the orchid terrarium is already enough to give me carpal tunnel, so I can't imagine having to manually mist down 4 surfaces completely covered in plants. Additionally, I do go on at least one road trip/vacation a year, so automating is a better choice.

Yeah, mellow always knows whats up. You should see his setup in person, it's way more impressive than any pics let on.

 

[mellowvision]

you should get a pump mister like I have, it saves all the carpel tunnel for the mousing.

 

[mellowvision]

I have a similar one I got at lowes I think http://www.google.com/products/cata...t=result&resnum=6&ved=0CIEBEPMCMAU#ps-sellers