I'm getting close to finishing my viv and need to figure out specifics on how I'm setting up my dirt section. I should probably give a quick explaination of my "humidity" system I have planned. In the viv will be a 50g aquarium. From this aquarium a pump will pump water to a drip system which will drip water over my plants/dirt, it will also supply a mister and a fogger (Note: I may not due the mister due to clogging concerns.) Each of these items will have overflow drains that will drain back to the aquarium if they overflow. However, under my dirt section, water will end up collecting from the dripping/misting/fogging. So my plan is to have a layer of large rocks on the bottom with a layer of medium rocks on top of that. On top of that I'm going to place some left over screen that I have and top it off with gravel. On top of the gravel, a layer of sphagnum moss because I heard it is good at both retaining water as well as some anti-bacterial cleaning properties it has. And then finally the dirt. The reason for the large rocks/layers is because the bottom of the container (Which is about 20") will fill with about 3" of water. Once the level of water gets too high, a sump pump will pump it back into my Aquarium. The reason for all of this is that all I have to do is fill my aqarium and my "humidity" system will be all set. Plus the dirt section will also act as a natural filter. My question...

Has anyone does anything similiar to this? And does it work? Can you see any issues?


-JD

Sounds like you have it well planned out. Not something I'm personally familiar with though.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

thats going to be A LOT of humidity. What are we putting in there that needs so much humidity. And what temps are you going for? If its sealed up properly, you could potentially reach 90-100%. IMO a drip system AND a misting system seems like overkill to me and you need to worry about the soil getting too wet. This could kill the plants and cause a problem for the inhabitants.

The finer the screen you put down the better. You don't really need small rocks and big rocks. I would figure out a way that is "easy" to take out any pumps in case they get clogged.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

The viv is 6' x 6' x 2', and once the humidity gets to high, the exhaust fans turn on, and humidity system turns off. Same goes with the heat. I should also mention the mister and fogger are on timers, so those don't run all day, although the drip system will. The constant dripping will be how the plants get watered, I won't be doing that myself.

well, that is a big enclosure. What's going in it?

I would just pay attention to how much drips, It could be easy to overwater everything.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

The weight of the rocks can break your glass and make it nearly impossible to move the terrarium. Instead of using rocks, use LECA or Terra Lite, which are light weight clay spheres. (google "LECA" or check out blackjungle.com)

Add screen on top of the LECA then a "dirt" mixture. Some choose to use a mixture of coco bedding, sphagnum, and tree fern bark, but there are several options.

You may want to rethink the fogger depending on two factors: what you'll be keeping and your water levels. The ceramic disks spin so fast that they can break the legs of small frogs, so a wire guard is a MUST; additionally, they tend to get hot and can burn the animals. The foggers are also somewhat temperamental as far as what depth of water they'll effectively work in. They add a relatively small amount of humidity, so you may want to eliminate it from the automatic settings and just use if for effect (like when company is coming over. )

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck

6 x 6 x 2 I would hardly think its made of glass! I would also think you wouldn't be moving an enclosure that size. I don't plan on moving the WTF tank until I move for good move. I know I'll have to remove the rocks/dirt whenever this happens. Be sure to rinse off your drainage rocks very well. I'm trying not to think about what I'm going to do if we move to colorado.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I totally missed how big it was! Is 6 x 6 x 2 really just 50 gallons? Tank illiterate!

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck

hrmmm, something isn't adding up. 50 gallons is NOT 6 x 6 x 2.

50 gallons = 36"x18"x18"
538 gallons = 6'x6'x2'

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Good! I'm not crazy then!

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck