Can't drain very well... Soil-based enclosure

[bombadillo2]

Hi,

I have a setup which has a soil base and live plants growing in it. I also have a stand with a potted plant so that there are more vines for my cham to climb on, and a bunch of fake vines and basking spots squiggling throughout. Under the soil, I have a fairly deep layer of volcanic rock for natural draining (0.5-1 inch).

The bottom of my enclosure is entirely sealed (essentially, could have been filled with water and still not leaked).

I am getting a simple misting system and probably also will continue to hand spray. Right now I spray Miles' smaller enclosure a few times a day (he's a baby and I haven't finished setting up his larger enclosure yet). Do I need to worry about a misting system flooding my enclosure?

I had already set up this entire thing before coming across a post about drainage.... which I didn't even know was a thing. I can't really go for a different set up, and I can't afford a new enclosure. I do let him play and sleep on the free range sometimes (a large pot with 4 dracaena), which he loves. So far, he's been doing fine drinking off the plants that I spray. I haven't had any issue with flooding for the temporary enclosure.

When I used a drip system, there was way too much water and not nearly enough spread on the plants. Seemed more like it dripped and disappeared into the bottom of the cage. The spray bottle has worked way better. But I want to be able to set up something automatic. Sometimes I have to be gone for a day or get home late from work or whatnot. So I am setting up a mister with timers. I probably will do a few minutes of mist ~3 times a day.

tl;dr: Can't drain my soil-based enclosure; will a misting system make it flood?

 

[GoodKarma19]

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

A couple questions for you- are you running a bioactive vivarium, or a vivarium that just has soil/plants in it? While a correctly set up bioactive enclosure with a robust clean up crew (springtails, isopods, etc) is highly beneficial, substrate (I.e. soil) is otherwise largely frowned upon due to the potential for mold, bacteria build up, and potential for impaction if your little guy happens eat any chunks. Can we get some pictures, top down of the current enclosure including lighting?

Re: your drainage layer, it's generally advised to have at least 1-3" of drainage material (lava rocks, hydroballs etc.). Do you have a screen/weed barrier separating your drainage from your soil? If not, you can place a piece of PVC pipe down through your soil layer into your drainage, which will allow you access to siphon off extra water.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Hydro balls!

 

[Pjtbug]

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

A couple questions for you- are you running a bioactive vivarium, or a vivarium that just has soil/plants in it? While a correctly set up bioactive enclosure with a robust clean up crew (springtails, isopods, etc) is highly beneficial, substrate (I.e. soil) is otherwise largely frowned upon due to the potential for mold, bacteria build up, and potential for impaction if your little guy happens eat any chunks. Can we get some pictures, top down of the current enclosure including lighting?

Re: your drainage layer, it's generally advised to have at least 1-3" of drainage material (lava rocks, hydroballs etc.). Do you have a screen/weed barrier separating your drainage from your soil? If not, you can place a piece of PVC pipe down through your soil layer into your drainage, which will allow you access to siphon off extra water.

View attachment 232956

Yeah, what they said. It’s very important that your substrate dries out between mistings to lower the risk of bacteria, so the 1-3 inch drainage is very important in letting the water flow out of the substrate.

 

[Goose502]

I mist fairly heavily(depending on ambient humidity), and have never had water collection in my bioactive setup. I attribute this to appropriate soil, and HEAVY planting. My enclosure is coming in at 4 years now, and I’ve only had to prune plants, and clean bug guts off the glass. I’ve never had URI’s, impaction, or mold/mildew. I do have a very strong clean up crew, and allow multiple feeders to cocoon and hatch in the enclosure. As long as you use good soil (ABG mix, biodude, etc) and have a drainage layer set up, it should work. Using a PVC siphon or bulkhead is always a good idea, I’ve just never had to use it.

 

[bombadillo2]

Thank you all so much for your responses! @GoodKarma19 Thanks so much for that great image. On the other post where I introduced Miles, I included a ton of details about the setup. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/meet-miles.169315/#post-1482637

 

[bombadillo2]

I mist fairly heavily(depending on ambient humidity), and have never had water collection in my bioactive setup. I attribute this to appropriate soil, and HEAVY planting. My enclosure is coming in at 4 years now, and I’ve only had to prune plants, and clean bug guts off the glass. I’ve never had URI’s, impaction, or mold/mildew. I do have a very strong clean up crew, and allow multiple feeders to cocoon and hatch in the enclosure. As long as you use good soil (ABG mix, biodude, etc) and have a drainage layer set up, it should work. Using a PVC siphon or bulkhead is always a good idea, I’ve just never had to use it.

Good to know! A bit more info here https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/meet-miles.169315/#post-1482637
But tl;dr, I have volcanic pumice (1 inch ish), organic soil, and a top layer of local organic earthworm compost soil. 4 plants planted in the soil so far, room for more.

 

[bombadillo2]

Yeah, what they said. It’s very important that your substrate dries out between mistings to lower the risk of bacteria, so the 1-3 inch drainage is very important in letting the water flow out of the substrate.

Cool, good to know. I have about 1 inch, maybe I can dig things up and add more if needed.

 

[dshuld]

One thing that concerns me with the enclosure you have, there doesn't appear to be a lower vent beneath the glass doors? I noticed the reptizoo version doesn't either which is odd for an atasuki style terrarium. You'll likely want to do a pair of fans on top, 1 in 1 out to help the airflow in there.

 

[Daesie11]

I mist fairly heavily(depending on ambient humidity), and have never had water collection in my bioactive setup. I attribute this to appropriate soil, and HEAVY planting. My enclosure is coming in at 4 years now, and I’ve only had to prune plants, and clean bug guts off the glass. I’ve never had URI’s, impaction, or mold/mildew. I do have a very strong clean up crew, and allow multiple feeders to cocoon and hatch in the enclosure. As long as you use good soil (ABG mix, biodude, etc) and have a drainage layer set up, it should work. Using a PVC siphon or bulkhead is always a good idea, I’ve just never had to use it.

Do you have pictures and info on your setup anywhere?? This sounds so interesting! I'd love to know more about how you went about setting this up.

 

[JoXie411]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/meet-miles.169315/

This thread has the help forum filled out and pic of the enclosure

 

[bombadillo2]

I think Daesie is asking for pics of Goose's enclosure, since they seemed to have a successful setup! I'd love to see it too

 

[Goose502]

As you can see, my ficus trees are robbing a ton of light, and are in need of pruning. Otherwise this enclosure is left untouched. It’s hard to see with the glare, but my substrate is full of tunnels from different bugs, and there is no standing water in my drainage layer.

 

[Daesie11]

View attachment 233085View attachment 233089
As you can see, my ficus trees are robbing a ton of light, and are in need of pruning. Otherwise this enclosure is left untouched. It’s hard to see with the glare, but my substrate is full of tunnels from different bugs, and there is no standing water in my drainage layer.

This is beautiful!!

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

View attachment 233085View attachment 233089
As you can see, my ficus trees are robbing a ton of light, and are in need of pruning. Otherwise this enclosure is left untouched. It’s hard to see with the glare, but my substrate is full of tunnels from different bugs, and there is no standing water in my drainage layer.

Please come design my chams homes for me!

 

[Goose502]

Man, if it only paid the bills.

 

[Zevil]

Hydroballs/expanded clay pebbles are better than lava rocks. It's lighter and also absorb water. It's also call LECA in the gardening industry. You will have to learn the basics of gardening and not just dumping plants in there and hoping it will work like I did lol. I killed off quite a number of plants before I got it right. Also keep to one species of isopods is best to keep it simple. I have a dwarf white and a dwarf gray. Eventually my whites all died off, outcompeted by the grays.

 

[Connorology]

To address the original question: yes, a misting system has the potential to flood your enclosure over time. Goose may have reached misting equilibrium, but the amount I need to mist my vivarium to keep the humidity within the acceptable range will flood my setup within a month or two (based on the pictures I believe Goose and I have the same enclosure, so this is likely dependent on the temperature and humidity level in your home). I would recommend coming up with a way to drain the enclosure in case you do need it.

I have used the aforementioned PVC pipe drainage method. It's easy to set up and it works well. You can get an aquarium siphon for a little under $10 off amazon I believe, so you won't accidentally get a mouth full of run off. I recently shifted from LECA (hydroballs) to a plastic false bottom made from light diffuser. Personally, I like the light diffuser false bottom for drainage more than the LECA or something like lava rock because it lets a greater volume of water pool and is also easier for me to drain. That said, any of those options should work and I used LECA for years without issue.