MedicMan1
Established Member
Hey everyone. I’m having fun building this new Cham enclosure, so I figured I’d share another little DIY life support system I came up with several years ago. It worked so dang well for my last Cham, I’m making another one.
The Jist: You connect a garden pump sprayer to 1/4” OD tubing (the same tubing as mistking uses), put a ball valve in-line, and run it into the cage wherever you want your cham to drink. The whole project costs around $40, and in my opinion, is far superior to any setup with a jug above the enclosure.
The supplies:
1/4 OD tubing
Garden pump sprayer
Irrigation drip nozzle (not crucial, just optional)
Hose clamp
1/4 press fit valve
So, take the pump sprayer, assemble it, and cut the handle off, leaving about 6 inches of the tubing left coming out of the bottle. Then, heat up the black hose you have left, and shove the 1/4 OD tubing into it, as far down as you can get it. When it cools, it makes a very tight seal. Use a hose clamp where the two types of tubing meet if you want to be sure it doesn’t leak. I’ve omitted the hose clamp on mine because it’s an obnoxiously tight connection.
Then, install a ball valve wherever you want. I put mine close to the bottle. You can mount it on the cage too. The ball valve controls the speed of dripping. The type I use is a shark bite style connection, again, the same thing as how mistking tubing inserts into the nozzles.
Then, you can pipe it into the cage wherever you want. I run it through a mist king corner wedge and bulkhead, and add another 6” or so of tubing on the inside so I can swivel it and point it at plants.
Fill the jug with water, pump it up, and adjust the ball valve until it’s steadily but slowly dripping. It will drip for a very long time, depending on the size of the pump sprayer you have and how many pumps you gave it. My last one with a big reservoir would drip for more than three hours.
No electricity, no outlets, no more stuff sitting on top of the cage. The jug stays on the floor where it’s easy to fill, and you have a ton of control over the dripping.
Enjoy, and I hope this helps someone!!
The Jist: You connect a garden pump sprayer to 1/4” OD tubing (the same tubing as mistking uses), put a ball valve in-line, and run it into the cage wherever you want your cham to drink. The whole project costs around $40, and in my opinion, is far superior to any setup with a jug above the enclosure.
The supplies:
1/4 OD tubing
Garden pump sprayer
Irrigation drip nozzle (not crucial, just optional)
Hose clamp
1/4 press fit valve
So, take the pump sprayer, assemble it, and cut the handle off, leaving about 6 inches of the tubing left coming out of the bottle. Then, heat up the black hose you have left, and shove the 1/4 OD tubing into it, as far down as you can get it. When it cools, it makes a very tight seal. Use a hose clamp where the two types of tubing meet if you want to be sure it doesn’t leak. I’ve omitted the hose clamp on mine because it’s an obnoxiously tight connection.
Then, install a ball valve wherever you want. I put mine close to the bottle. You can mount it on the cage too. The ball valve controls the speed of dripping. The type I use is a shark bite style connection, again, the same thing as how mistking tubing inserts into the nozzles.
Then, you can pipe it into the cage wherever you want. I run it through a mist king corner wedge and bulkhead, and add another 6” or so of tubing on the inside so I can swivel it and point it at plants.
Fill the jug with water, pump it up, and adjust the ball valve until it’s steadily but slowly dripping. It will drip for a very long time, depending on the size of the pump sprayer you have and how many pumps you gave it. My last one with a big reservoir would drip for more than three hours.
No electricity, no outlets, no more stuff sitting on top of the cage. The jug stays on the floor where it’s easy to fill, and you have a ton of control over the dripping.
Enjoy, and I hope this helps someone!!
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