Drainage in bioactive set up.

[Robyn.lux]

Hiya all.
Last night I had to dismantle my terrarium bioactive set up. Gutted to say the last.
As you can see from the photos, it completely flooded. I've had to discard all of the balls and substrate. It seems to me that I got supplied the wrong balls? Can anyone advise me on what to do?
I've not been over misting but have used a dripper (I had a collection bin on the bottom for excess). This is only three weeks since I installed the bioactive bottom.
I now have no bioactive bottom in place, just newspaper and kitchen roll. What can I do for drainage now? Drilling the terrarium is not an option.
I planned to have bioactive forever so now I just feel lost.
I dumped all the substrate into bags and put them in a bin outside for now. Will they be safe to use if I decided to put the bioactive flooring back in or is it a start from scratch kinda deal?
Are there different styles of clay balls to use that will actually soak up the moisture instead of collecting it?

 

[Remkon]

Your balls are fine... hmmm... that don't sound right...

In a bioactive setup you will need to adjust your misting so it doesn't become a swamp.

I've actually just made drainage in my bioactive setup, have it covered by some bricks for easy access and so it doesn't get clogged with dirt. I used a sifon like you have in the kitchen sink.

For my glass enclosure I also plan to do the same, I used a 35mm diamond drill to drill a hole in the bottom of the tank, cool it with plenty of water while drilling and drill slowly so the glass doesn't crack.

 

[Robyn.lux]

Your balls are fine... hmmm... that don't sound right...

In a bioactive setup you will need to adjust your misting so it doesn't become a swamp.

I've actually just made drainage in my bioactive setup, have it covered by some bricks for easy access and so it doesn't get clogged with dirt. I used a sifon like you have in the kitchen sink.

For my glass enclosure I also plan to do the same, I used a 35mm diamond drill to drill a hole in the bottom of the tank, cool it with plenty of water while drilling and drill slowly so the glass doesn't crack.

Bahahaha, no that sounds rather wrong. But good to know xD
To be truthful I don't even own a drill, never mind a diamond drill part and for one hole I am not going to rush out and buy one. Do you have a photo of your siffon drainage system? I am intrigued.
Tbh I was clearly given terrible instruction on basically everything when it's come to his care and the viv.
I have saved everything and would like to put it back together hut my my cham seems stressed out a lot. He's not actually moved this morning at all and it's been 3 hours since I woke him and he's back on hunger strike. A part of me wants to leave it as it is now as to not stress him further. A part of me wants to just get it set back up sooner rather than later so it's done. I just can't decide. I think I am too stressed but I don't know how long the springtails will survive being in a plastic bag with the substrate.

 

[Angelwolf]

Your springtails will be fine, as long as they are damp.

 

[Robyn.lux]

Your springtails will be fine, as long as they are damp.

Excellent, I have set it back up now. It's better for the cham. A few folks on IG helped me. If it floods again I have a way to drain.

I get the feeling you never finish learning with a pet chameleon xD

 

[Remkon]

Excellent, I have set it back up now. It's better for the cham. A few folks on IG helped me. If it floods again I have a way to drain.

I get the feeling you never finish learning with a pet chameleon xD

People that keep learning also improve themselves so that's a very good trait to have especially in a hobby that's still fairly young and still has a lot of improvements ahead of it.

 

[Robyn.lux]

T

People that keep learning also improve themselves so that's a very good trait to have especially in a hobby that's still fairly young and still has a lot of improvements ahead of it.

They're so interesting. I'm happy to keep learning. It's fun.