How to create suitable drainage layer for GLASS terrarium?

[mikehauschild1]

Hey all - tomorrow is an exciting day for me! I'm getting my new panther chameleon and I'm adding him into my 6 foot tall (well ventilated) glass vivarium. I'm curious if there's a good way to setup a drainage system to handle the water from the mistking? I already have a clean bio setup in there (isopods, springtails, etc) with about 8" of substrate and a thick layer of hydra-balls under that (drainage layer separated by screen).

I am concerned that this setup will eventually flood with the mistking and high humidity. Can anyone provide recommendations of what I could be doing to manage the drainage? Adding a drainage pan is not an option.

Thanks!

 

[L1z4rdB0y]

I assume glass bottom.

And it's all put together?

The only option I can see, taking no short-cuts, is take everything out then call that crazy friend who has every tool ever made, and drill the tank. I could be wrong, there are probably better options out there, but that's my knee-jerk reaction. Also I want to see where this one ends up. Good problem.

 

[jpowell86]

The setup that you have may be sufficient. 8 inches of substrate plus hydroballs will work great as long as you have enough plant life to also take up water.

If you are willing to tear down and start over, you can always drill the tank and add a bulkhead. If you are worried about the amount of water and aren't willing to tear down the cage, you can get a piece of PVC pipe that is large enough to accept the nozzle of a wet vac. Work the pipe down as far as you can into the layer with the hydroballs. Then make sure and cover the pipe with a rock or something of that nature to make sure your chameleon couldn't go nose down into it. Then, if you see the water level nearing the substrate, you can simply vacuum it out.

All in all, I recommend breaking down your viv and starting over. While doing the above option is viable(I used to use this method on all of my vivs), starting over and adding a bulkhead makes life so much easier.

 

[Andee]

I can't remember the exact steps to it, I will look it up, I know there are usually 5 layers in different dart frog terrariums. And the layer that is most important is the bio active soil.

 

[Goose502]

I've never had an issue with water in my glass enclosure. I have a drainage layer, but there's never standing water (I can see via the sides of the cage). My misters go off often, and I water with about a gallon of water each week. My tank is heavily planted and bioactive. I don't recomend drilling unless it's acrylic, glass it very brittle, and even experts don't recomend drilling your own bulkheads on glass aquariums.

 

[jpowell86]

I have seen recommendations on not attempting to cut glass without the proper tools and know how, but never to discourage it as if it's not doable. I have 16 glass vivs that I keep my montane species in and all have bulkheads for drainage. If you get the proper bit and take it slow it is no problem at all.

 

[Twitchet]

I don't have any problems either with my bioactive vivs-( don't have chams in them though)
We had not drilled a hole in a viv before but drilled a 12 mm hole in the base of an exoterra- toughened glass- too- used a diamond core drill bit and although it took a while as not to rush it , letting the tool to the work - and had no problems at all, it cut a neat hole with no trouble. I had a sprayer bottle that i dribbled water with to help cooling.
For some of my darts I have as Joel said- a tube- i used a cork bark tube which allows me to remove excess water if necessary- i use a large syringe but I have never needed to as the plants suck up excess water and the substrate isn't sodden.
Good luck

 

[pgr7]

The biggest thing when drilling glass is if it's tempered glass on the bottom which alot of aquariums etc are it can easily shatte,glass is delicate to drilling but can easily be done ask me about my other hobby but just be wary of those things if you decide to go this route. That said y layering like stated above should really work just fine I'd think.

 

[Chris Anderson]

The drainage layer you already have with the hydroton should be plenty. If you are getting water building up in it, you are misting too much for a glass terrarium. In these enclosures, you do not mist anywhere near as much as you would in a screen enclosure. I mist my humidity and hydration loving montane species once a day for about 1.5 minutes in my glass terrariums. Panthers would need less than that, although this is a slightly larger enclosure, so it may need a bit more than it would otherwise, depending on the number of mist heads you have, etc. The bottom line though is if you are getting water buildup and drainage issues, you're doing it wrong and misting far too much.

Chris

 

[Alexander1]

Just throwing this out there but some dart frog tanks I see being built use a pump surrounded by foam inserts to filter out any dirt to pump the water back out the top, justcover and tucks everything when your done.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Hey all - tomorrow is an exciting day for me! I'm getting my new panther chameleon and I'm adding him into my 6 foot tall (well ventilated) glass vivarium. I'm curious if there's a good way to setup a drainage system to handle the water from the mistking? I already have a clean bio setup in there (isopods, springtails, etc) with about 8" of substrate and a thick layer of hydra-balls under that (drainage layer separated by screen).

I am concerned that this setup will eventually flood with the mistking and high humidity. Can anyone provide recommendations of what I could be doing to manage the drainage? Adding a drainage pan is not an option.

Thanks!

<sigh>

You already have a heck of a system set up, however when it comes to a mist king you really should have a hole in the bottom for drainage.