Warm water to mist ?

[Ruganut]

Hi all,

the other day I watched a utube clip about enclosures and the guy had a misting system which had an aquarium heater in the mister tank. This provided warm mist for the enclosure.

This seemed like a good idea to me. I use a Monsoon RS400 and adding a heater to this would be fairly straight forward. Just a few questions:

Is it a good idea (does anyone else do this) ?
What sort of temperature should the water be raised to ?
Any downsides that people can see ?

Thanks for looking

 

[Lala0]

!

i really want to know the answer to this too!!

 

[Whatcamo]

I do it my water in the storage tank is set to about 85 and the water comes out about 78 or so

 

[Lala0]

I do it my water in the storage tank is set to about 85 and the water comes out about 78 or so

for what reason?

 

[grimjob]

What's the point of heating the water? Will they still drink it warm? I'm interested in this topic

 

[shiftyeyes]

i heat my water in my reserve tank for my misting and i will say that with my cham when i didnt heat the water he use to sit on the edge of the misting stream and drink but now that i heat it that he sits right under the mist and drinks now. So in my thoughts i think its a good think to get a warmer water misting on them vs. cold water.......mine enjoys it

 

[ChameleonFan1989]

Yes they still drink if it's warm

I just fill the misting bottle up by hand with hot water and comes out warm. Cold water can startle them, if you use warm water, they tolerate being sprayed on them directly better.

 

[Benton1576]

I have a 5 litre water sprayer (Im European!) and i fill it 3.5L cold and 1.5L boiling from the kettle. The temperature when it comes out is warm and my chameleons love it. One in particular actually follows it to take a shower! I found when i used cold water they would run and hide.

 

[Captive Creations]

I mist with warm water too. My chameleons all love the warmer water vs the cold. I also noticed they don't mind when the water touches them if its warm.
I say Warm too

 

[kuzitiso]

Warm mist is great when using a spray bottle but heating with an aquarium heater in a water reserve can allow algae to proliferate. This could potentially cause your nozzles to clog and will create an unpleasant an odor. I have my aquazamp misting with room temperature RO water, and if I see my cham is shedding I make sure to spray him with warm mist. He likes the warm mist a lot more but I'd rather not have to deal with algae. The room temp. mist won't hurt them, (granted their temps are corrects in their setup) they just won't find it as apealing.

 

[Bitfly]

How are you supposed to store reserve water? With a sealed lid or should it breath? Any way to prevent algae as I keep an aquarium heater in the reserve so the water doesn't spray so cold.

 

[reptilover]

I hand mist with a hand pump chemical sprayed and u fill it up super hot so it mistes Luke warm so an aquarium heaters gonna effect it but not a tremendous amount Itll probably feel pretty cold to him still.
Be sure the level saYs up so it doesnt expose the heater it will shatter

 

[okiroo]

i use a tank heatere in my mistking water supplie. get one shatter proof in case you ever forget to fill it or something crazy. its safer.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

I usually only use warm water when im using the pump sprayer for extra mistings. When I used a heater in my reservoir the biofilm built up really quick, so the water I use is only room temp. After a minute the chams dont mind though. I know others use heaters without issues though.

 

[kuzitiso]

How are you supposed to store reserve water? With a sealed lid or should it breath? Any way to prevent algae as I keep an aquarium heater in the reserve so the water doesn't spray so cold.

My water reserve is sealed so that dust and other debris won't get in the water. But either way, algae will most likely find its way in if you are heating your water. Like another member said though, some can use a heater without any trouble. I wonder if it has to do with location. Maybe those who live in dryer states don't have a problem because algae would have to travel much further from a body of water. This is just speculation, though. I say this because many algae reproduce using spores and those spores can travel hundreds, and even thousands of miles.

 

[kuzitiso]

i use a tank heatere in my mistking water supplie. get one shatter proof in case you ever forget to fill it or something crazy. its safer.

Good point! Make sure you fill your water reserve every day! Aluminum tank heaters work best but still make sure you keep the water level high or the heaters will fry.

 

[Whatcamo]

My water reserve is sealed so that dust and other debris won't get in the water. But either way, algae will most likely find its way in if you are heating your water. Like another member said though, some can use a heater without any trouble. I wonder if it has to do with location. Maybe those who live in dryer states don't have a problem because algae would have to travel much further from a body of water. This is just speculation, though. I say this because many algae reproduce using spores and those spores can travel hundreds, and even thousands of miles.

You shouldn't have any issues with algae if you are using reverse osmosis DI water and your reservoir is not in contact with any light and algae wouldn't be the concern with using warm water bacteria then becomes the concern which I avoid by twice a month filling my reservoir with 50/50 water to vinegar and letting it sit over night then dumping it out and rinsing it very well with boiling hot water
Also warmer water allows you to mist for a shorter amount of time as it brings the humidity up faster and doesn't drop cage temps as much
Ever been in a tropical rain storm? It feels like a Luke warm shower not a normal subtropical or northern rainstorm that feels cool or cold

 

[Ruganut]

I hadnt thought about the algae issue before. I empty, clean and refill my mister every evening (it's part of my routine now !). Would algae build up in a 24 hour period ?

 

[Millerj0469]

I think Marty the Mist King needs to get in on this I'm sure he would know a bit about this.

 

[sunflowerbabe98]

You have to ALWAYS use warm water... For a chameleon's spray bottles, automatic misting systems, drinking fountains, humidifiers, etc. Because they're cold blooded, if they drink cold or even cool water, they can get hypothermia internally...