DIY Auto mister questions

J

Jamescoop

New Member
hey guys, ive been searching on here, but havent really found a thorough explanation of how to build a DIY misting system. What im looking for....a misting system that i can use with 3 cages. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I think i would also like the type ive heard of a few people here...with a pump in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. Any info on pump/controller/etc would be great!

J
 
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I too tried this mster setup, problem i found is finding all the parts. I omitted the auto portion of it all just to go in and pump it up and have it spray.... the mister heads i got arent good enough to get a good mist giong and end up bubbling and dripping most of all... i am going to invest in a promist setup once i get setupo in new house and animals move into the garage... does anyone have trouble with their misters getting the carpet wet outside the cage? yes/no what do you do or dont do to help with this...
 
this is easy to build outside, go to home depot and buy a multi valve hose tap(10 dollars, good year makes a sturdy one with four, its bright yellow) run a hose from your hose line to the feed end of your valve hose tap, now from this you can take 1/4 inch microtubing (5.00) 360 degree mister sprayers ( pack of 5 2.50) and 5'8 to 1/4 inch threaded adapter(i think thats what the hose diameter is correct me if I'm wrong, its a lot of pressure to be running those misters on, so you can do one of two things, you can A. "T" them out so you have your hose valve, and then on each line it will come to a "T" with 2 misting heads, or B. you can just play with your flow valve on your hose until you find a good pressure without BLASTING YOUR MISTERS at your chameleons at high pressure lol
 
also when designing one with a subermisble pump and a resevoir, I've found from experimenting with numerous very POWERFUL pumps, that you can climb the pump latter all you want to get pressure to all your cages but at the end of the day gravity plays a HUUUUUUUUGE part in the water flow.... If your res is located above your cages and mister heads, only a small pump will be required, if you are trying to pump water up into a pvc greenhouse style manifold or something similar, your pump may never get going
 
so if only on a small scale what you do is get a bucket


fill it with clean water, it may even be a good idea to put aquarium airstones in it to keep it fresh ( bacteria starts to get the upper hand above 72 degrees and thrives at 78 degrees farenheit please correct me if I'm wrong)

make sure your resevoir is ABOVE your cage, this is because we want the water to gain force as it flows downwards into your 360 degree barbed mister head that can be found at home depot or lowes in the MICROSPRINKLER section of plumbing, isle 17 just kidding but seriously

submersible pumps can be purchased at home depot, pet smart in the pond section, hydroponic stores will be your best place to get good value on pumps, as they move the most volume. I have a 1056 and I have it feed an entire pvc manifold, then in the manifold it a mister over each cage, its not a permanent set up, but I'll take pics when I'm done, study my techniques and you will gain style
 
Or just get a back flow device so you aren't staring at a hideous 5 gallon bucket of water hanging from the ceiling in your living room.
 
I think i figured everything out, i will keep everyone updated of my status. Anyone know of any cheap microprocessor boards with relay controls??
 
Ren said:
Or just get a back flow device so you aren't staring at a hideous 5 gallon bucket of water hanging from the ceiling in your living room.
Click to expand...

yea I agree but for people that arent going to get everything figured out in one day, a simple setup that will keep there cham hydrated will do for a one day fix, they can get there style points in the future
 
I still dont have mine running 100% that link i found has some good prices on some small parts and 1/4 barbs tees and whatnot... may have everything one would need to set something up... I like the DIY approach myself... I don't know why I just like to build stuff...
 
Nice link, they have a lot of stuff, but for drip parts ive fond that my local OSH or Home Depot is the fastest, and cheapest (no shipping charges) plus, you actually know what you are getting and theres no hassles returning.

I have my system totally figured out, except one part. I need a controller that will control it on/off. I originally had a water system programmable timer i picked up for $22, however it will not do the lights and stuff (for the future). Ive also been looking at Home Depot, Lowes (a trek, but we had to take someone to the airport), and OSH for programmable timers, like the kind that you can setup with a light to turn it on/off or at random when youre not at home. Those would work, however the cheaper ones $9.99 digital programmable, only have 2 on/off cycles per day. The $20+ ones ive seen can have up to 7 per day, however will still only control one plug. Therefore, i think ive discovered either i need a super one which will be pretty expensive (turns on/off 2 lights one night one day, and then the mister), or design my own and figure out how everything goes on my own, using microprocessor control boards and relays, connected to the web. If anyone has any info on this, that would be appreciated. I still need to figure out cost and stuff.

Also, i was just looking at a coralife digital programmable timer. Does anyone have experience with this? Can i have my mister use one plug 3+ times per day and vary the time to the minute? Any then have the lights and stuff controlled as well? Any info/users of this?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

My system will hopefully run in the $65 dollar range, but right now im way over that because i havent gotten a chance to take anything back that ive purchased, and have figured out will not be useful. A full write up will ensue, but it is a pump activated mist system, that im designing for three mist heads, however can be almost infinetly expanded upon using simple parts from the hardware store, NOT drip.

My new chams are being held up right now. I bought them from Rick at Full Spectrum Chameleons, and they look awesome in the picture, but the air freight service wont ship them cause its too hot in Memphis or something. Hopefully theyll be here next week!
 
Memphis eh? Yeah, they are having a major heatwave there. I think a bunch of people died of heat related things there this week.

Of course, if you live in the midwest (like me) you're sweating your butt off! Had temps over 100 for about 5 days in a row with 40-60% humidity. NOT FUN!
 
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