Drainage solution for Evo Terra with glass bottom

[Sashquatch409]

Hi all,

I'm looking at creating a bio enclosure for my Elliots Chameleon. Trouble is that her enclosure is all glass apart from the top which is screen.

Wondered how people are dealing with this? I don't really want to drill into the tank either...

• Your Chameleon - Elliots Chameleon,female and 8 months old. I've had her for 3 months
• Handling - Once a week
• Feeding - Medium crickets one every morning and one in the afternoon if she's eaten it. I use bug gel pots and cucumber.
• Supplements - Pro rep calcium dust every cricket and nutrobal once a week
• Watering - Misting twice a day and sometimes I use a needless syringe albeit rarely. I don't most for long as I feel I would flood her out!
• Fecal Description - Pet store said she's been checked and her fecal matter is shiny, black with a white tip (forgot its name)
• History - Can't find any care sheets for my particular cham! It's only for panther and veiled? (Forgive me if that's a dumb statement)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - the cage is glass on all sides except the top which is mesh. The dimensions are 16x18 inches I believe
• Lighting - Exo Terra light that sits on top, Evo Terra compact top which has a repti glo compact 2.0 on one side and a daytime heat lamp. Lights off when we go to bed (around 10pm) and light on around 8am
• Temperature - the temperature does not go past 20c. The thermometer is at the top of the cage so assuming it gets cooler towards the bottom?
• Humidity - I must twice a day once in the morning and once at night. Ensuring it's dry
• Plants - 3 live plants weeping figs
• Placement - Utility room next to kitchen, only place where there's enough plug sockets.
• Location - UK

Current Problem - Glass Exo Terra tank drainage solution without drilling Into it?

 

[Ares05]

@GoodKarma19

She has an exoterra glass bioactive enclosure I believe.

 

[GoodKarma19]

Currently on vacation, and don't have time for a full post, sorry! If you dig through my posts, I've gone over this multiple times now.

Blueprints for my bioactive layers:

PVC drainage pipe, offset about an inch off the glass so that when the substrate is in, it's essentially invisible. The end is covered with a PVC cap, and when it comes to to drain it I just stick a siphon down there.

Enclosure today, after 5 months and some change, just cause I like to post it.

 

[Sashquatch409]

Currently on vacation, and don't have time for a full post, sorry! If you dig through my posts, I've gone over this multiple times now.

Blueprints for my bioactive layers:

View attachment 257622

PVC drainage pipe, offset about an inch off the glass so that when the substrate is in, it's essentially invisible. The end is covered with a PVC cap, and when it comes to to drain it I just stick a siphon down there.

View attachment 257623

Enclosure today, after 5 months and some change, just cause I like to post it.

View attachment 257624

That's incredible! What a lovely tank! And such a great idea too! So am I right in saying that this method will collect all the excess water pooling at the bottom? I'm going to have to must her slot to keep humidity up and that's my main worry! How do you siphon the water? What do the hydro balls actually do? Apologies for all the questions!

 

[GoodKarma19]

That's incredible! What a lovely tank! And such a great idea too! So am I right in saying that this method will collect all the excess water pooling at the bottom? I'm going to have to must her slot to keep humidity up and that's my main worry! How do you siphon the water? What do the hydro balls actually do? Apologies for all the questions!

Thank you! This is my ongoing star project, and I tinker with her at least once a week haha! Thankfully my girl Kismet doesn't seem to particularly care as long as she gets a snack out of it.

Yes, the water will gather in the drainage layer. Make you you put a fine screen or similar barrier material betwern it and the substrate, or it'll just mix with the dirt and defeat the purpose! There are many ways of creating a drainage layer, including the use of hydroballs/expanded clay pebbles. The hydroballs are just a lighter weight option for a drainage layer, as opposed to lava rock, brick chips, gravel, etc. You can also use the eggcrate light diffuser method, though I'm unfamiliar with it. Check out SerpaDesign on YouTube - the man has all sorts of how to for terrarium design, and more than 1 guide on drainage.

I run upwards of 1 - 1 1/2 liters of water through my ExoTerra build a day, but I also replaced my glass doors with a screen panel after having dropped one of them. I highly doubt you'll need to use anywhere near that amount of water to maintain humidity with both doors intact. Bioactive glass enclosures make it very easy to maintain high humidity!

This is the siphon I currently use. You might want to get something that self starts better than this one, as ai find myself having to start it with my mouth more often than not. Any fuel siphon ought to work; just make sure it'll fit down your PVC pipe to get into the drainage layer.

 

[Sashquatch409]

Thank you! This is my ongoing star project, and I tinker with her at least once a week haha! Thankfully my girl Kismet doesn't seem to particularly care as long as she gets a snack out of it.

Yes, the water will gather in the drainage layer. Make you you put a fine screen or similar barrier material betwern it and the substrate, or it'll just mix with the dirt and defeat the purpose! There are many ways of creating a drainage layer, including the use of hydroballs/expanded clay pebbles. The hydroballs are just a lighter weight option for a drainage layer, as opposed to lava rock, brick chips, gravel, etc. You can also use the eggcrate light diffuser method, though I'm unfamiliar with it. Check out SerpaDesign on YouTube - the man has all sorts of how to for terrarium design, and more than 1 guide on drainage.

I run upwards of 1 - 1 1/2 liters of water through my ExoTerra build a day, but I also replaced my glass doors with a screen panel after having dropped one of them. I highly doubt you'll need to use anywhere near that amount of water to maintain humidity with both doors intact. Bioactive glass enclosures make it very easy to maintain high humidity!

This is the siphon I currently use. You might want to get something that self starts better than this one, as ai find myself having to start it with my mouth more often than not. Any fuel siphon ought to work; just make sure it'll fit down your PVC pipe to get into the drainage layer.

Thanks again for your detailed response! I've got some insect mesh to act as a barrier? Hopefully that would be sufficient? Also I had some driftwood in there (bought from a pet store) a little while ago, but discovered that whilst cleaning her our that mold had grown on some of it? How do I prevent mold in a glass cage?

 

[cyberlocc]

Thank you! This is my ongoing star project, and I tinker with her at least once a week haha! Thankfully my girl Kismet doesn't seem to particularly care as long as she gets a snack out of it.

Yes, the water will gather in the drainage layer. Make you you put a fine screen or similar barrier material betwern it and the substrate, or it'll just mix with the dirt and defeat the purpose! There are many ways of creating a drainage layer, including the use of hydroballs/expanded clay pebbles. The hydroballs are just a lighter weight option for a drainage layer, as opposed to lava rock, brick chips, gravel, etc. You can also use the eggcrate light diffuser method, though I'm unfamiliar with it. Check out SerpaDesign on YouTube - the man has all sorts of how to for terrarium design, and more than 1 guide on drainage.

I run upwards of 1 - 1 1/2 liters of water through my ExoTerra build a day, but I also replaced my glass doors with a screen panel after having dropped one of them. I highly doubt you'll need to use anywhere near that amount of water to maintain humidity with both doors intact. Bioactive glass enclosures make it very easy to maintain high humidity!

This is the siphon I currently use. You might want to get something that self starts better than this one, as ai find myself having to start it with my mouth more often than not. Any fuel siphon ought to work; just make sure it'll fit down your PVC pipe to get into the drainage layer.

Are you having to siphon frequently? You should only siphon even if the drainage water reaches soil level, and ideally in a perfect system that shouldn't happen. If it is happening alot, you might want to reduce misting some.

Drainage layer is more of a an insurance policy, than a common used feature.

 

[GoodKarma19]

Are you having to siphon frequently? You should only siphon even if the drainage water reaches soil level, and ideally in a perfect system that shouldn't happen. If it is happening alot, you might want to reduce misting some.

Drainage layer is more of a an insurance policy, than a common used feature.

When I was actively trying to keep moss alive, I was having to drain the system once every week or two. Currently, with reduced misting (1L) I'm down to once a month or so. I only use as much water as the plants need, and (thankfully?) I've managed to kill most of the ones with high water needs lol.

 

[GoodKarma19]

Thanks again for your detailed response! I've got some insect mesh to act as a barrier? Hopefully that would be sufficient? Also I had some driftwood in there (bought from a pet store) a little while ago, but discovered that whilst cleaning her our that mold had grown on some of it? How do I prevent mold in a glass cage?

Once you've made the conversion to bioactive and the system has settled in, you'll see little to no mold. Springtails take care of that right quick! I saw some mold in both of my systems in the first week after set up, and occasionally when I top up the leaf litter. It doesn't last terribly long!

What kind of insect mesh, exactly? I'd hesitate to use anything that will break down over time. I used plain window screen; can't remember offhand what the composition is.