Glacier Country Viv. Build

[BigSkyCham]

How long are you mistings, and how frequent?

I plan to follow the prescribed mistings from Chameleon Academy Panther Care Guides....1 minute at 9pm, 2am and 6am. With the fully planted substrate I don't want to over water while testing the misting system out and be left with a soggy swamp. Once it achieves swamp status it's difficult to dry out.

I haven't set up the automated misting until I can shore up the leaks. I have a Mistking system. There are 5 misting heads. All are mounted to the screen top. Two on the front left, two in the top middle and a single on the top right side.

When I mist for 1 minute the water pools on a horizontal ledge between the upper and lower parts of the tank. The water that pools on the front edge drips down to the tracks of the lower doors and eventually leaks out onto the stand and floor. My plan is creating a water shed that will allow the water to drip into the substrate instead of into the door track. It should prevent most of the issues. Simply repositioning the misting heads has helped tremendously.

 

[MissSkittles]

Can you go over your layers of substrate with me? I obviously recognize the drainage stones/balls in the middle, but what is the top and bottom consist of?
Also, being glass, the seams should have been sealed with silicone. Is it the seams which are leaking?

 

[BigSkyCham]

View attachment 369862
Can you go over your layers of substrate with me? I obviously recognize the drainage stones/balls in the middle, but what is the top and bottom consist of?
Also, being glass, the seams should have been sealed with silicone. Is it the seams which are leaking?

The glass and frame are fully sealed with silicone. I did a 72hr leak test with water and there were no leaks.

The water is coming out of the bypass doors. Any mist or water that collects on the glass drips down to the frame track that the doors slide on. If the misting runs long enough the door frame track overflows and then can leak.

For the layers at the bottom….starting at the top of 8-9”:

1: Leaf Litter: top 1”
2: NEHERP V2 Substrate: 3-5” (V2 description: https://www.neherpetoculture.com/substratesvivarium )
3: Mesh screen layer
4: Hydroton/LECA: 2-3”
5: Mesh screen layer
6: Plastic egg crate raised false bottom
7: Under false bottom: drainage space with bulkhead overflow drain: bottom 2”

On the front view of the tank I used some cut black vinyl to cover the false bottom space. I haven’t put the vinyl on the side of the tank yet. I covered the back and left side of the tank with solid vinyl covering on the outside of the glass.

 

[MissSkittles]

The glass and frame are fully sealed with silicone. I did a 72hr leak test with water and there were no leaks.

The water is coming out of the bypass doors. Any mist or water that collects on the glass drips down to the frame track that the doors slide on. If the misting runs long enough the door frame track overflows and then can leak.

For the layers at the bottom….starting at the top of 8-9”:

1: Leaf Litter: top 1”
2: NEHERP V2 Substrate: 3-5” (V2 description: https://www.neherpetoculture.com/substratesvivarium )
3: Mesh screen layer
4: Hydroton/LECA: 2-3”
5: Mesh screen layer
6: Plastic egg crate raised false bottom
7: Under false bottom: drainage space with bulkhead overflow drain: bottom 2”

View attachment 369866

On the front view of the tank I used some cut black vinyl to cover the false bottom space. I haven’t put the vinyl on the side of the tank yet. I covered the back and left side of the tank with solid vinyl covering on the outside of the glass.

Ok. It was the very bottom layer that I didn’t understand what it was and was wondering about drainage management, so you answered all my questions.
If you can’t find a happy spot to direct the mist heads to, maybe there is some way or something that you can put to redirect the water flow. I don’t think you’d need anything terribly large or obvious. Maybe just a small piece of something along the water flow path to disrupt it to the side…almost like a tiny little roof or half-trough. Hope I’m making sense and maybe offering decent help.

 

[BigSkyCham]

I really appreciate the feedback and

Ok. It was the very bottom layer that I didn’t understand what it was and was wondering about drainage management, so you answered all my questions.
If you can’t find a happy spot to direct the mist heads to, maybe there is some way or something that you can put to redirect the water flow. I don’t think you’d need anything terribly large or obvious. Maybe just a small piece of something along the water flow path to disrupt it to the side…almost like a tiny little roof or half-trough. Hope I’m making sense and maybe offering decent help.

I really appreciate the feedback and questions. It is helpful to have a place to ask questions answered by people that have experience with chams.

I will figure out the water issues soon enough. My son says we should put all the branches in first and then deal with the leaks. The water flows down everything and even the branches seem to change the flow.

When it’s ready I would like to do the “enclosure audit” before we have any animal in our possession.

 

[ehdee6]

I've been thinking about how to prevent the water leak from the door tracks, and am interested in the resolution. My only thought is to, unfortunately, move the entire tank and add a drip tray to catch the overflow.

Edit to say: Or an easier route, is to keep repositioning your mister nozzles until they no longer spray towards the door tracks.

 

[BigSkyCham]

I've been thinking about how to prevent the water leak from the door tracks, and am interested in the resolution. My only thought is to, unfortunately, move the entire tank and add a drip tray to catch the overflow.

Edit to say: Or an easier route, is to keep repositioning your mister nozzles until they no longer spray towards the door tracks.

I am still working this issue out. I have found nozzle position makes a huge change. Also any leaves that overhang the substrate barrier wall will drip water into the door tracks....so i am mindfully keeping those leaves trimmed back. I am misting 1 min at a time, 9pm, 1am, and 6am.

Here are some things I will try next:

1 Temporary fix: put a piece of micro fiber towel in the space to absorb water and help gauge how much water is actually leaking and soak it up before it hits the track.

2 Shower Door Sweep: I am looking at 3/16" shower door sweeps or seals to slip fit over the barrier glass and lean against the glass doors. My hope is this will channel the water from the glass back into the substrate. The vinyl tube won't do this. I think this is the best bet ( Amazon: shower door seal)

3 Slice clear vinyl tubing and slip fit it over the top edge of the substrate barrier glass edge. The door closer to the barrier glass will need a smaller tube diameter and the farther door will need a larger tube diameter.

I am also keen on trying to dampen the vibration of the doors in the aluminum track frames....It seems the best solution is to put a strip of UHMW tape (Ultra High molecular weight polyethelene tape). 3-5mil in 1/4" or 1/2" along the top and bottom of door edges. This tape will allow the doors to slide with ease, help reduce the glass on metal jiggle sound and also allow enough clearance to remove the glass doors for cleaning.

 

[BigSkyCham]

I just tried solution #3….i bought clear vinyl tubing and sliced it on one side along the length of the tube. I slip fit this over the top edge of the substrate barrier. On the first test with the hand mister this failed. The water seeps right past the tube and into the track. The largest tubing I bought was 1/4” ID tubing. Possibly 1/2” or 3/4” might press against the glass a little tighter so I will give that a go too.

So….the shower door sweep is in order and I will report how that goes after it arrives.

I did find several isopods that found the door track as a cool place to hang out or drown. Poor little guys didn’t realize how awesome the upper 3 feet of tank are to explore.

 

[BigSkyCham]

I’m back with another exciting update….and so far it looks like solution 2 the shower door sweep is going to work. I also just changed my misting sessions into 30 seconds on/ 30mins off/ 30 seconds on. Hopefully this will reduce the pooling of water.

Amazon: shower door seal) this is a 2 pack so if it wears out I have a back up ready to go.

This fit perfectly. I had to cut the length by the two vinyl edges press against the close glass quite well.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I’m very impressed how far this is going.

 

[BigSkyCham]

It worked! Six 30 second misting sessions overnight and the lower door tracks are dry….and I don’t see any lost isopods in the track either.

So, for anyone trying to solve the issue with a Reptizoo bypass door leaking issue….this seems to have solved the issue: Shower Door Seal 3/16” (and a very healthy or unhealthy gobs of aquarium safe silicone on all glass/frame connections)

Next projects on the list:
-Fogger
-Automation timers/smart outlet strip
-Mount bromeliads in upper canopy
-add pothos to the lower back wall
-make blackout curtains