heating mistking water - bacteria ?

little leaf

little leaf

Avid Member
I know some heat their water- I would also like to do this- but how often would it be suggested to change the water - or do you need to if it runs pretty much dry? there is always some water in it- a little bit , the depth of the fixture that hooks it in to the system - I hate the thought of them getting this "ice cold" water , right now I am home, and turn it off and on - I make sure no one is where they will get a face full - and they all run form it- so I know its gotta be cold to them - but when I head back to work, it will go on a timer - also, if heating , is it best to heat from the bottom, or with a fish take heater in the bucket - and how long would it take for bacteria to grow in it - 3 days is my understanding- it that correct?
thanks :)
 
I heat my bucket in the winter as the room gets pretty cold at night. I just used an aquarium heater and as my bucket runs out every 3 days, I just wash it well before refilling. Never did see anything growing in it.
 
pigglett79 said:
I heat my bucket in the winter as the room gets pretty cold at night. I just used an aquarium heater and as my bucket runs out every 3 days, I just wash it well before refilling. Never did see anything growing in it.
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ok, great :) thats about what it is here- and with winter on its way :mad: I know I hate a cold shower- :p
Thanks !!
 
I log onto the forum with a question in mind. The first thread I see on the homepage is this thread. I love this forum. Thanks!
 
I keep an aquarium heater in my reservoir and I also keep a aquarium filter to remove any bacteria, but mostly to prevent my nozzles from getting clogged.
 
If you use a submersible aquarium heater meant for a 5 gallon aquarium it shouldn't get too hot. I dont really measure the temperature, just touch it and see how it feels. as the bucket gets low the water does get a bit warmer, but by the time it comes out of the mister nozzle its cool again.
 
little leaf said:
ohhh- one more ? - what temp do you keep your water ? a warm shower is great- dont want to burn them tho -
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I have a 15W submersible aquarium heater. It heats the water temperature to 10 degrees above room temperature. My water temp is always between 80 and 85 degrees. My reservoir runs out every 3 days and I wash it out, clean and refill with DI or RO water only. If you use well or tap water you can clog you nozzles with calcium build up.

It works well for me. And my heater was only $13 at a local pet store.

As far as a filter. I'm not sold on that idea because filters hold and breed "good bacteria" however if the filters are not changed regularly other bacteria can breed in the filters as well, but that is for fish. I don't know about chameleons.
 
I guess if you are just wanting to take the chill off you could use one of the flat betta bowl heaters. They are so low profile that a dropped water line would not be as big of an issue. Aquarium heaters are not meant to run when they are not submerged. There is one that I recall from my days of fish keeping thats probably for under a 5 gal. Its black, not glass maybe about 3" long. No thermostat, its just one of those that brings the water up a few degrees. Could stick it on the bottom of the reservoir.
 
I ran straight hot into my reservoir and could not feel a difference in the mist temp. Something about being atomized that finely that takes out all of the heat. I now switch to drip only for the cold months.
 
kdc5019 said:
I have a 15W submersible aquarium heater. It heats the water temperature to 10 degrees above room temperature. My water temp is always between 80 and 85 degrees. My reservoir runs out every 3 days and I wash it out, clean and refill with DI or RO water only. If you use well or tap water you can clog you nozzles with calcium build up.

It works well for me. And my heater was only $13 at a local pet store.

As far as a filter. I'm not sold on that idea because filters hold and breed "good bacteria" however if the filters are not changed regularly other bacteria can breed in the filters as well, but that is for fish. I don't know about chameleons.
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I use tap water with an under the sink filter. I have been using it for well over a year and I have very hard water. Have not had a nozzle clog yet.
 
pigglett79 said:
I use tap water with an under the sink filter. I have been using it for well over a year and I have very hard water. Have not had a nozzle clog yet.
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My dog sheds like crazy and I have found no other way to keep hair out of the water other than using the filter. It came with my snail aquarium, so I just threw it in my res.
 
As Mike said, hot water does not result in hot spray...Run your hottest water from your tap into your reservoir, turn on your nozzles, and put your hand in the spray; it is not much different than the room temperature water in most cham rooms, at about 70 degrees. Most aquarium heaters do not bring the water temperature up to the temperature of a water heater in your home.

Nick
 
nick barta said:
As Mike said, hot water does not result in hot spray...Run your hottest water from your tap into your reservoir, turn on your nozzles, and put your hand in the spray; it is not much different than the room temperature water in most cham rooms, at about 70 degrees. Most aquarium heaters do not bring the water temperature up to the temperature of a water heater in your home.

Nick
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When the water in the bucket is warm, I feel a noticeable difference in the spray. Without the heater it can get quite cold and with it it comes out luke warm. If the bucket is low it come out warmer as the heater is heating less water and the temp is higher.
 
This seems to be a (hot topic) at times with many different opinions but I for one think that a heated water supply makes a HUGE difference!!!!!!! Opinions are like rear ends and everybody has one :D that said I have never had a problem with even any slime build up in my 35 gallon water tank. I have seen a difference in how my chams react to the misting when the water was heated as to when it was not! My water tank turns over every 3 days or so and I don't think it is a problem when talking about bacteria. Also no light can get into my tank As it is completely dark. You must have a heat source that can keep the water warm enough and misting times must be long enough for the warm water to get through the system or it will not help! I mist for 10 minutes a session and then a dripper comes on for an additional 10 minutes and it comes from the same tank. This is JMHO. And everyone should do what works best for them!!!
 
I would imagine the determining factor in how warm the water is after it exits the nozzle is the droplet size. Probably why some keepers say it makes a difference where others say it doesn't. The smaller the droplets, the cooler the mist. My nozzles provide a very fine mist, almost like a fog so heating the tank would be a waste of energy.

One of these days when I have nothing better to do, I'll put a temp probe under the nozzle and test the difference between hot and cold.
 
This is interesting, I have noticed a difference in Chams not being as likely to run away from the mister when the water was heated. But, I would be curious to the difference in temps out of the nozzle. I use flex watt under my water reservoir. Whoever does test the this, Please post results.
 
I was going to use a heating pad for under tanks - it will sit withing the raised part of the bucket, so it wont be getting "squished" - I do not trust anything that has glass, electricity and water all in the same phrase :cool:
 
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