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Water in Tank bottom ok ?
#1
I have a 90 gal setup with a layer of soil then a 3" layer of peat moss then a layer of leaf litter , several live plants and auto mist system and timed lights the mister is set for 1min mist twice a day and lights are on 12 hr cycle . How ever my question is that I'm finding a layer of water about a little less than 1/8 " covering bottom of tank under the soil layer at bottom of tank. Am I misting to often ,and if not how to stop this problem. Or is it ok to have it under there I'm also conserned with if will cause root rot to my plants ? The tank is kept at. 85f and 85 % humdity.
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#2
Hi,

Although you didn't specifically say, I assume you are planning to keep Poison Dart Frogs.

Your humidity is fine and a "layer" of water in the bottom of the Vivarium is actually very good - what you want, as it helps sustain the higher humidity and even acts as a buffer for temperature regulation.

That said, I think you failed to install a "False Bottom" as the lowest "Layer" in the bottom of your Viv. A False bottom is commonly LECA (Clay pellets) or white plastic light diffuser / Egg Crate on small stilts or it can even be a 1-2 inch layer of large aquarium riverstone or big gravel.

In any event, the False Bottom acts as a sump or drainage collection point and does not allow the soil / Sphagnum or Leaf Litter on top of it to wick-up the standing water and become soaked and start to rot. Most plants will fail to thrive if not rot, when a false bottom is not correctly installed.

2 other real quick issues and then I'll let you respond.

1. Do you have a glass lid the cover most or all of the top of the enclosure? That's important to have

2. Your Temps of 85F are way too high. Good temperature ranges should be high 60's to 70's with a slight drop at night.
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#3
Here's a thread on "False Bottoms"

post9995.html#p9995

enclosures-setup-and-construction-f23/false-bottom-what-exactly-is-it-t3026.html
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#4
Yes there is a glass top covering all but directly under the lights,my lights are a combo fixture 1 2.0 fluorescent and 4 60 watt day glo incandescents should I reduce light cycle time to lower temp or keep cycle and replace incandescents with maybe 40 watt bulbs ?

Your wright about false bottom I'll have to pick up some hydroballs. How thick should that layer be and do I need screen mesh on top of it before I put the other layers in.

Yes I have the 90 for darts and another 45 for pac mans same issue with water in both setups.
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#5
I would probably just replace the day glo bulb with a 6500k standard fluorescent bulb. If the lights are directly on top of the viv you could try propping them up a inch or two and place a small clip on fan blowing between the lights and lid of viv to help keep temps down. If the tanks haven't been set up for very long and you don't mind removing substrate I would recommend doing that. Hydroton can be found pretty cheap at hydroponic stores. I think I paid $36 for a huge bag of it. Just put a inch or two layer with screen mesh on top and then the soil layer. Another thing to take into consideration is removing water. I personally drill all my tanks about 1/2 - 3/4 up from the bottom and install a 1/2" bulkhead and run a drain line to sump / bucket. Here's a example but on a smaller scale enclosures-setup-and-construction-f23/d3monic-s-super-build-thread-t4282.html

Other people will taper down to a small pond area in one of the tank corners where they can suck up excess water.

On my first viv I was scared to drill and I installed a 3" coupling standing on end with a few holes drilled into it to act as as sump. I then took a 3" pvc drain cap (in most plumbing sections) hot glued some window screen over it to keep anything from falling through and just pushed it into the coupling. When I need to remove water from that tank I just push the leaf litter of the top of the drain cap, pull the cap out and shop vac the water out of the coupling /sump. Works ok but is a bit of a pain.
"He that is slow to believe anything and everything is of great understanding, for belief in one false principle is the beginning of all unwisdom" LaVey
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#6
Yea I think I'll try the hydroton and mesh.the fixture has 4 bulbs should I replace all 4 day glo with 65k florescents or just 1 or 2 of them ?
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#7
What type bulbs are they? T5, T8 T5HO, standard flourecent? 60 watt is that total or each bulb? Is it a 90 wide or tall? I need to google day glo bulbs but I am pretty sure they are the reptile uvb which is not needed for dart frogs. On most of my vivs I run 48" t8 fixtures 4 bulbs at I think it was 26watt each (don't quote me on that) On my 75 gal I run two T5HO bulbs that damn near cook the tank.
"He that is slow to believe anything and everything is of great understanding, for belief in one false principle is the beginning of all unwisdom" LaVey
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#8
first - take things one step at a time.

1. Get a small fan, like a clip fan ect with a 2-3 speeds and position it so it blows across the top of the viv and over the light bar.

2. Make sure the light fixture is elevated about 2-4 inches above the glass top, not resting directly on it.

3.re-take the temps, morning, mid day and evening. See whatcha got.

Then, I would experiment with taking a bulb out and replacing one at a time and recheck.

It's going to be impossible for us to recommend something that has so many varibles going into the equation.
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#9
Ok, I'll experiment a little with the bulbs and the temp conditions.

Thanks for all the help I really am thankful to both of you. I'll get back to you when I figure out what worked best and with more questions I'm sure.
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