Water Overflow

[41714049]

I am currently making a vivarium from a 75gal aquarium I got from a friend. I would really like to know how to create an overflow for the water when the misting system adds water to the tank. The tank seems to be made from standard glass with a tempered glass bottom.

Thanks

[Cindy Dicken]

Hi 41714049,
Are you planning to have a water feature in this tank?
If you are, you will need to determine what depth you will want to have the water in the water feature, then just above the water line drill a hole to accomodate a bulkhead for your over flow.

Cindy Dicken
Vivarium Concepts
www.vivariumconcepts.com
www.rainforesthabitats.com

[Patricia Slayton]

If you are not planning upon a false bottom and pumping water back over falls or a fern bark background of some sort, don't plan a pond or waterway, all you need is about 3 inches of coarse gravel or rocks on the bottom covered over with some weed cloth, and on top of that, whatever substrate you are going to use for plants and the habitat. You can just "drilll" a hole with one finger down to the bottom of one corner of your tank, insert a length of airline tubing, from which you can drain any excess water out into a jug or bucket when necessary. You siphon it out the same way you would steal gas from a car tank, whenever the drainage layer gets too full. Simple, no technology necessary.

[boyer420z]

You siphon it out the same way you would steal gas from a car tank,


Just don't drink the water.

[41714049]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was hoping to have a small 0.75" to 1" deep pool... not too big in area neither. I thought it would have been a good idea for some darts to play around in or cool off if needed. Wouldn't a little pool be good for them and any possible tads???

Thanks

[Patricia Slayton]

Other than just having a water dish you would have to replenish daily, for a circulating, healthy pond, you should go with one of the false bottom options with a pump to either bubble the water over some rocks, or circulate it over a falls or drip type background of fern fiber, etc. While a false bottom is perhaps 4 or more inches deep, the screened off pond portion can be made more shallow by filling it with some larger smooth aquarium rock or gravel, leaving just a portion of an inch for the frogs to play in. The pond can be screened off from the false bottom (so the frogs don't get under the substrate from it,) or you could look into building a false bottom using Grow Tek slabs covered with weed cloth, between it and the substrate, then just cutting out the pond portion, filling it with rocks. The rocks in the pond can also hide your pump while keeping it accessible. If you either use the Grow Tek slabs or build the false bottom like an upside-down box, you can just put a layer of aquarium gravel to hide the false bottom underpinnings from view, between the sides of the box (or sides of the Grow Tek slabs) and glass sides of the vivarium, and don't need to fill the entire bottom with rocks. It will be all water underneath, no drainage gravel, except for the sides and the rocks in the pond. This is only one way to do it, of course, but it is a self-contained way without any outside filters or containers-- relatively low-tech.