Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need a recommendation for an air purifier for my boa room. I want a powerful unit to control odors at a reasonable price. There are too many brands and models to choose from , please tell me about the pros and cons of any units that you might own.

I use www.allergybuyersclub.com

The unit that I use, is called the " Allerair. "

It basically looks like a 25 gallon black drum.

It has a Hepa and a Pre filter and ultra violet light.

You can find units, going up into the several thousand dollar range, but this unit is around $750 and I use them throughout the house and they are incredible.

Never, give in to the Ionic Breeze type purifiers, because they are not worth the box that they come in.

There is no substitute for a great Purifier that uses a quality Hepa Filter.

Allergybuyersclub.com will give you any and all information that you need.

Just prepare to at least pay $750 a pop for a good quality one.

Mine work great and everything in the room can defecate and you would have to try really hard to even pick up the scent.

I have hard wood floors in the snake room and you usually only have to do a very light dusting once a month.

Dust is almost nonexsistant.

John J

How about maintenance? How often do you change filters? Is it a big job? How much do hepa filters run?
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

AllerAir 5000 ProDense Pre-filter- 8 pack
Replace pre-filter every 2-3 months AL AP 5PFK8
$59.98

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Nothing that you cannot do with a Screw Driver.

The Hepa " depending on the traffic in the room, " will need to be changed every two to two and one half years.

The Ultra Violet Light, will need changing ever 12 to 18 months.

The Pre Filter, is suggested to be changed every 3 months, but I was it out and change it about one a year.

On average, it cost me about 100 a year to maintain it, but well worth it and I think everyone needs one for their snakes and themselves.

John J

I'm a firm believer in having an air purifier in every snake room - especially if your room is located in a basement where mold, mildew, and fungus is often found in high concentrations. I use a Whirlpool Whispure 510. It got really good reviews and like all good purifiers uses a HEPA filter and charcoal prefilters. Ironically, a similar post was just made on one of the green tree python forums and all of the "know-it-alls" jumped in claiming that they didn't use air purifiers and didn't know anyone who did. Are these guys kidding me? Just goes to show you that you can't believe everything that you read (LOL).------RON

You know Ron.

We should really start producing some Boas.

It seems a mans worth in this Hobby is based almost completely on that!

If you produce litter after litter of Boas, sooner or later you may achieve a God/Cult Status in the Hobby and people will hang on every word that you say; " Like not needing Air Purifiers or promoting chemical disenfectants and being hard headed about anything that goes against the grain of the Old Fogy Info that seems to be passed down over and over again. "

I cannot remember the last time a read a Boa Manual or any Reptile Manual, that was based on any " Original Ideas!! "

Just the same old crapolla, that has been Spewed over and over for the last 20yrs!

Maybe, one day some of our Big Timers will publicly announce, just how many Boas they have seen die in their collections??

Maybe then, we can put enough common sense thinkers together to get out of the box and find some new discoveries on how to keep these animals alive longer in captivity, instaed of basing most of our thoughts, on how many we can produce!

Husbandry and learning how too keep these animals alive and healthy for their TRUE LIFESPANS, will always be more important to me, than how many I produce.

I think me and you have a kind of kinship on that one Ron?

John J

You're totally right, John - on everything you just said. Although I really respect the guys who are able to consistently produce BCC's, I have more respect for the guys who have been on this forum for longer than just a couple of years because it says that their hearts are truly in it for the right reasons - it's not just a passing fad. If I had a dollar for every guy (and girl) that has come and gone in the last 10 years I'd be a wealthy man. It seems like every year there's a whole new crop of names on this forum. What's up with that? And what happens to all of the boas that they bought up like hot cakes?
It's true that people put too much focus on producing boas instead of keeping the ones they own alive and thriving. Every day people put up pics of their newly aquired boas but only rarely does someone put up a pic of an older adult BCC. This is because most of them die before they ever reach that age. We know that boas can live 25 plus years but yet when do you see one make it that long? I know a lot of well known breeders personally who have shared with me how many losses of really high-end boas they suffer each year all in the name of breeding - and this is true of not just boas but other species as well. The numbers are staggering. Most of the best known boas from just as recent as 5 years ago have already died. People also make the mistake of collecting boas like stamps. It's very tempting to go crazy buying up boas but when the number of animals kept causes the quality of care to suffer, it's just not fair to the animals. If people would just realize that this hobby is not a race...and if people would realize it's about wanting the boas you have instead of having all the boas you want, both the animals and their keepers would be a whole lot happier. O.K., enough of my ranting, take care.--------RON

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Jonathan Brady
*You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.*

Do you use the model with the UV light? Thanks for the advice, it has been helpful.

Sorry, i reread the post above and see that you use the model with the UV.

Let's talk in general terms first. HEPA bests non-HEPA by miles. Make sure it's got a HEPA action. The other thing is replacment filters. I have had many air purifiers now. Some have washable filters and some have expensive replacable filters. I think the washable ones are not HEPA. I have had a lot of kinds but the best I ever had is round, and the filters look like an old style air filter for a car. This is the one my allergist uses too. It's rated for multiple rooms, and really does the job in her office with 8 treatment rooms, and has a carbon filter too which really works for odors. I have one like this made by Honeywell, but I believe there are several maker that make this style. I am not endorsing Honeywell, just the style of filter. They are rated by how many feet they cover. It looks like this picture, and this one you never replace the folter, just cvacuum it! How cool! : http://www.achooallergy.com/honeywellenviracaire.asp#Product_Reviews
If you ever HAD to replace the filter, it's only 22.
Good luck finding what you want. I think the way to go is to figure out what style you want, then shop for price.
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

I use a bathroom fan installed in the ceiling. It blows hot stinky snake room air outside. No filters, no replacements, cycles air for the whole house.

Easy.

Doug T

I've often felt the best way to maintain a large rodent facility would be similar -- with a negative air pressure gradient, as in a clean room manufacturing environment.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

That works well for some situations. Although as you blow the smelly hot air out. You have to replace that hot Air if your in the north and its winter more $$$$$. That's why recycling and purifying air can be so nice of an option. The filter replacement has always been my issue in the past. You can buy multiple Air purifiers with the money spent on replacing filters . That's why a great purifier unit is so important for me to find less filter replacement is imperative.
. . . . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz
Boas By Klevitz

I was given an Ionic Breeze by my parents who had it in their house for a few years. I used it for about 6 months before a tree fell down in my yard taking out our powerline and somehow burning out every electronic component on one leg of the 220 coming in. The breeze does not filter the air very well, but it does remove odors, or covers them up with ozone smell. My snake room is 12x12 with 25 snakes 2 tortoises, and a pair of geckos. And it is located in the basement, heated and fully insulated etc. When I had it set on low the odors were eliminated, and the ozone smell was not as bad, but ozone cant be good for them to breathe. I am not using anything now, and have got my cleaning routine figured out to the point that I dont notice the odors at all. Since having stopped using the breeze I have not noticed an increase in dust, so that tells me that the breeze did nothing for that. I would like to find somthing that was much more reasonable than $750, but you get what you pay for.

I enjoyed reading this post, and hope I can find a less expensive alternative.

chris