Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am trying to get some things together for my D. azureus tank that I plan on rebuilding. My question is if I was going to make a false bottom for it, how often do I have to replace the water in the tank? Also if I was going to make a waterfall in the tank a false bottom would be the smartest way about doing it right? I figured there wouldn't be back breaking weight involved. also in either of these cases would I just place the pump under the substrate or would you place it in its own separate container?
Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks in advance for all your help.
ADAM

I recently made a false bottom tank, and I recommend putting the pump in it's own container. I had mine buried in a wall the first time and it went out after 2 weeks...That was a pain. I learned my lesson. If the pump is outside of the tank and it breaks...you just replace the pump, and don't have to rip your tank apart. You will probably have to drill for bulkheads unless your pump is strong enough to pull the water over the wall and then pump it back over the wall.

Hope this helps,
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Matt

My false bottom is nearly done, the only thing left is to plant the back cocos panel. The false bottom, and waterfall have been going for a little over 2 months now without a hitch (KNOCK ON WOOD). I made a false bottom about 5 years ago, and when I sold the tank 3 years later the original pump was still working. I would definately recommend going to a pet store and buying a "Micro JET" most of them can be ran dry for breif periods of time without destroying the pump. Of course the drawback to false bottoms are if something does go wrong, you are taking the whole thing apart!

As far as bulkheads go, most aquarium bottoms are made of tempered glass meaning they CAN NOT be drilled. I took this tank to the same glass place that drilled the 3 holes in my glass top to see if they could, they said it would shatter without a doubt. Good luck on whatever you decide to go with, and be prepared to spend WAY more than you anticipated in the first place! LOL

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MIKE
4.14 Leopards (SHTCT, and Jungle Albino Trempers)
2.13 Fat Tails (Amels, Hets, and Normals)
1.1 Teratolepis Fasciata
1.3 Crested geckos
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius (Pallids)
1.0 Diamond Back Terrapin
14 Snakes (Tri colored hogs, subocs, alterna, rosy boas, and black milks)

and be prepared to spend WAY more than you anticipated in the first place! ------aint that the truth!
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Matt