Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has any of you been able to make a self contained waterfall? I whant to add one to my 29 gal. vivarium but I don't whant to have soggy substrate.

I would not try to contain the water....it is more trouble than it is worth. Use gravel around the waterfall, and a 1-2 inch layer of gravel between the water and substrate. As long as the water does not directly touch the substrate, it won't be soggy.
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Matt

Ok I'll try and do that I am going to use a false bottom so that should help.

yeah it will help. A layer of screen between the gravle and substrate helps keep it from seeping down into the gravel. If one little bit touches the water, it will soak up a lot of water. That has actually been one of the more frustrating parts of vivarium construction, for me.
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Matt

Yes, make a false bottom using eggcrate and pieces of pvc pipe. Use the pvc pipe will raise the eggcrate off the bottom of the tank 2 to 3 inches. Cover the eggcrate with fiberglass screen and add gravel. If you cut an area out of the eggcrate and run the fiberglass screen into it you can make a pool for the waterfall to run into.

There is a thread from Jan. 25th titled "can people post pics of..." and I posted some pics of a false bottom, and the thread below that has pics of my tank.

Hope this helps

Leif

I actually used pieces of driftwood around the edge of the pool to act as a border and keep the substrate from sliding into the pool. Drifwood and rocks steer the water to the pool without touching the substrate.

Good luck!

Leif

So water can run directly in the Weldbond coco mix thing???
What's better for a background the coco thing or cork flats?

Hi

I used Great Stuff and black silicone/coco bedding for the background. For the waterfall I found a nice piece of driftwood with a natural shape that would guide the water to the pool. I drilled a hole in the back of the wood for the water line and sprayed Great Stuff around the whole thing.

Water can and does come in contact with the silicone/coco bedding bacground and this is okay. But the bulk of the water flows into the pool and travels under the false bottom to the pump in the far corner. I can't speak for Weldbond since I haven't used it.

Leif

as long as the weldbond has fully cured, you can run water over. It takes about a week to two weeks to fully cure. As for cork or coco...it's completely up to you. They are both excellent background materials.
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Matt

Ok thanks a lot

Or you can get one of those waterfall molds from Petco or Petsmart that is bascially a self-contained waterfall with a small pump in the back.

If you use a rather coarse soil mix (like an orchid bark mix) with a false bottom, you really don't have to worry about the waterfall waterlogging your soil. What it does is set up a moisture gradient where you can allow for planting different moisture loving plants. I have found that a lot of ferns do best in the "soil" closest to the waterfall (resurrection fern, maidenhair fern, lemon button fern), and Nepenthes do quite well in those areas.

Additionally, you can grow Java Moss best in those areas, as well as Selaginellas. That's just my experience, but I don't use peat or any coir dust in my mixes, so it drains well and is a loose, friable mix that doesn't compact when wet . . . so there is less likelihood of compaction and suffocation of the roots.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense