I'll have to give it a try... I was always under the impression that the water wicks up through the soil and is evaporated into the air... keeping a constant exchange as long as you had some ventalation.

So how is the water used in this type of setup, does it have to be brought to the surface via the pump or other source... that is where I'm losing the concept

lol, you have a good sense of humor! there is no need for a pump. it is actually very difficult to explain on the forum here. i am wanting to make a trip to california soon and assuming i do, i can actually show you exactly how i do it. we can actually photograph the entire process and post it if u want.

as for bringing the water up, this is kinda what we are trying to preven so the soil does not go stinky. one thing i would suggest is to change your substrate to something with a clay base. maybe mix your coco fiber into some nice loamy clay. it becomes very fluffy and holds moisture much longer. also, the use of live plants does wonders for holding in moisture and humidity. add a humus layer and that also helps the soil retain moisture. ther is a reason that woods are moist and humid and the desert is dry and hot. plants and trees keep the relative humidity constant and the humus layer adds nutients and keeps moisture in the soil.... everything the desert lacks. now if you go into the desert and find a group of mesquite trees, the soil and moisture will be much greater under those trees tahn out around them. this causes more plant growth due to moisture retension. basically what i do is try to mimic all this in my vivariums and it works well. you then dont have to worry about a false bottom or wicking. even if you do have a false bottom, it still works just as well. i also pun lights over my vivs for a natural photoperiod and it helps heep the humidity up as well. how this is where the vents come in. the vents allow excess heat to escape. if you have a vent on the back and one on the front of the viv, you will get a draft going. the hot air escapes through the front vent and new cool air is sucked in from the rear vent thus keeping the air fresh and not stagnant.

i have played around with some custon vivarium designs and ive come up with some really great ideas. i just need money to go and buy the glass and other product now this same design would work for frogs, salamanders, inverts, snakes....whatever. it kinda follows some of the euro designs with my own trist to it anyhoo, give some of this a try.

i heart mantids, this method will last you for years without having to fix anything. i know for a fact that the method you use will go bad (especially with peat). ive used that method many times when i first started doing this stuff years ago. well, as long as the soil isnt saturated at the bottom, it wont go bad near as quick. if you spray your tank down, the water will saturate the soil at the bottom and cause it to go stinky.


-josh

if i build anymore vivariums in the near future, i will be sure to document the entire process and post it here. you can modify the design for tropicals or even desert dwellers. this method is especially good for tropicals, anything from pandinus to tityus and centruroides and even many of your native species would appreciate setups like these. for deep burrowing species, i tend to not even bother with a false bottom because many species burrow not only to hide, but to keep the humidity constant because it always fluctuates in open air. so once they build burrows, i just occasionally spray the viv down and it will evenly disperse through the soil and evaporate slowly. i then spray down again when needed. i definitely suggest you guys try using a loamy clay based soil.

-josh

I've never used peat -- just coco fiber. That stuff is pretty resilient. I've had one tank where it actually noticeably decomposed, but that was where I didn't change anything for over a year. It just broke down into a fine organic . . . stuff.

No stink, though. *shrugs*

hmmm, that is interesting. ive never used coco fiber so i didnt know that. very good to know.

ive always stayed away from coco fiber cause i thought it was unnatural for the animals to be on. i then realized the same about peat and i typically dont use peat anymore as well. i try to mimic the soil components from where they are found naturally as best i can.

in any case, it is good to know coco fiber doesnt go stinky. maybe ill start using it in my dart frog vivs. thanx for the info mantids

-josh

I prefer not to use soil because it gets muddy when you add a lot of water -- coco fiber just gets wet. I think it makes a great substrate and mimics the humus you'd find on the forest floor somewhere. The only way to get a 100% natural substrate is to go to Malaysia or Ghana and collect some stuff off the forest floor yourself.

Anywho, I'd suggest giving it a try as a substrate. I was a little hesitant at first, but now I swear by it.

very nice. i will try it sometime. you can collect soils and humus in california that is every bit as natural as the stuff you find in malaysia ill give the coco fiber a try in my next dart frog viv. i do like the color alot as well

-josh