False Bottom Alternative

nice, but how will you know when to stop pouring water into the tubes? with the gravel you can see how much water is at the bottom, not saying the gravel is better or anything, I was just wondering.

I plan on doing a false bottom in my 5.5g for my new het, gravel or this pcp piping are both fine, I just dont want to be pouring in too much.

Dracennights wrote:

I used pvc pipes to make my false bottom.. I posted pics but I just cut the pvc into short pieces to replace the rocks and my 40 gallon breeder is not any heavier then a tank with out the false bottom it may even be a little lighter... nice idea as everyone says keep us updated.. I haven't needed to add water to my tank but once in the last 3 months.. it's been very nice but I also have a glass top with the plastic rear piece which I punched holes in....

Hey Bro, if you can find it quickly maybe post a link on here so people can see your method too and compare do whichever makes most sense to them. If not I'll try to find it later as I think I recall seeing it way back when.

Roblicious wrote:

nice, but how will you know when to stop pouring water into the tubes? with the gravel you can see how much water is at the bottom, not saying the gravel is better or anything, I was just wondering.

I plan on doing a false bottom in my 5.5g for my new het, gravel or this pcp piping are both fine, I just dont want to be pouring in too much.

After playing with alternatives and keeping my H. Spins for a while now I do everything by feel. The general rule of (applies especially if you use coco fiber) is watching the color. If it is turning lighter in color it is drying out. You need to add water at that point and you will want to make sure it is dark brown in color and water does not come out when you grab a handful and squeeze it.

Keeping that in mind this is what I do. I set the tank up before needing it so I can monitor how much I'm putting in and tweak it each time until I get it right. I set the tank up and just soaked the heck out of it. I kept adding water and could see the substrate changing colors through the glass. After I added a bunch of water I sat back for an hour or so and checked on it then. I could see the top half of the substrate was still dry so I added at least as much water as I did the first time. Sat back for an hour or so again and repeated until it was just right. Even if it is too wet you will know and can wait to put anything in until it drys out a bit. You do the same process when you just want to maintain it with or without anything in there. Add a little bit and wait, if it's not wet enough yet add a little more. After a short few times of doing this you will have a good feel for how much to add when the substrate looks dry.

Hope this helps Bro, sorry for the delay in response I have not been on in a little while up until the other day.

Very cool idea
It looks a lot less messier than other models and a lot less complicated--not to mention cheap! lol