humidity

I just got an ir bulb and have put it on one side of the tank. it's driving the humidity way down. Anyone have any ideas on how to connate that without misting every fifteen? I filled up a big dish with water on put rags in it so he can get traction to get out once needed. Figure the water evaporation will help the humidity. If this is a bad idea for any reason plz inform me pronto. Also where in relation to the ir bulb should I put the thermometer and hydromiter and water dish?

i had same problem had to mist it all day long to keep it moist. I did the false bottom setup and left everything like it was and its perfect now. so u can try that. Iv heard that rags/cotton and in a water dish can gather bacteria faster. Thats wat im told i started with cotton and i stopped so i never got to test that theory. Im still new at this stuff though but thats what my research has told me. : )

o yeah the temperature and humidity gauges are crap lol. Dont work half the time.


Brian

MrTisdale wrote:

I did the false bottom setup and left everything like it was and its perfect now. so u can try that. Iv heard that rags/cotton and in a water dish can gather bacteria faster. Thats wat im told i started with cotton and i stopped so i never got to test that theory

+1

Or you can simply pour water straight into the substrate (as long the soil is not soaking wet will do).
Once a week effort would be good.

Concentrate on getting the temperature stable at 80-90F would be more important as scorpions spend most of their time hidden. What is affecting scorpions such as Pandinus imperators are the moisture content in substrate. Not air humidity.

Also, do not rely on gauges too much. Like what MrTisdale has mentioned, most are craps.. especially analog ones

What's a false Bottem set up?

jahines1 wrote:

What's a false Bottem set up?

Usage of aquarium gravel(or it's equivalent) as bedding underneath the substrate.
By feeding a pipe in a vertical position at a corner of the tank, hitting the the gravel, a keeper may pour water directly to the bottom of the tank hence achieving a stable humidity within the tank over a longer period of time. There may be slight variation across different keepers but you get the idea.

Here's a great one by Richard:

[HOW TO] Build a False bottom using nylon rope wicks

I have purple sand. Could I put that underneath?

No sand will absorb water, what you want is pebbles or something similar to allow the water to flow into the substrate. I wouldn't depend to much on the meter. If you touch the substrate and it's moist your ok. Now if your bulb is drying out the substrate then I would work on a making a false bottom. Do not use rags or sponges bacteria and mold grow on those things

How quick will bacteria grow? Would I be ok if I switch out the rags every day

And does it need to be aquirium gravel our will any gravel work. Trying to be cheap. Don't get payed for a bit.

Rags can get bacteria and mold rather quickly, your better off misting. And if your cheap like I am you can use anything that resembles pebbles. I use plain rocks from my backyard just cleaned in a very light bleach and warn water solution

Ok sweet. Thanks very much

Any gravel between 1/4" to 1/2" will work. Aquarium gravel is used because it's the right size and readily available. Gravel purchased at a garden store or nursery or home improvement store will work just as well and will probably be cheaper, although you may have to buy a 50lb bag of the stuff when you only need 5lbs. There's also a clay product called hydro-balls that can be used instead of gravel. It's lighter than gravel but probably more expensive.

Heres how mine looks... and it works like a charm

If you look at the right front corner i put rocks all the way to the top of the soil and thatas where i pour my water down.. I didnt like the look of a tube there and wanted to make it more natural looking. Iv got about 6-7 inches of jungle mix i got from petsmart for my substrate and i also anded moss since it holds water pretty good.. It makes for a nice look and works perfectly. I also added the pebbles in her water dish instead of using the cotton the pet store recommendedm and around so she cant ding up under it. Hope this helps give you an idea of what you can do


Shot at 2012-06-17

Nice set up. I like the all natural idea, will definitely be using this set up when I start my collection again

Looks very nice.am gonna do a false bottom when I can afford the gravel. Like the idea of putting out all the way to the top in an area for the natural look.

I found free gravel but it ranges anywhere from pea gravel to an inch and a half. Will that work?

yeah iv got about an inch of gravel

jahines1 wrote:

I found free gravel but it ranges anywhere from pea gravel to an inch and a half. Will that work?

Yeah, it should work.

Thanks all

I made my faulse bottom. If somone could teach me how to do pictures on here ill post picks

I use imageshack and just upload it and copy the forum texy and then paste it into ur boc here on forums hit previrw to see if it works... Any image hosting site will work

Get it set up but can't get good enough pictures. Sorry