Drip wall versus Misting System

[Synthtcd]

Hey there, I'm currently planning my very first planted viv. My case is the large exo-terra terrarium, I'm trying to decide what water system to go with. I will have a shallow pond area in the viv where I can rig up a pump to disperse multiple drip lines. Unfortunately I have no experience with water systems and can't decide which is most viable, drip wall or a misting system. I would love to have four or so misting nozzles at the top, however my budget only allows for DIY projects. It seems simple to rig up a drip wall and rather complicated to make a misting system. I have read about some DIY misters that incorporate a hand pump and sprinkler timer, though I can't quite grasp this concept. If the system is to be automatic, where does the pressurized water come from? I don't want to pump up one of those weed sprayers every time I need mist. Can anyone offer me some advice on this issue?

[kyle1745]

For your first tank I would keep it simple and hand mist. Wait until you get the basics down before moving to a drip wall or misting system.

[mattmcf]

search for "humidifier". If you are looking for a good way that looks cool also to keep up the humidity you can hook up a DIY fogging systems for cheap by buying a simple humidifier from Wal-Mart. I think with enough research you can figure it out, whats the fun of building a viv if it just going to be ordinary?

[Synthtcd]

Well, that wasn't exactly the information that I was hoping to get. What I need to know is how, specifically, a DIY misting system can be made. If you cannot explain the process to me, can you refer me to a good link? I have found two pages so far. Also, what are the pros and cons of a misting system over a drip wall? I've heard that the drip wall will sometimes rot away the background after a year or so, however I plan on using inert polystyrene foam for most of my backing so this may not be an issue. I've also read that the misting system will wash debris from the plants down to the substrate where it can be more efficiently utilized by the plants as fertilizer. Besides these two points, and of course the aesthetic, I haven't found much information on the benefits of either feature in a vivarium.

[Smogre]

Did you check out THIS thread?

[Curt61]

Someone in the Construction posts posted a DIY misting system, shows everything you need and stuff, shoudln't be that hard to make one following those directions.


Curt.

[kyle1745]

Is your goal cleaning or humidity?

A misting system or a drip wall will not help clean much off. Some recent information I was given by a fellow member (thanks Corey), is that a hand mister will work much better to clean than a misting system.

I personally don't consider a dripwall very useful but that is just me.

Now if you are looking for humidity, then all of the above work, and misting or as mentioned a humidifier are both basics.

As for building DIY misting system for a single tank I would say it would be a larger waste of money as the premade smaller kits are just a bit cheaper. I only see DIY ones beneficial to multiple tank setups from a price standpoint.

You can pick up small systems from various places, and here are some links:
http://www.mistking.com/
http://www.cloudtops.com/
Some ideas on other methods:
http://hem.passagen.se/frogkeeping/index.html
http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... iy+misting


I hope that helps a bit...

[RGB]

If you want to go DIY, the key is finding a pump cheap. I got my pump for $25 on eBay and my whole system only cost around $70 including timer and reservior. You could probably do it even cheaper (maybe $50) if you use drip irrigation parts instead of the push fittings i used.