Those with drains/ misting/ Protean tanks

[sports_doc]

Those who have done this...

is it best to put drain bulkheads in the front of tanks [but will see them? ]

or toward back? [hard to access, and how to you move a viv once piped in?]

I am setting up new racks of Protean vivs 22 x 17 x 30" with 2 misting heads per Viv.

I'd luv advice on misting systems too if any have some suggestions for me.

Thnks all.

Shawn

[Pumilo]

I put my drains about 1 inch up, on the back wall. I use clear flexible hose which runs down to a plastic rain gutter just like on the edge of your roof. The rain gutter is mounted at a slight angle so that the water runs down to the end and falls into a bucket. The ends of the plastic hoses do not touch the gutter for fear of cross contamination. It is easy to roll up the hoses and tape them to the top of the vivs when I have to move them.

[Boondoggle]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

I put my drains about 1 inch up, on the back wall. I use clear flexible hose which runs down to a plastic rain gutter just like on the edge of your roof. The rain gutter is mounted at a slight angle so that the water runs down to the end and falls into a bucket. The ends of the plastic hoses do not touch the gutter for fear of cross contamination. It is easy to roll up the hoses and tape them to the top of the vivs when I have to move them.

That is the exact setup I have.

If you didn't have Euro fronts, and you didn't care about aesthetics, then having them on the front would probably be better. I recently had a bulkhead leak and I didn't see it until I slid the rack out to chase out the spiders. Use opaque hoses when possible as it will help with the algae growth.

As far as misters go, you cant beat Mist King. Talk to Marty, I would expect him to cut you a deal since you will clearly be buying in bulk. Buy the standard nozzles. With a setup as big as yours, you will probably want to get a RO system and hook it up to a large tank with an auto shutoff. I refill my mister tank by hand, but even with just 10 spray heads I go through about 6 gallons a week.

[Ed]

If you use threaded bulkhead fittings, then you can unscrew the tank from the drainage system. Many of the pvc fittings are tight enough that you can simply slide the connections together and have them not leak. this allows for a quick disconnect from the drainage system (hard plumb most of the rest of the system as that prevents leaks when the drainage system has pressures on it (like when removing a tank from the rack). Otherwise you would have to cut the tank free.

One of the things that can make it easy (but not as "clean" looking) is to attach the clear hose to a threaded barbed adaptor (but I've found this to not be optimal as the hose kinks if it isn't mounted in the bottom of the tank), instead if you use an adaptor like this one

Amazon

Amazon

and have a very short piece of hard tubing come out to a 90, you can run that down a couple of inches to a drain line. If you just insert the line from the tank into a T on a sloped line, it doesn't need to be hard plumbed as the gravity drain keeps the water from backing up and leaking. This allows the tank to be removed by simply pulling the one line up out of the T fitting and then the tank can be lifted up and out of the rack.

Ed

[Pumilo]

Originally Posted by Ed

If you use threaded bulkhead fittings, then you can unscrew the tank from the drainage system. Many of the pvc fittings are tight enough that you can simply slide the connections together and have them not leak. this allows for a quick disconnect from the drainage system (hard plumb most of the rest of the system as that prevents leaks when the drainage system has pressures on it (like when removing a tank from the rack). Otherwise you would have to cut the tank free.

One of the things that can make it easy (but not as "clean" looking) is to attach the clear hose to a threaded barbed adaptor (but I've found this to not be optimal as the hose kinks if it isn't mounted in the bottom of the tank), instead if you use an adaptor like this one Amazon.com: Genova 30490 2-1/2" PVC Male Adapter: Home Improvement and have a very short piece of hard tubing come out to a 90, you can run that down a couple of inches to a drain line. If you just insert the line from the tank into a T on a sloped line, it doesn't need to be hard plumbed as the gravity drain keeps the water from backing up and leaking. This allows the tank to be removed by simply pulling the one line up out of the T fitting and then the tank can be lifted up and out of the rack.

Ed

You could also use a True Union fitting for hard plumbing to provide a leak proof quick disconnect. Redirect Notice (link does work)

[BR5]

Pretty much the same as everybody else, bulkheads in back with screw in PVC connections and plastic hose going in to a master drain system. I allowed 18" between the back of the rack and the wall for access. I've also had bulkheads leak so now I silicone around them inside & out.
Brian

[johnachilli]

What size bulkheads are people using?

[gary1218]

Here's mine Shawn.


You really don't need much space behind the tanks. I think they only time I go back there is to empty out the bucket.

[Boondoggle]

Originally Posted by johnachilli

What size bulkheads are people using?

I go 1" with Italian Bottling Spigots.

Vintage Shop 5/16" And 3/8" Bottling Spigot-Homebrew4less.com LLC

From the barbed end I go 3/8 hose to drain gutter. The ones I bought only came with one gasket so made a second one to provide a gasket on each side. I've on had one leak (very small amount) and it was easily tightened from the outside (spun valve 360 degrees). I like the option of having a valve and it takes care of the 90 degree turn.

[ZookeeperDoug]

I'm curious why people are having their bulkheads come out of the sides of the tank vs directly out of the bottom of the tank?

For me I put 1/2 bulkheads about 1" off the back edge of my 20 and 29 verts. The bulkheads come directly out of the bottom of the viv, not the back or side. The flange side is inside the tank to minimize the standing water under the false bottom. All the drains run to a central reservoir under the rack that is easy to access. I feel like coming out of the bottoms of the tanks leaves less standing water. This allowed my false bottoms to be very shallow, thus allowing for more soil mixture/hydroton/leaf litter. I'll try to take some pics of my setup.