[jermajestyg]

Hey everyone at Dendroboard,
Im new to this forum but have been working on a 40 gal viv and needed a few answers to questions i have been having.

Misting/draingage.
So i am going to have basically a small aquarium in the front that will be completely seperated from the substrate area. THe misters on top will concentrate on the land area. WHen they go on, and the water soaks through the substrate, what do i so?
Many people say to use a siphoning tube. I am familiar with the process in aquariums because i have used it before but viv people say to secure a tube to the side of the tank that goes all the way to the bottom of the tank. Would this tube be long enough to use as a siphon itself or is it their to push another tube in to use as a siphon.
Or am i completely off and there is another way of taking the water out from the bottom of the substrate that is easier or better? I would prefer not to drill a hole for drainage.

Bleaching
I found some pieces of bark and wood that i am going to use so i put them in a bleach solution (about 1/10) and left them in their for a few days. I was planning to bake them after for about an hour but when i pulled them out of the bleach solution, the pieces were covered in white slimy stuff. i tried to scrape some off but it seemed like it covered the whole to layer of wood.
Should i still just bake them or is their something specific that i can do that will get rid of the slime? Can i ever use them again in a tank? How long should i leave wood in the solution for the next time i do this?

Thanks for all of ur help.
A construction journal will be going up soon.....i hope haha
-Jeremy

 

[Ed]

In this case, the siphon tube is to more easily access the area below the drainage layer to keep the substrate from getting too soggy. An alternative is to simply drill the tank and add a bulkhead connected to a sump. If you use the tube, you need to prevent the frogs from being able to use it (via a cap or plug), and should also notch the bottom to allow for better drainage for the siphon.

As for the bleaching issue, that is because the bleach reacted with the wood to begin degrading it. As for baking it, in reality that really doesn't do anything but make you feel like your doing something.

Ed

 

[jermajestyg]

So the siphon tube itself has to be long enough to use as a siphon, not just a tube to put a sihon tube in.
So the wood that i bleached is pretty much useless now? How long should i bleach the wood for next time?

 

[Ed]

So the siphon tube itself has to be long enough to use as a siphon, not just a tube to put a sihon tube in.
So the wood that i bleached is pretty much useless now? How long should i bleach the wood for next time?

Scrub the wood with a stiff brush in fresh water and then let completely air dry in the sun. When you can't smell bleach on it anymore wet it and see if you can smell bleach, if you can let it dry more... The air drying is as effective a method as any of the other ones that people tell you to do.... And it doesn't result in chlorinated organics, water pollution or potentially scalding yourself.... yada yada yada...

The actual tube you are using to siphon water from the tank has to be long enough to reach down into the bottom of the tube you are using to access the bottom of the drainage layer. You need to remove water frequently enough to prevent it from getting high enough to saturate the substrate as the substrate will then go anaerobic and cause issues.

Ed