[Guest]

One thing that has bothered me about the false-bottom system was that it was pretty ugly, with the eggcrate visible and all the junk underneath. This time I decided to use a different system. First I took 3/4 pvc and made a drainage system. Imagine a ladder with many rungs of pvc tubing, its cheap and easy to use, no need to use glue as a friction fit is plenty sufficient. I drilled several holes in the bottom of the pvc. At one corner of the ladder there is a vertical pipe up to the top of the vivarium, through this you can siphon off the water for changes, or better yet a Wet-vac, no need to drill holes in the glass bottom. Wrap that "ladder" with weed-block garden fabric, and cover with hydro-ton pebbles and a blend of coconut fiber and Scotts aquatic plant soil.(its a fired clay product that won't break down and facilitates drainage. Coconut fiber background, with cork, and lots of plants later, I am ready to get the frogs tomorrow at the Tampa show

 

[TonyT]

Sounds like a plan on the set up for the new tank. What are you planning on getting from the show this weekend? Enjoy the show.

TonyT

 

[Guest]

Do you have any pictures?

 

[Guest]

the way around that

the way to get around the "ugly" false bottom setup is to simply spread brown or black 100% pure silicone on the inside with a putty knife and trim off what you dont need with a razor. it blocks view of the underside of the false bottom and from the outside it looks like soil if you use the bronze color. It is inert and wont poison the water or anything.

 

[Arklier]

Around here it's very hard to find silicone that's not clear. I've been to three pet stores and five hardware stores and haven't found any at all.

 

[jbeetle]

Home Depot has many colors to choose from; almond, brown, black, silver, white, and clear. I don't think you'll want all of these colors, but they are available.

 

[Arklier]

I've actually checked Home Depot, and the only 100% silicone they had was clear. Everything else had fungicides or mold inhibitor in it, as it gets very wet around here.

 

[AlexB]

same here. All the Home Depots, ace, and lowes all had mold inhibitor in them other then white.

 

[Guest]

i belive that you can have stuff shipped to you from the home depot and lowes web sites. they should have everything