False-bottom insecurities

[Surrealasm]

Had a question for ya'll...
I'm trying to get my false bottom set up in my terrarium and I ran into just a couple issues.

First of all, since egg-crate comes in squares, it's practically impossible to have it make a snug fit in the viv. What I'm thinking about doing right now is taking my mesh and using adhesive to keep it secured to the sides of the cage, thus preventing anything from sneaking/slipping under the side of the egg crate.

Second, how should I attach the legs of the egg-crate? I'm sure they shouldn't just be hovering in there, so I'm considering using GEII Silicon.. Good idea? will it be adhesive enough?

Please advise.

[Savannah]

Hi surrealism. I used the egg crates for my false bottom. I cut it to the size of my tank, just a little maybe one square shorter so i could get it in. ziptied them together. made four sides and one on top. how i got it in best was going through the top of my viv, (I dont know how urs is shaped so it may work diffrently) To help keep things going through the holes i covered it in window screening. Personally i put expandable foam on mine for terrain and it created a tight enough seal, I kinda had to shove it in..lol made a very annoying squeky sound but its been good for keeping the sides a little tighter. I personally didn't use legs just made it as tall as i needed instead of legs proping it up. this is how i did it, hope it helps. IF my explainations confusing..im horable at explaianing things..let me know.. hope it helps.

[DonLisk]

Here is a link to how to do this with egg crate
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...se-bottom.html

[Mentat]

... so I'm considering using GEII Silicon.. Good idea? will it be adhesive enough?

Please advise.

You can zip-tie the egg crate to legs by drilling small holes on legs. Also, if using silicone glue have to make sure it's pure silicon and not the kitchen, bath, door type that has mildew preventers and is toxic. Think GE reformulated many silicones recently and some that were safe before are not anymore. This is what I use on my tanks (fish or frogs) and it's not only safe; but provides a high strength bond. Silicones : EMI5005, RTV Silicone Sealant, USDA/FDA/NSF Approved, Black, 10.3oz [EMI5005103-BLK] - $5.95 EMI Supply, Inc Good luck!

[DiggenEm]

You can also make it into a box to whatever height you want it and then gs it into place.

[NetworkLabs]

What's the whole purpose of a false bottom? Isn't the idea to minic your frogs natural environment?

[Surrealasm]

I'm utilizing mine so that my plants have a way to fully develop their root system with a minimum of substrate. I'm also imagining that I can use the negative space below the egg-crate in a similar way to hydroponics, allowing me to deliver fertilizers to the plants without harming the frogs.

Additionally, I imagine it will help to stabilize the moisture levels in my Vivarium, and keep my substrate from becoming entirely soggy.

You can zip-tie the egg crate to legs by drilling small holes on legs. Also, if using silicone glue have to make sure it's pure silicon and not the kitchen, bath, door type that has mildew preventers and is toxic. Think GE reformulated many silicones recently and some that were safe before are not anymore. This is what I use on my tanks (fish or frogs) and it's not only safe; but provides a high strength bond. Silicones : EMI5005, RTV Silicone Sealant, USDA/FDA/NSF Approved, Black, 10.3oz [EMI5005103-BLK] - $5.95 EMI Supply, Inc Good luck!

So you're telling me I should return all the silicone I just bought from Home Depot? T_T
Thanks though, because that would have been a very very bad mistake to make.
Also appreciate the link for the materials.

[J Teezy]

I almost bought some of this today GE Silicone II Kitchen & Bath Adheres and Seals Fast, Providing Mold Protection

Guess its a good thing i didn't. Now to just find some 100% pure silicon

[J Teezy]

Also one thing to consider is do you want the eggcrate to be seen from the outside. Do you want to be able to see the water level under the false bottom? I'm putting sides on my false bottom with the eggcrate as well which will all be covered in fiberglass screen. So what i'm doing is leaving a bit of a gap between the eggcrate and the sides of the tank (except the back where the eggcrate will go all the way to the glass. The back of my viv will be where i can see underneath the false floor if i need to). In between the FB and glass (on 3 sides, front, and both sides) I'm going to put small gravel (i saw some stuff at Home Depot was like $5 a bag i think) up to the top of the FB, then cover it all with my ABG soil and leaf litter. Also figuring out a way to have an access whole towards the front of the viv through the FB where i can insert a tube to siphon, but I'm always thinking about drilling the tank in the back below the FB to insert a bulkhead drain with a ball valve so i can drain when necessary.

[Heatheranne]

Hi friends! Here are a few pictures of my set up.

The false bottom is used to allow drainage of water. It prevents stagnant water and therefore bacterial and fungal growth. It also allows run-off so your plants are not in constant water. The water can be drained or siphoned out. It provides a natural filtration system for the water. When I siphoned mine, believe it or not, the water was clear and had no odor , which means it works well. I learned from other posts here.

PVC elbows on the bottom. Eggcrate cut to fit with tin snips and then zipties. Plastic coated screening sewed to eggcrate with clear fishing line. There are two access holes to back, one on each side. I cut two eggcrate pieces to cover them, also covered in screening. Everything rinsed in dechlorinated water. Ph tested good. Added properly declare rinsed aquarium gravel, 100% peat moss with no fertilizers or chemicals, and finally the top layer Eco earth substrate, which is not shown here, and wa laaa!

There you have it! Hope this helps .