Measuring/ controlling humidity

[flynmnky]

Ok, so I'm working on an equipment list for my 75 g viv for arboreal darts. Will have a waterfall and pools.
What is the best hygrometer out there? A mist king may be in my future since x-mas is right around the corner and I love pet gadgets. Has anyone ever simulated rain fall or is that what a mister is??
Is there a hygromwter\controller? Are there big time controllers people use for frogs?? God I love techy gadgets!
Would love brand recommendations. Would like to buy a good one the first time and not muck around with **** that doesn't do what it should.
Getting excited! Gonna order my tank stuff soon!!! Woot woot!!

[deranged chipmunk]

Surprised no one responded to this yet. Definitely go for the best mistking setup you can afford. Or build your own system by ordering individual parts. You can get a hygrotherm controller that will monitor humidity and turn your mister on when humidity falls below a preset level. A mister is just that, it increases humidity by spraying a fine mist. I saw some really trick, true rainfall systems in paludariums built but guys in eurooe, bjt they aren't coughing up the secret to building them very easily. You could always design a drip system to simulate rainfall. In fact, they are quite commonly used in rain chambers for breeding. I'm sure there is a thread or two in here on it. A couple strobe lights and a thunderstorm soundtrack and you got the rainforest at home......lol

[flynmnky]

Oh and I meant terrestrial not arboreal. Checking on those products now. Thanks!

[flynmnky]

Is a mister silly with the water features I'm contemplating??

[deranged chipmunk]

not at all. the plants still need to be watered. and the misting helps with that. otherwise, you'll be misting by hand every day.

[coastal20]

Ecozone controller is a cool but expensive gadget. I have had one for a year now and it has made controlling the light, misting system, and heating so easy. Now the only time I mess with the cages is when I feed my frogs.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[flynmnky]

Wow. That thing is incredible. And pricey. Think I'm gonna have to wish list that.

[deranged chipmunk]

Wish list? I figure a reefer like you would have hit the add to cart button before you even finished reading the product description.....:lol

[flynmnky]

Yeah, part of the reason I'm getting out of reef tanks is shopping for stuff like that. Give me some time though, I'm very talented at justifying stuff... :-)

Actually I just think its more than I need. Ill run my light cycles on standard Christmas light timers. The hygrotherm controller does temp and humidity. There isn't much else to control?

Those units are awesome, and I daydream about stuff like that. I'm just thinking for now I can get the mister plus controller for about $230. Those are almost $400 without the mist setup. Which gives me more money for plants. :-)

Now, if I hook up those metal halides I've got instead of the t5s? Maybe I'd need it. Room to grow? hmmmm... See, great at justifying.

Good logic? I dunno. But I haven't done my shopping yet so I reserve the right to change my mind. ;-)
Whatever I pick I'm getting it for Christmas, from H. Virginian's parents...

[flynmnky]

Plus I'm waiting on your rain simulator DIY. ;-)

[deranged chipmunk]

Ooooo....gonna run the mh's? In a wall enclosure? Do yourself a favor first, put a thermometer in the empty tank, and fire those bad boys up and see what your air temp is in the tank. They may end up cooking your tank. Water is one thing, air space heats up a great deal more. Add the refraction from a glass lid and you may be building yourself a diy e-z bake over instead of a frog tank...lol
Don't worry, i'll be working on the rain system tonight. And i will include pricing

[flynmnky]

No, I'm not planning on runnin the halides. The sticker price on a chiller was a major factor in my scrapping the reef tank. It gets WAAAAY hot way fast. Definite oven even with fans.

[deranged chipmunk]

Gotcha

[flynmnky]

I'm struggling with a concept here though. Air circulation versus ventilation. I saw a guy who built a little fan unit air handler right into his great stuff background that ran on a couple of computer fans..

I don't think he had any other ventilation but I'm not positive. I'm thinking this could be worth copying.

Would it be enough ventilation if you only had some tiny vents, with opening the tank to add flies?!

[deranged chipmunk]

That is an excellent question, which, unfortunately, i don't have an answer to since i don't have darts. Maybe post something in the dart section? Hopefully, you'll get a proper response from don or john.

[tylototriton]

I think in general many dart keepers (maybe that should say breeders) use glass lids on their cages. They keep the humidity up and the flies inside, but they also limit airflow. I haven't seen any ill effects on the frogs from this stagnant air nor have I heard of any. However, at least in my cages, which get diffuse natural light, I frequently get a lot of condensation and even algae growing on the sides. I think little computer fans might help to keep the glass clear, but frankly that doesn't matter too much to me. However, it would probably be pretty depressing to make a beautiful display tank and then have the class turn into a slick of green algae.

~Alex

[flynmnky]

It would indeed be depressing to me, because it is built into the wall of my living room. It seems like with humidity that high you'd get a lot of condensation on the glass?

[flynmnky]

Guess you said that. Still working on my reading comprehension.... Lol

[deranged chipmunk]

Guess you said that. Still working on my reading comprehension.... Lol

duh!!LOL.....i have a ton of condensation on my glass and that is with 2 screened areas for air exchange. i do remember reading that darts don't require the air exchange as much, but didn't want to mention it because i don't have any experience with them, yet

[coastal20]

Not to get off topic but Flynmnky you mentioned using metal halides on your dart frog tank. Now I am very interested in this because I have a Ceramic metal halide 80 watt that I have been thinking about using but was not sure if it would hurt the frogs. This would be for my mossy tree frogs. I know the big problem would be heat, but I would like to purchase a water chiller for this tank anyways as I like to keep it at 73F or under all year. Any thoughts? Are they safe?thanks