Going to dismantle... learn from me!!

[deeishealthy]

So, after all my research, all my reading, all my investigating... I screwed up.

My tank is fabulous, but the drainage is becoming an issue. See, what I missed was that when you put a drainage tube in you should put a slit in a sponge and insert the end of the tube into it, then lay it in the bottom of the tank and cover it with your rocks (or your false bottom) so that the sponge filters. My tank is (from the bottom): river rocks, four layers of screen, potting soil, coco fibre, live plants and frogs. I thought I had it all wonderful until I read about the sponge. Sure enough, my water is starting to trickle from my drainage tube. Drat.

A dismantle is in the future. I have a friend who is a glazier and he has offered to drill my tank for me. I'm going to put a drainage hole on the side right down by the bottom and silicone a tube into it that will drain right into a bucket. I'm doing this in May, so I have time to figure everything out.

Does anyone have any advice for me in regards to filtering or silicone or drilling or anything? Is there anything I should know before I embark on this new adventure? Where do you recommend the hole be? Should it be right at the bottom of the side or should I leave a little space?

I debated long and hard about whether to do the rocks or a false bottom last time, and went with the rocks for aesthetic purposes. Now is my time to change this if I wished to, but actually, I really like the look of the rocks. However, if you have any input as to why I should change from rocks, now is the time!





Any and all input is welcome. Thanks in advance!

[deranged chipmunk]

dee, before you dismantle. try this. blow INTO the tube. it will clear your blockage, the siphon again. you may have to do it periodically, but it beats a tear down. unless of course you want to do a tear down. either that or just clear out enough in the corner to fit the sponge, and recover it.

[verb408]

Make sure it isn't tempered glass or you'll be buying yourself another tank. In reference to drilling.

[deranged chipmunk]

Make sure it isn't tempered glass or you'll be buying yourself another tank. In reference to drilling.

most tank manufacturers will only use tempered glass on the bottom pane. and then it's normally only on larger tanks.

[deeishealthy]

I've been doing that, Bill. But it's getting thick again and the tube is pink half way up, and I'm not keen on siphoning that... ew. I think the drain would just be one more step closer to my perfect scenario.

And yes, I checked. It's only the bottom that is tempered. Which actually makes me feel better about the rocks.

[deranged chipmunk]

gotcha. i figured you tried that, but i had to toss it out there. you'll want the drain as low as possible.remember that the lowest part of the inside of the tube will be your lowest drainage point, not the lowest point of the hole. so any water below that point will be forever in the tank. of course it will mix with new drainage water, so that will keep it from becoming stagnant. Lynn should be able to fill you in on how it's done better than i can. she has drilled her tanks herself. not only brains, but she's handy too

[deeishealthy]

Let's hope Lynn sees this then.

[chacmhaal]

Maybe you could buy a drill bit and make a hole at the base but is it a bit risqy

[UncleChester]

An alternate to drilling is to push the substrate and drainage layer away from a corner and build a dam so you always have clear access to the drainage.

Pictured below is one made out of river rocks held together with a dab of silicone between each rock. The 'dam' needs to be porous enough to let water through but tight enough to keep critters from crawling into it.

I have added a dam like this to a tank with a layout like yours after it was inhabited. I built the dam outside the tank and actually installed it without removing or even disturbing the frog- it only took a couple minutes to push the substrate out of the corner and remove the excess hydroton I had as the drainage layer, then put the dam in place. No silicone is required to hold a dam like this in place (apart from what's holding the rocks together), it's made to fit in the corner and it's stuck between the substrate and the glass so all the curing can happen outside the tank.

This also gives the frogs access to the drainage area as a pond.

A built in drain would be pretty convenient though. You could always buy another tank and build it from scratch with a drain added. Then move your frogs over. Then rebuild their old tank. Then get more frogs.

[deeishealthy]

You could always buy another tank and build it from scratch with a drain added. Then move your frogs over. Then rebuild their old tank. Then get more frogs.

Brian is my new best friend. I like the way he thinks.

[J Teezy]

if your friend is a glazier and is drilling the tank for you then he should be well knowledged in drilling glass though anyone can do it, i've drilled plenty of holes in tanks. If you are putting it in a side panel of glass remember this, drilling can always cause tiny fractures in the glass, so small you can't see them so it is important not to drill too close to an edge of the glass as this will increase your chance of cracking. I personally put my drains in the bottom of the tank but if your bottom is tempered that's out of the question for you, but if you ever do another and put a drain in the bottom, remember that your stand will need to be able to accomodate a bulkhead in the bottom of the tank so depending on what you are using for the stand you would have to drill a hole in the top of the stand as well or like I have done as well, cut a couple bars out of a bakers rack. Built in drains are a great conveince that i would never go without.

[Mentat]

Agree with Josh on danger of drilling close to edge. Also, because you can't drill bottom (tempered), would follow Brian's advise and build a simple dam, rather than drilling tank's side away from edge. Next tank; make sure bottom is not tempered and drill with gusto !

[kcvest03]

I had the same issue! I had a waterfall fat pumped the water from the bottom up and over some rocks....but now the waters nasty how do I clean it with out dismantling my tank I ended up getting rid of the water fall completely and just going with hydro balls and a layer of moss on top with potted plants....it looks great easy to clean bought an all in one waterfall....but I want a river n stuff uggg...I see all these epic vivariums! I want my cage to look glorious!

[deeishealthy]

My glass guy bailed on me. Now contemplating just doing the sponge thing and not having to dig up the whole shebang. The rocks are pretty grungy though... would that be a good bacteria thing? I'm thinking maybe I don't really want to rip the the whole thing apart if I don't have to now.

[chacmhaal]

Agree with Josh on danger of drilling close to edge. Also, because you can't drill bottom (tempered), would follow Brian's advise and build a simple dam, rather than drilling tank's side away from edge. Next tank; make sure bottom is not tempered and drill with gusto !

I already broke the bottom glass of an Exo Terra tank and i assure you that it was not tempered glass but it was in 2009 maybe it is different know