Misting system TIMES?

[purpleturtle89]

Hello,

just a quick question on misting system times for darts. Ive made my own misting system to do all my tanks and the timer im am using will let me select every so many hours for x amount seconds... I was just wonder what you guys would suggest i was thinking every 3 hrs for 20 seconds... I'll get pics up tomorrow think everyone will like it i think it look swweeeeeet

[DartEd]

If you mist that often, you're going to be draining a lot. Do you have a bulkhead drilled in? If not I would consider it. During the late winter early spring, I mist once daily for about ten secs. This mimics a rainy season in the viv and stimulates breeding behavior. During the dry season( every other time) I mist once per week for 20 secs max. You don't want your subststrate too wet or it will decompose prematurely causing root rot in your plants and all kinds of funky fungi ( I'm trademarking this phrase) in the viv.

A light misting daily is acceptable to mimic rainy season. Set for 6-10 secs twice daily should be plenty. Once per week give everything a good 30-45 second soaking. Best of luck.

[purpleturtle89]

i dont know why but my tanks wont hold humidity in my attic so if i dont mist twice daily everything dries out and dies :/ im sure it has something to do with the infrared bulb i use to heat my tanks ? ok thanks ed i'll do that give that a go, I'm installing a manual switch so that would sort the once a week soaking .

I have false bottoms installed, im getting some bulkheads this week just waiting to delivery then I'm going to raise it so it acts as an overflow if that makes sense. I find if i put a little heat mat under keeps the humidity up when theres a little water in, plus if i put a pool in it always has water

[DartEd]

That infrared bulb is definitely the culprit for the loss of humidity. Is the tank lid sealed with glass? If not, seal it up and have a one to two inch screen top made for ventilation. HOw cold is the attic that you need the infared light.

[purpleturtle89]

thought as much, would any other bulb be better, its on dimming stat so makes life easy. yea i changed the mech to perspex bar the part where the corner where the bulb sits over. not too cold i would say 72 but nice days or when the heatings been on all day 76-78 its only a really low wattage just helps top it up. mainly for winter because then it does get cold

[deranged chipmunk]

since you are running a false bottom, have you considered using an aquarium heater for heat? heating the water will also heat the air inside the tank, as well as create humidity. then you wouldn't need to rely on something like an infrared bulb that is drying out the tank.

[DartEd]

thought as much, would any other bulb be better, its on dimming stat so makes life easy. yea i changed the mech to perspex bar the part where the corner where the bulb sits over. not too cold i would say 72 but nice days or when the heatings been on all day 76-78 its only a really low wattage just helps top it up. mainly for winter because then it does get cold

72 degrees is fine for darts. They do really well with temps down as low as 62 F for night time temps and 67-68 during the day.

[purpleturtle89]

since you are running a false bottom, have you considered using an aquarium heater for heat? heating the water will also heat the air inside the tank, as well as create humidity. then you wouldn't need to rely on something like an infrared bulb that is drying out the tank.

on my bigger tank i could do this, just on my smaller tanks i would struggle as the water is not that deep

[deranged chipmunk]

they do have small, flat ones for things like betta bowls.

[beyond colour]

My misting timer is set for every 8 hours at 15 sec. When im trying to induce breeding after a dry spell i start at every 4 hours for 15 sec.

[purpleturtle89]

they do have small, flat ones for things like betta bowls.

thanks i managed to find some on ebay! going to get one ordered brilliant!

[purpleturtle89]

72 degrees is fine for darts. They do really well with temps down as low as 62 F for night time temps and 67-68 during the day.

Cool i'll keep that in mind i always panic that its not perfect but everyone is doing so thanks gives me a bit of a confidence boost!

[purpleturtle89]

quick update.... infrared light gone, and the humidity is staying in the tank now. My meter has broke and only reads to 75% they just seem to break if they get too wet. new one is ordered going to keep it outside of the tank and just drop it in when i do my checks