murky water

[gearmouse]

i just set up my vivarium, and after putting water in, i noticed that it's murky and some substrate has made it's way into the water feature. i created a barrier with some rocks, and used some aquarium gravel to fill in the gaps. now my mini repti-fogger isn't working right, and the water is a clear red. i've emptied it and refilled it, and it looks cleaner than it did. any suggestions on what i could do?

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF . Can you please describe how you built the false bottom to raise the soil above water level or created a dam to keep soil and water separate? If the water is reaching the soil it will create a bog and breed bacteria. In that case will probably need to redesign set-up to correct problem. A photo of set-up would help too.

The fogger might be broken by contact with soil particles in water. Those units work better when in distilled water due to them being affected by mineral salts.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Agreed a detailed picture will help a lot,

I have never used the mini fogger but have used similar units
in ornamental desk water fountains.
They have a ultra sonic transducer in the middle of the unit that
can be damaged by excessive solid particles suspended in the water.

I don't recommend these units for terrarium use.
I have always used external foggers that you can supply
distilled water (that is best) but inexpensive bottled water that does not have added minerals
is ok.

As for the water turning red, I think that might be from a dye in something -
in your tank.

What kind of frog do you have in the terrarium?
is the gravel large enough so the frog can not fit it in their mouth?

[gearmouse]

I don't have a frog in there yet, i'm just getting it set up to put a dendrobates auratus in. i have a sub floor of hydroton with a nylon mesh covering it, and then plantation soil. i used small flagstone to create a damn between the water and the substrate. if i were to siphon out the water, do you think the water i put back in will be clearer, or will the little gaps at certain spots between the flag stone allow for the plantation soil to leech into the water?

[Mentat]

When you build a false bottom, the water level can't reach above that false bottom height. If your soil is getting wet by water, then either the false bottom is not high enough or the screen layer is letting soil fall through.

If problem is that the water level is above the false bottom; need either raise false bottom height or lower the water level.

If false bottom is below the soil level, then the screen has allowed shredded coco to fall through it. To correct that, you can remove all the coco and add a layer of polyester pad material (from aquarium shops or sewing store) above the screen, then replace the substrate .

Hope this helps, a picture of your set-up would provide more information to understand issue at hand. Good luck !