A Quick False Bottom

[DonLisk]

The following is a quick run through of how I replaced my hydroball drainage with an egg crate false bottom.

Background: The hydroball bottom that was in place continuously filled with water and needed weekly draining. The actual amount of water was only about 12 ounces once siphoned off, but the hydroballs made it look a lot deeper and come close to soaking into the substrate.
This hydroball layer was 1 1/2 inches deep.


Prep Work:

• Removed frogs
• Removed all plants and structures
• Removed substrate and hydroballs
• Cleaned all glass and surfaces (Razor blades were needed here)
• Cleaned all plants
• Cleaned all structures that would return to the enclosure

Materials & Tools used for false bottom:

• Egg crate
• 1 1/4 inch PVC couplings (X8)
• Pump with 4 inch hose attached
• Window screen material
• Medium size wire cutters or snips
• Razor blade
• Scissors

Steps for false bottom install:

1. Cut slits or notch out one end of the PVC couplings in multiple locations to allow for water to escape the coupling and not create an area of stagnant water. The side with the cut outs will be placed against the bottom of the tank.
   
2. Place all PVC couplings on bottom of tank and spread each out to give support locations in corners, sides, and center.
3. Measure inside the tank for width and depth.
   
4. Cut out egg crate to the above measurements and then test fit. Cut out using the wire cutters or a pair of snips. You can also use a dremil or similar to cut the egg crate.
   
5. Once you have it correctly fit to cover the whole bottom of the tank, place pump on bottom and route power cord along bottom and then out of the tank, The Exo-Terras and Zoo Med enclosures have a nice location for the power cord to come out through the top.
   
6. Cut out the egg crate above the pump to allow for future access. You will have to protect this area and I just cut a slightly larger piece of egg crate to put over the hole.
   
7. Wrap the whole piece of egg crate in window screen material and place into the tank ensuring the hole for the pump is above the pump.
   
8. Thats it.

I then placed a layer of sphagnum moss on top of the screen.
Added my cork bark structures and secured them, put in the original snake plant, and added some new bromeliads.

Next was adding in the top layer of substrate and covering with a mix of sea grape and live oak leaf liter.





Moved the frogs back in and called it a day.

This is provided for a basic run down on installing a simple false bottom with a pump that can be used to supply a water feature or for simple water removal.

Don

[John]

Awesome guide Don. We should put this in the article section.

[DonLisk]

Your choice John, but would be nicer if I took more pics. And spelled sphagnum right in the picture :-)

[John]

Haha, well it's up to you.

[DonLisk]

OK John, I actually corrected the spelling in the pic and added a pic of the PVC. How do you add it to the article section?

[John]

Let's wait until after the software upgrade - I dont want to have to change the forum layout twice in a row.

[dadmccabe]

Don, What size enclosure is this? And what size / type lighting would be adequate for this size to support a WTF and all live plants? a single 15w 6500k? Also can you post a link (or give name) for the pump you used? (or similar)

I need to buy a larger ExoTerra (either 18x18x24 or 12x12x18) b/c my WTF has nearly doubled in size now and the 12x12x12 is cramped (plus I think I saw a few mites, but only once.. yuck) So it's time, plus the ExoTerra are on crazy sale by me.

Last thing: I've been on the fence between switching to 'Josh's Frogs dartfrog substrate plan': hydro/ABG/moss/leaf litter vs. eggcrate which is what I have now, and seems to work just fine... I want to use all live plants and might even try to go "all natural" for my background (using cork / wood / bamboo / large stones) to build instead of foam and silicone. You have been a great help thus far thanks!

[DonLisk]

This is a 18x18x24 ZoomMed. I used a single 24 watt 6500K Reveal compact florescent and also had a 15 watt red lamp for night use.

I think the 13 watt won't be enough to reach the bottom unless your fixture had two sockets.

I like Joshes mix and recently used it my my newest dart viv. I used the eggcrate with my WTFs because for some reason that tank collected a ton of water in the drainage area and was easier to drain off with the eggcrate. My RETF tank had the same misting and enclosure and never collected water and have no idea why.

The pump was the basic pump that was supplied with the ZooMed waterfall kit and was only used for the draining of the excess water. If your looking at pumps for a waterfall or water feature then look at more quieter pumps and with adjustable water flow so you can set how fast that water is moving.

[dadmccabe]

I was only going to use pump for waste water removal. So can I run that type of pump "dry" or at least not fully submerged? Like a mini sump pump?

[DonLisk]

The intake would need to be set as the lowest part of the pump and then it would work. To do this on the pump i used you just rotate the pump to have the intake side down. The pump is sold separately i believe.

he pump also has suction cups to hold it in place and I think the suction cups would need to be attached to the side glass to have the intake facing down.

[dadmccabe]

Thanks! And you put another soil layer on top of moss for plant rooting and to keep frog from eating the moss?,

[DonLisk]

yes, with frogs such as whites, I put a layer of moss below the top substrate to help with moisture retention and humidity but hides the moss so I'm not saving a frog from a swallowed piece of moss.

Using a coco fiber or similar substrate without the moss is fine and plants still do well without the moss below but since the tank had so much air space I figure anything to help with keeping the humidity up is a plus.

[Faith]

Amazing guide, thank you so much for taking the time to compile this!