Silly question about false bottoms

[Aimee]

I've done some forum searches and read and reread the caresheets so please forgive me if this subject has already been covered....

The caresheets for the red-eyed leaf frog and white's tree frog go into some detail in how to construct a false bottom: six 1/2" lengths of 3/4" PVC for support + egg crate + mesh + hydroballs + substrate + 3/4" PVC running through vertically in a back corner of the tank (Is this right so far?)

According to the caresheets, the long length of PVC that runs from the bottom to 1" shy of the top of the enclosure is for the purpose of siphoning out the water at the bottom...but the caresheets don't specify how, exactly, one is supposed to go about sucking the water out...

Also, how often is the water supposed to be siphoned out? Once a week (assuming it will accumulate at the bottom of the enclosure fast enough within a week)?

Please forgive my ignorance. I'm a froggie newbie and would like to get all these details sorted out before I bring a little guy home with me...

Any/all suggestions would be a great help! Thanks

[Greatwtehunter]

I put a primer bulb on some plastic tubing to get the water out of mine. The gravel vacuums used in aquarium maintenance can also be used.

[John]

Get a piece of a tubing, put one end under a tap and the other looped around back into the sink. Fill the tube with water and put a finger over one end of the tube, then raise the two ends so that they are the same height, with the rest of the tube hanging underneath (like a U) and you can now cover the other end with a finger from the other hand and walk around with the siphon tube. Now go to your false bottom tube, with one finger over one end of the tube, insert the other into the false bottom tube and you now have a siphon ready to go, as soon as you lower the far end of the siphon tube below the height of the terrarium, then remove that last finger from the that end. Might sound complicated when you read it but it's not.

As for how often - if there's enough free water in the bottom to siphon, then siphon it.

[Aimee]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Also, thank you for the step-by-step instructions, John. That was very helpful

Cheers.

[Kurt]

You can also run water through the substrate to clean it from time to time, then drain it off with a siphon.

[Aimee]

Oh yes, that sounds like a very advisable thing to do. Thank you for the suggestion

[Kurt]

You're welcome. I have false bottoms on 4 of my enclosures, the Phrynomantis bifasciatus, P. microps, clown treefrogs, and blue dart frog.