# Making a water area in an exoterra



## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

Right 
I want to set up the exoterra i'm getting with a small shallow water pool with a water fall and then eco earth substrate but how can I make a pool without getting the substrate wet, i've seen false bottoms and i was going to do that but I want a pool of water where the animal can soak and then it go through to the false bottom and then back up the waterfall so i was just wondering if you had any suggestions... I've tried sillicone and plexiglass but it got messy and kept leaking and it was just a straight divide and i just want like a small pool in the corner
so any suggestions welcome or if it can't be done then i'll just put in a litter try it's just not as attractive
thanks in advance


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Ok, too complicated to explain in one post, but what most people on here seem to use is a base of water, separated by 'egg crate'- basicically rigid plastic mesh, cut to size and shape. This can be covered with weed membrane (or similar) and any 'soil' put on top, so most of the particles don't wash through- although you would direct the waterfall away from the soil anyway. Best to check out some of the set-ups in the pictures section at the top of this part of the forum- they show and explain it better. But it's not easy to make it work, in practical terms.


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## liamb111 (Apr 2, 2010)

is it for darts? is this your first viv build? if this is your first build then it might not be worth the effort as darts don't actually need a body of water.

but if you still want a pool... create a false bottom and where you want the pool, cut the hole, line the sides with more egg crate, and then line the sides with a fine mesh and put gravel in the bottom. this is not the only way by any means, but how i would guess this is the easiest way. buy a small compact filter and put it under the false bottom and line the outlet pipe up and out to where ever you want the water to run...

for the non pool area, cover the false bottom with weed membrane (or similar) and put substrate on top of that to prevent it from sifting into the water.

hope this helps


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

No
it's actually for a lizard but i thought this would be the best place to post since most lizards don't need such features

I think i'm going to just use a false bottom and have a tub with a small hole in the bottom then put mesh on the bottom and then gravel on top to slow down the water drainage and then have a filter to run the water back up from the false bottom and back into the bowl, do you think this would work?


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

Chris18 said:


> Right
> I want to set up the exoterra i'm getting with a small shallow water pool with a water fall and then eco earth substrate but how can I make a pool without getting the substrate wet, i've seen false bottoms and i was going to do that but I want a pool of water where the animal can soak and then it go through to the false bottom and then back up the waterfall so i was just wondering if you had any suggestions... I've tried sillicone and plexiglass but it got messy and kept leaking and it was just a straight divide and i just want like a small pool in the corner
> so any suggestions welcome or if it can't be done then i'll just put in a litter try it's just not as attractive
> thanks in advance


iv just put a thread up that sounds like it would be ideal for you, if you put a gravel pool at the bottom of the bowl fall, which has a net bottom it will run through that and not your soil- ill do a quick pic now to show you what i mean- see my other thread


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## liamb111 (Apr 2, 2010)

yeh, i think what your saying could work  might be asthetically more pleasing if the tub was sunken into the substrate - so sitting on the flase bottom with substrate up to the rim of the tub - or where you already planning on doing this? but yeh you could try it out.


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

liamb111 said:


> yeh, i think what your saying could work  might be asthetically more pleasing if the tub was sunken into the substrate - so sitting on the flase bottom with substrate up to the rim of the tub - or where you already planning on doing this? but yeh you could try it out.


thats what i have in my tank yeah you put the sub up to the level of the coverd foam sides and it just looks like a natural pool :2thumb:
my thread is massive and explains all i think haha


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## liamb111 (Apr 2, 2010)

whale_omelette said:


> my thread is massive and explains all i think haha


lol i just been reading it, looks good so far :2thumb:


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

Yeh i was going to sink it into the substrate
I think it's just going to be a lot of trial and error with the balance of water dripping down and then refilling by the filter
I'm going to pile up pebbles to make it look like a rock pool instead of the foam because it looks to messy and complicated for myself, i'll just make sure the pebbles are secured by silicone so they don't crush the lizards 
i've checked ebay for egg crate but they don't have the sizes i want, it's for a 90x45x45 exo terra so need alot so could you point me in the direction of where else i could get some or if you could find some the right size on ebay i'd be highly greatfull


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## liamb111 (Apr 2, 2010)

go for it.
don't think egg create comes in mass sheets, think you might ahve to buy a few and cut them to size and zip tie hem together to stop it from shifting...


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

Chris18 said:


> i've checked ebay for egg crate but they don't have the sizes i want, it's for a 90x45x45 exo terra so need alot so could you point me in the direction of where else i could get some or if you could find some the right size on ebay i'd be highly greatfull


you can just get 2 bits and link them together with plastic ties, thats what i did, it works fine, then saw the crate to size, its easy to saw, if you have very very sharp heavy duty siccors, they work too


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

Suspended and False Ceilings

I found this link and if you scroll down to the second item called Prismatic Effect Ceiling Panels do you think this would be suitable because it looks pretty cheap compared to ebay?


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

Chris18 said:


> Suspended and False Ceilings
> 
> I found this link and if you scroll down to the second item called Prismatic Effect Ceiling Panels do you think this would be suitable because it looks pretty cheap compared to ebay?


 cant see the photo its tiny, but id say not.

this is only 2.50! how cheap do you want it 
EGG CRATE MARINE REEFS CORAL FRAGS KOI 280MM X 180MM on eBay (end time 21-Jul-10 17:50:59 BST)


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

but i'd have to times that by atleast 3
also do you know where I could buy some tubing I have a filter already but it hasnt got a tube to lead back up to the wall just has an outlit that just puts the water out the top which is no good, sorry for all the questions and I hope i'm not being to distracting from posting your thread


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## liamb111 (Apr 2, 2010)

like said above, i can't really see the picture, doubt it would be strong enough, cant be sure though, not much info on it. i think getting two of these will be your best option EGG CRATE FOR MARINES /CORAL FRAGS KOI ETC 600 X 600MM on eBay (end time 01-Jul-10 18:04:22 BST)


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

Chris18 said:


> but i'd have to times that by atleast 3
> also do you know where I could buy some tubing I have a filter already but it hasnt got a tube to lead back up to the wall just has an outlit that just puts the water out the top which is no good, sorry for all the questions and I hope i'm not being to distracting from posting your thread


 
you can get pipe like that in b&q but take your pump with you if poss, you might not get a perfect fit.
i was a vry lucky and did when i took my old pump in
dont worry about it im sure people will post there too


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

thanks for the help guys it's appreciated, i'll keep an eye on your thread for ideas for my new tank and will be taking a trip to B&q in a few hours to find piping, mesh and see if they do any sort of egg crate to save P+P
Also with the expanding foam is it easy to shape and mould or does it try quickly so you're in a rush to get it moulded? i'm thinking of making tree trunks out which stretch the whole height of the viv to try and copy a forest floor environment kind of thing, do you think this is a bad idea or would it be simple to do?


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

Chris18 said:


> thanks for the help guys it's appreciated, i'll keep an eye on your thread for ideas for my new tank and will be taking a trip to B&q in a few hours to find piping, mesh and see if they do any sort of egg crate to save P+P
> Also with the expanding foam is it easy to shape and mould or does it try quickly so you're in a rush to get it moulded? i'm thinking of making tree trunks out which stretch the whole height of the viv to try and copy a forest floor environment kind of thing, do you think this is a bad idea or would it be simple to do?


you cant mold it you leave it to expand and dry then you can cut and sand it. its sticky messy **** so be careful
its simples though 
b&q dont do eggcrate, wll they didny used to
there was a thread on here ages ago where someone made trunk shapes


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## bronz (Feb 1, 2008)

Your best bet is to head over to dendroboard and check out the builds on there, lots and lots of people have various ways of achieving what you're after.

False bottoms are probably the easiest way and have the added benefit of a larger body of water in the tank which makes everything more stable.

I've got one exo with a water feature that looks like this:










It doesn't have any running water but there's a filter box and pump behind the 'bank' to the right that has a tube sending water back to the left side of the pool for constant circulation so it's essentially the same equipment as you'd be using. It also doesn't have a false bottom, just leca, but overall the design is the same as if it had a false bottom.


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

thanks 
that exoterra looks brilliant
I did check out dendroboard but got distracted by this guys 15 foot setup which was amazing but i'll revisit it for extra Ideas, my tank doesnt come till next week so i have plenty of time to research the right methods and the lizards are already in a tank so i have all the time in the world to play around with ideas.
thanks again for all the advice and i'll post pictures here to see how I get on with it.


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## bronz (Feb 1, 2008)

Haha I think you're talking about Energy's ex-reef tank? Probably the best private display tank online. Dendroboard is an absolute mine of stuff and yeah it is easy to lose yourself in the amazing builds. Good luck with yours and feel free to drop me a pm any time if you want more specific advice.


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

bronz said:


> Haha I think you're talking about Energy's ex-reef tank? Probably the best private display tank online. Dendroboard is an absolute mine of stuff and yeah it is easy to lose yourself in the amazing builds. Good luck with yours and feel free to drop me a pm any time if you want more specific advice.


 I dont think it wa that one, it wasnt an amzing tank or anything but the foam trees were crackin


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