# home made rain system?



## Ratamahata (Oct 16, 2012)

Is it possible to make one of these things rather than spending 100 odd quid on one?

rather simple really. Thoughts please


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

*yes*

im no expert (and i have never tried) but i know a bit or two about water systems (fishtank stuff) and here is a concept:
have a submerged pump in a water bucket, attach pipe, attach nozzle and position. when you want a mist, turn on the pump and vise versa. just remember to always keep the submerged pump submerged at all times! if you turn on the submerged pump when it is not submerged you could easily burn out the motor. 
as i said, im no expert (and i am sure you can improve upon this design). for what pump to use i dunno (it depends on how high up you have to pump the water to get it to the top of the terrarium) im sure you could go to your local petshop/aquarium shop and ask; if not i am sure someone on here can help you!
hope this helps!
Markus


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## SublimeSparo (May 1, 2013)

I like it, thats the ultimate basic setup right there.
It is possible to get pumps that will work when not submerged (might be a little extra though)


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## SublimeSparo (May 1, 2013)

thinking about it i have most of that stuff lying around i might have a go later, will let you know if i do


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## SublimeSparo (May 1, 2013)

rough plan:

bucket with lid or gauze/mesh top
water pump
6x sections pipe
1x Y section splitter
2x T section splitter
4x spray nozzle

cut hole for tubing in lid/mesh air hole too if lid
attachin tube to pump, attach the Y splitter, attach a pipe to each end of the Y and a T to each of those piese. a spray nozzle to each of these will give four outpoints to position with you tank (one in each corner?!) 
use some clear silicone to stick the pipes/tubing in place, 
fill up the bucket, submerge pump, put on lid/ mesh,
plug into a timer
and robert is your fathers brother


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

SublimeSparo said:


> rough plan:
> 
> bucket with lid or gauze/mesh top
> water pump
> ...


sounds like a good plan, you going ahead with it?


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## SublimeSparo (May 1, 2013)

Gotta dig all the bits out, sods law they'll be scattered at the back of every possible cupboard, and might need some fresh tubing but yea I reckon I might give this a crack in the near future, getting tired of spray bottles lol.
I'll make a thread with pics and step by step if I do


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

yeah i have to spray my frilleds enclosure atleast 3/4 times a day and its a pain in the arse lol.. get it done tonight so i cna have a nosey and try it myself


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## acromyrmexbob (Oct 3, 2010)

I would go roughly as above but I would add a timer to the pump which will allow you to programme it to come on for a set time and number of times each day


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

Looks good, but if I were you I would mount each nozzle about 4 cm away from the sides of the terrarium to give maximum coverage and minimum spots on glass. And yes, I do believe that you could get a pump that does not need to be submerged.


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## Ratamahata (Oct 16, 2012)

You could go a step further... put it on a timer to spray say 4 times a day for 5 mins?

edit.. see the bit about a timer  thought I was being smart lol


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

There are some issues guys, as this isn't the first time it's come up. Firstly, in order to create a fine mist, you need good nozzles. Secondly, you need a high pressure low flow pump. The normal pond pumps just don't cut it. That is why 90% of a mister system cost is the pump, they're a type called diaphragm pumps, pond pumps are impeller pumps. The difference between them is that an impeller pump basically has a propeller type action to move water, and therefore moves large amount quickly, but with very little pressure. A diaphragm pump on the other hand, has a rubber diaphragm that oscillates very quickly, and each time pulls a bit of water into a chamber and pushes it out of a different hole, this happens many times a minute and leads to a very high pressure build up but with a low flow.

This is important, because without a high pressure water system, you'll get a trickle of water peeing out of your nozzle, or a slight spitting at best.

Many people have tried setting their own misting system up, most in the end give up and buy one. Others have had some success with the pumps out of coffee machines and other devices, but not much.

If it's purely a rain system you want to create, I do have a suggestion that's been floating around in my head for quite a while. You've all seen the mistking raindome? If not, basically it's a fine mist sprayer head inside an open bottomed box, that contains the mist and directs it down. This is laid on top of an exo terra mesh top, where it forms droplets and falls into the viv. This got me thinking, a simple tray with a mesh bottom (size of mesh would need to be experimented with to find the right one) with water pumped onto it for a short time, should drip for a while, perhaps simulating rain. This should give a good spread of droplets, as opposed to a pipe with holes in, or dripper heads or any other method. It is also achievable with an impeller pump, rather than shelling out for a high quality diaphragm pump.

I don't wish to discourage anyone, but it may save a lot of frustration to have some of the knowledge of what is and isn't achievable with different pumps, etc.

Hope this helps

Dave


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## SublimeSparo (May 1, 2013)

my pump should be powerful enough, its not an aquarium one, its an irrigation one, think it even has a set of spray nozzles with it as well as the drippers, if not I'm sure they're not too hard to find, good point on the spacing, need to find a good digi timer​


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## minz (Apr 16, 2013)

I had an irrigation set up to water the plants in the conserv but it was really powerful, maybe something like that could work for you, cost me about £35+ hose but that was a few years ago now, still might be woth looking into.


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## maarup (Jan 17, 2013)

thought that this might be useful (a proof of concept, the guy has other vids on how he makes misting systems) Misting Revisited - YouTube


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

One I did see was a lad using safe kitchen towel laid ontop of the mesh and then he poured water on it, slowly dripped down


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

no good for a viv though


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

SublimeSparo said:


> my pump should be powerful enough, its not an aquarium one, its an irrigation one, think it even has a set of spray nozzles with it as well as the drippers, if not I'm sure they're not too hard to find, good point on the spacing, need to find a good digi timer​


Hmmm, it all depends on what you're aiming for. If you want mist similar to a mistking or monsoon then you'll need high pressure low flow pump and misting nozzles, if you just want a rainfall type system then you can use other pumps and there are sprayer heads available that give a sprinkler type effect. I'd imagine your pump to be a large impeller pump, it may seem powerful but it may not be enough for mister heads to work properly. Look forward to seeing how you get on though 

Dave


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

I'm also wondering if theres a better way. I don't need a fine mist so Im going to rig up an old aquarium pump and spray bar to see if that gives good enough coverage.


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## jimskio (Nov 28, 2009)

I am looking at a new method of watering my gecko when I re-do his tank, at the moment I am hand spraying but I want to give him a more natural rain type method. I was looking at dripper nozzles, more specifically Am-Tech Container Drip Watering Irrigation Kit: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors that one as it has inline nozzles.

I have tried previously with a thin airline that I punched holes in and attached to a water pump, but this quickly clogged up and stopped all together, does anybody think that this would work if I put dripper nozzles in instead?


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

I don't think you can use a clear line even with the nozzles as its just going to clog with algae. If you want rain the easiest way I've found to do it is with spray bar or some plastic plumbing pipe with holes drilled in and use a really low powered pump so it drips rather than sprays.


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