# Lucky Reptile Super Rain



## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

I just wanted to know if anyone uses one of these and how they get on with it?

I know the pump is meant to be a bit noisy and it has no built-in timer but compared to the complete failure to work from the Exo Terra Monsoon I bought, I consider those minor issues if the thing actually works!

I only want to get light usage out of it about 30 secs misting once an evening. Oh and I also wondered if the split nozzles that the set comes with can be used for two separate vivs? Is the tubing long enough to do that if the vivs are fairly close together?

I know that seconds timers are not easy to come by but I've seen one at Dartfrog I could get, although it's European 2-pin and I'd have to get a mains converter.

Anyone know if they're reliable?


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

The Lucky Reptile PRO timer can be set for as little as one second Lucky Reptile PRO Digital Timer ET-2UK - Surrey Pet Supplies

I've just had my Monsoon die on me after nearly 6 months, which seems to be something of a record as most don't last anywhere near as long, a pity as when it's working it does a good job and it's a nice complete package.

I've been looking at the options, for now I'm just using a pressurised hand sprayer but will need another automatic mister in the long term, and I'm really not that impressed with any of the commercial units currently available in the UK. For that reason I'm planning to build my own using a high pressure diaphragm pump and the LR timer.


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## incrisis (Jun 15, 2008)

We use one for our frog vivs, one pump is easily misting four vivs, could more than likely do around 6 to 8 given the power of the unit, had it running for two year or more, can't remember exactly with no problems. It is very noisy though.
We use the timer Graham mentioned, works fine, just need to remember to keep an eye on the reservoir so it doesn't run dry and burn out the pump..


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## Craigbaines (May 28, 2009)

i use one and the only issues iv found it setting it up so that you get a good balance between turning the viv into a pond, and it being too dry....

atm, i dont even bother with my timer, i just turn it on and back off when i feel its misted enought!

Maybe just me being lazy, but either way there both good and bad. Either way i think overly priced for what they are!


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## Bradley (Aug 26, 2009)

I use the pollywog syetsm and although loud when put on a sponge (the pump) it can hardley be hard. They can come with a seconds timer and I use one nozzle in two vivs just fine.


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks for replies!

I can handle 30secs of noise a day (I have to put up with my noisy washing machine for far longer!). I'd be more concerned with it alarming our geckos than disturbing us as it'll be in the spare room. So to the people who use them, does it disturb your reptiles at all? 

I looked at the Pollywog one but it seemed like it would require quite a bit of self assembly and that put me off a bit.

I wanted something simple and reliable for when I go on holiday. I have someone coming round to feed the geckos every other day but I wanted the rhacs to be misted every day.

I'm quite gutted about the Monsoon because if it actually worked it would be perfect for what I want as it's really simple to set up and use. Why do they continue to produce them if people have so much trouble with them!


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## Craigbaines (May 28, 2009)

i find my geckos do nothing, they dont seem to be bothered by it, more just sit there. They have never jumped or look startled, but for all i know there frozen solid thinking WTFFFFFFFFFF! lol

they are noisey, but considering how long there on for its nothing that i find annoying.... i find my phone going off more annoying than i do that 

I did have mine set up on timers, but like i said iv struggled to find the balance between soaking them and not misting enough. 

i do want to build a properly made suspended floor, giving the water a proper place to drain, the only trouble with that is having a way to empty it. I did set one up, but found the earth falling into it, because the way id done it to put it simply was crap!

i do think though if using a pump its worth going to the effort of doing that properly though.

If your away, then you know if the pump goes ape shit or somthing, theres at least a tolerance between it over spraying and flooding your viv straight away lol.

Plus it should mean you can properly spray them without the risk of flooding your viv floor! 

Thats my thoughts on it anyway.... or what im tryna do, just havnt got around to it lol!!


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

Craigbaines said:


> i find my geckos do nothing, they dont seem to be bothered by it, more just sit there. They have never jumped or look startled, but for all i know there frozen solid thinking WTFFFFFFFFFF! lol
> 
> they are noisey, but considering how long there on for its nothing that i find annoying.... i find my phone going off more annoying than i do that
> 
> ...


Thanks, Craig  I am leaning towards getting one. Even if I have it on a really low setting and then get the person who's coming to feed them to give them a good hand-misting every other day.

Or maybe I just need a fogger! (oh decisions, decisions!)


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

RhacoGirl said:


> Thanks, Craig  I am leaning towards getting one. Even if I have it on a really low setting and then get the person who's coming to feed them to give them a good hand-misting every other day.
> 
> Or maybe I just need a fogger! (oh decisions, decisions!)


Personally i'd stay away from foggers.
They fill the whole vivarium and they can inhale it, which may cause respiratory infections.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

The Monsoon is beautifully quiet, I had mine set to mist every hour day and night, sound really travels in our house because it's a bungalow with few internal doors, so it had to be as quiet as possible.

There are different types of pump and some are far noisier than others, the ones I'm looking at should be at the quieter end of the scale, but I won't know exactly how quiet until I get one and try it. One good thing about them is that they can run dry without damage, I don't think many of the commercial units can do that.


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## incrisis (Jun 15, 2008)

Ours come on three times a day, 60 seconds at 7am, 30 seconds at 1pm, and another 60 seconds at 7pm. We have found that is enough to keep everything as it should, although that is for frog vivs, so you would probably need to mess about for lizards.

We have one frog viv with egg crate on legs in the base, then a weed suppressant mesh over that, eco earth/forest bed on top of that .... it also has a waterfall and filter etc. so it never gets flooded and we never get soil in the water .... I think the live plants help there as well.

The others just have the water absorbent beads (hydroleca) in the base, about 2" deep, covered with the weed stuff and then eco earth/forest bed, again live planted.


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## Craigbaines (May 28, 2009)

incrisis said:


> Ours come on three times a day, 60 seconds at 7am, 30 seconds at 1pm, and another 60 seconds at 7pm. We have found that is enough to keep everything as it should, although that is for frog vivs, so you would probably need to mess about for lizards.
> 
> We have one frog viv with egg crate on legs in the base, then a weed suppressant mesh over that, eco earth/forest bed on top of that .... it also has a waterfall and filter etc. so it never gets flooded and we never get soil in the water .... I think the live plants help there as well.
> 
> The others just have the water absorbent beads (hydroleca) in the base, about 2" deep, covered with the weed stuff and then eco earth/forest bed, again live planted.


hydroleca is what iv been wanting to get a hold of....

I was planing to use that as a base, and then some kind of layer to stop earth falling down.

It would be quite nice to have a tray like object that would allow drainage but nothing to fall through... 

I find the earth falls down the sides whenever i have tried to use mesh / materials. Somthing with a lip would be good :/ 

*puts thinking cap on*


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

Chris18 said:


> Personally i'd stay away from foggers.
> They fill the whole vivarium and they can inhale it, which may cause respiratory infections.


Cheers, Chris. As one is a garg and they can be more prone to RIs I think I'll steer clear of those.


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## incrisis (Jun 15, 2008)

Craigbaines said:


> hydroleca is what iv been wanting to get a hold of....
> 
> I was planing to use that as a base, and then some kind of layer to stop earth falling down.
> 
> ...


This is one with hydroleca in it, our local garden centre sells it...
It is a layer of hydroleca, weed suppressant membrane (we buy it buy the metre from the garden centre) on top, then the substrate...









I haven't got a picture of the one with egg crate in, but it is basically this stuff... 








Cut to fit the base of the viv with no gaps around the edges, on legs, weed suppressant membrane straight on top of the egg crate, substrate on top of that.


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

Graham said:


> The Monsoon is beautifully quiet, I had mine set to mist every hour day and night, sound really travels in our house because it's a bungalow with few internal doors, so it had to be as quiet as possible.
> 
> There are different types of pump and some are far noisier than others, the ones I'm looking at should be at the quieter end of the scale, but I won't know exactly how quiet until I get one and try it. One good thing about them is that they can run dry without damage, I don't think many of the commercial units can do that.


I know, it's frustrating, the Monsoon SHOULD be the simplest option for me. But it's the timer, it just may as well not be on there it just hasn't worked from day one! Annoyingly, I ordered it over a month ago and just hadn't gotten around to setting it up and now I'm getting no response from the seller.

I wonder if it would work with a regular digital timer on the mains? Although you have to actually press either the "on" or "cycle" buttons to make it come on and having the mains come on and off on a timer wouldn't prompt the machine to come on. Argh!


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## Craigbaines (May 28, 2009)

incrisis said:


> This is one with hydroleca in it, our local garden centre sells it...
> It is a layer of hydroleca, weed suppressant membrane (we buy it buy the metre from the garden centre) on top, then the substrate...
> image
> 
> ...


thats what i have, eggcrate like that!


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## incrisis (Jun 15, 2008)

Craigbaines said:


> thats what i have, eggcrate like that!


We just put the membrane stuff on top and then the substrate, I think the live plants help to hold the substrate together as we don't get any soil in the water .... well, we got a small amount when we first set it up, but the filter got rid of that..


EDIT: Sorry to the OP for dragging the thread off topic....


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

incrisis said:


> We just put the membrane stuff on top and then the substrate, I think the live plants help to hold the substrate together as we don't get any soil in the water .... well, we got a small amount when we first set it up, but the filter got rid of that..
> 
> 
> EDIT: Sorry to the OP for dragging the thread off topic....


No problem!


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

So, it turns out that my Monsoon will spring to life when mains power comes on, and for the selected duration, so it looks like I will be able to use it with a regular plug socket timer! To B&Q tomorrow...


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

If you've only bought it recently I would still try to contact the supplier, unfortunately it's the pump, or the circuit that drives the pump, that has gone wrong with mine so no chance to use it with a seperate timer.

I use the same substrate arrangement as incrisis, Hydroleca with anti-weed sheet on top (cut it slightly oversize so it folds up the sides, stops the soil leaking through around the edges), then top with organic soil and bark chips, or your preferred product.

Best place for large quantities of Hydroleca is your local hydroponics supplier, big sacks at a fraction of the cost of small bags from the garden centre.


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## RhacoGirl (Dec 7, 2011)

Graham said:


> If you've only bought it recently I would still try to contact the supplier, unfortunately it's the pump, or the circuit that drives the pump, that has gone wrong with mine so no chance to use it with a seperate timer.
> 
> I have been emailing the seller to no avail. They only provide an email address and postal address, no phone number. I'll keep trying though.
> 
> In the meantime I've bought a digital mains timer. Minimum time is one minute so even if the duration setting malfunctions it can only spray for a minute max, and with only one nozzle feeding each viv, that's not going to flood anything. It's not ideal, but it's better than leaving my rhacs with no humidity while I'm away.


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