# First attempt at false bottom



## Tlro666 (Oct 12, 2014)

Just finished setting up my first false bottom. Going to be used for two emperors. Thoughts/opinions/judgements/insults?

Reactions: Like 1


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## shebeen (Oct 13, 2014)

I would add much more substrate and remove the background.  Otherwise, it looks nice.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tlro666 (Oct 13, 2014)

shebeen said:


> I would add much more substrate and remove the background.  Otherwise, it looks nice.


I was thinking about adding more substrate in for sure. Especially near the front. There is about 5 or 6 inches in the back. No way I can take out the background though haha. I'd have to deconstruct the entire thing and it looks so pretty!


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## jigalojey (Oct 13, 2014)

Just add more sub and you will be good.


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## shebeen (Oct 15, 2014)

The problem with the exo-terra background is that it presents a fall hazard, although once your Emperor gets settled you'll probably rarely see it out of its burrow, let alone climbing the background.  There are also reports of scorpions getting trapped behind these backgrounds.  It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.


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## SnowMonkey (Aug 10, 2015)

Does anyone else have any experience with a small water feature without filtering? Or of having a setup like this for scorpions? 

I just got 4 emperors and I need to upgrade their living situation and I'm looking at all the options.


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## varanoid (Aug 10, 2015)

SnowMonkey said:


> Does anyone else have any experience with a small water feature without filtering? Or of having a setup like this for scorpions?
> 
> I just got 4 emperors and I need to upgrade their living situation and I'm looking at all the options.


Do yourself a favor and don't add a water feature. I have been a dart frog keeper for many years and will say that water features are a huge PITA. When I first started, I used to want all of my tanks to have a water feature. Now none of them have one. Here are the reasons for my eliminating them all together

1. Containing a water feature is almost impossible and the water overflow/spray will likely saturate your soil and cause root rot for your plants. There are not a lot of plants that can handle constantly soggy roots, so you eliminate a lot of great plants right off the bat that can do well in a vivarium.
2. Required extra maintenance. At some point you are going to have to do something with the pump/filter whether it is change the impeller or the entire pump itself. You will likely find that you will tear apart part of your vivarium in the process.
3. They are a danger to the animal. Not sure how good at swimming scorpions are, but moving water features are definitely dangerous to dart frogs. Dart frogs are not strong swimmers. What is not a fast current to you, is very strong and fast to an animal the size of a scorpion.
4. The space in a vivarium that the water feature occupies is better served as land that the animal will actually use. Even a small water feature takes up a large percentage of usable space in an enclosure your size. The pond in the OP pic takes up 20% of the usable floor space. Make it a river and it takes up even more usable space.

At the end of the day, I don't do water features anymore because I admitted to myself that the water feature was for me and not the benefit of the animal. As a result of eliminating them from my tanks I have had better plant growth in all of my tanks, better breeding results, lower maintenance meaning I have more time to enjoy my animals. My tanks actually look a lot more natural without a water feature.

Reactions: Like 3


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## SnowMonkey (Aug 28, 2015)

varanoid said:


> <snip>


Thanks! That was an awesome reply. I'll stick to water dishes for now. I just got a H. cinerea yesterday, so I started thinking about it again, but I think I'll keep  it simple.

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shebeen said:


> The problem with the exo-terra background is that it presents a fall hazard, although once your Emperor gets settled you'll probably rarely see it out of its burrow, let alone climbing the background.  There are also reports of scorpions getting trapped behind these backgrounds.  It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.


I pulled my exo-terra background out of my scorp tank within a few hours of putting them there. They climbed right to the top and slid into the back. First thing they did, lol. 

I'm still going to try to do a polystyrene background in their tank, but I'm going to make sure it's low, and that it's sealed around all the edges.


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