False Bottom?

[MyFirstScorp]

so im splitting up a 3 foot tank and was wondering what do you guys think, have a single false bottom all the way across or individual false bottoms? i made up these pics, their done on paint so forgive the crapyness.

 

[TalonAWD]

The problem with false bottoms setups is when water does not circulate therefore creating a stagnant condition.

With your question I would ask if your setup will allow water changes for the design with seperate chambers or for the single combined false bottom will there be one drain for changes. This would require you to drill into the tank with a diamond bit than install a bulkhead.

With the single bottom, if you was to use that design but leave the last chamber for a pump to circulate water, than i would opt for that.
The Multi chamber design seems like a hassle long term.

 

[MyFirstScorp]

sweet. well i can easily drill a hole and put in a tap no worries.... pump you say...good idea

 

[TalonAWD]

sweet. well i can easily drill a hole and put in a tap no worries.... pump you say...good idea

Make sure its not tempered glass. A small pump will do wonders. I plan on making an enclosure with a river and a pond and went over to the Dart frog expert forums to learn all about false bottoms and such. This pump is what every one recommended so I bought it. It was really inexpensive and its really small.

 

[snappleWhiteTea]

The problem with false bottoms setups is when water does not circulate therefore creating a stagnant condition.

that's what i think of when i think of false bottoms set ups.

 

[SixShot666]

Interesting....Thanx for the recommendation for the pump.

 

[dairy]

I have a 33 gal with a false bottom. The partition in the tank is a piece of 1/4" Luctie (plexi glass) and it is seated on the bottom of the tank. The lower 2-3 inches have holes drilled in it to allow water to be added to only one side and still even out.

I have no pump and I redo the tank (take everything out, sterilize the rocks, decorations and hides, then "reassemble" with fresh substrate) about once a year. I have had 0 issues with mold, algae or anything else I can attribute to stagnation excluding on the surface of the substrate where I have to spot clean once or twice a month. For the longest time I actually had a cricket at the front of the tank submerged in the false bottom. IDK how he got down there but he stayed there for months and never caused a problem.

 

[Selket]

One thing to think about with the "one false bottom across the whole bottom" is that if you have a burrowing species (ie P. Imperator) it is likely to burrow below the dividers and cross over into the next setup. Unless you had a very very small crack to let water go through, but then it would pretty much be like separate false bottoms anyways. You can be surprised how small of cracks scorps can go through.

 

[TalonAWD]

To combat that he can drill several holes through each divider on the bottom. As long as the water can flow somewhat it will be fine.

 

[H. laoticus]

What are you going to use to separate the substrate from the water? Otherwise you will be pumping in/out coco fiber.

 

[Nomadinexile]

All this sounds interesting, but is it really needed? I've never had a problem adding water directly to substrate for species that would need a false bottom. I like any kind of experiments and what not, but I just don't see a need for it. :?

 

[TalonAWD]

What are you going to use to separate the substrate from the water? Otherwise you will be pumping in/out coco fiber.

There are two ways to do it. False bottom is when you use something to suspend the substrate area from the bottom of the tank. In essense you are making a false bottom. What is used mostly is a light diffuser.
The Dart frog forums show how these are constructed.

Heres a link to instructions on one.
http://www.helixpro.net/anuran/virtualsetup.htm

The second way is Leca or clay pellots, pebbles, rocks etc. But this would be a drainage layer. This method can get the substrate soggy.

 

[H. laoticus]

I guess I was wondering if he wanted his substrate to also soak up a bit of the water. If that's the case, the layer to separate substrate and water must not be solid but have pores so the water can be absorbed upwards. And if there are openings or pores how does one go about keeping the coco fiber out of the false bottom as it will fall down.

That's a pretty nice guide btw. Does the plexiglass have any drilled holes in it? How does the water seep back down into the false bottom (if it's a tight fit)? And why the plexiglass over the eggcrate? Sorry for the questions, a bit new to the idea haha

 

[TalonAWD]

Generally a false bottom is primarily designed for drainage and to keep the humidity and heat higher than an enclosure without a false bottom.

There are different ways to make the false bottom, not only the way shown in that link. Some people do not want the false bottom to show from the front, so they add a plexigass strip infront of the false bottom so that between the plexi and the front glass of the tank, you can add pebbles or anything you want to hide it. You have to remember not to let the water level get above the plexi or water will start to be soaked up by the substrate.

As for the pores, yes the drainage layer needs to be pourous. To keep the substrate from going down into the water of the false bottom, people use Fiberglass screening or fine mesh. This will help prevent the substrat from going past into the water.
For all the info you could possibly want on this subject, check out the Dendroboard forums. Thats where I learned all this stuff. I have been learning about it for the past 6+ months.