We decided to get our rears in gear and finish up the permanent home for our 2 whites tree frogs. I used 3/8" vinyl tubing and used a soldering iron to make the holes in it, add pump and it's raining! The male has been barking non stop and the female is starting to reply. Love is in the air for these two in their comfy new home.
Really nice setup! I want to try to do something to my anole enlosure to make it rain like that-it's much more natural and looks great! Do you have real plants? They do look very happy too Are you planning on them mating?
The only plant that is not real is the big leafed one, The others are real. This is my daughters project and we do intend to breed them. The only issue I can see being a problem is running the "rain" to much and over-spray or splash will turn the dry side into a swamp. If this becomes a problem i will install some gravel in the bottom and put a pump under it to pup any water collected out from that side. At the moment we are running the rain for a few hours a day and the heating seems to put that into the air (humidity) so we will wait and see how well it works. I used a piece of clear plexi affixed with aquarium caulking to separate the water from the substrate but I can't figure out a way to stop the over splashing other than adjusting the angles of the rocks.
Wow that's awesome! Love the rain feature! What pump are you using? I've tried now 4 different pumps to do my at home automated misting system but with the micro sprinkler heads they need a lot more pressure... it's driving me a little crazy that the pumps don't do what they're designed to do (ie. it says they pump 10gal/min... but under pressure they can't even move the water! Arg). With the splash issue would it be terrible to have it rain only on the right side wall instead of around in the circle? It would take away from the great design but might help a lot with the splashing... and it would still be an awesome home for them!
I actually blocked off part of the circle so it does just that along with putting a timer on it so it only runs about 2 hours a day. The pump I used is a 1.5 GPM (Gallons per Minute) with a rated lift of 5 feet. The lift is very important and a number of factors calculate it's overall performance. Things to look at when calculating what pump you would need for what you want to accomplish. 1. GPM 2. Rated Lift (usually in inches or feet) 3. Tubing Size (bigger is no necessarily better as it restrict lift do to weight) 4. Distribution (least amount of angled fitting necessary) The pump I used seemed like overkill as when I ran it without tubing it shot water about 8 feet straight up, not the cold shower I wanted but after I put the 3/8" fitting in it was only shooting about 5 feet straight up. My particular pump was designed for a very large fish tank but I had a whole box of pumps to pick and choose from. Garage sales are great!!
The one I had a little success with was the Hagan (AquaClear) 400 GPH pump/power head. Unfortunately the only micro spray system with the fine spray nozzle I need is from the garden section in my local Lowes which is meant to poke in to a garden hose... which is about 40psi... the problem then being that the micro nozzles need 20-40psi to work correctly.... and most small aquarium pumps don't work well with pressure no matter how many gallons they put out a minute
Fantasitc! I am impressed. What lucky frogs. I am greatful for seeing what can be done. The websites I got from you indicated the care that we need for some species regarding the use of plants. I am a small jungle in my house and recognise the necessity for me to fully research the plants I have before I let anything "loose" in the house - something I wuld love to do. I have dreams fo a giant greenhouse where I can let snakes, frogs and lizards wander freely - my own personal rainforest! Great luck with the hope of new little ones!
I think what you may be looking for is a on demand pressure sprayer pump like the ones used for agricultural sprayers. They can be set to how much pressure you want,usually anywhere from 30-70 PSI. Most run on 12v as they are used for broadcast sprayers and usually run around anywhere from $40-$500 depending on what you want (the cheap ones work great). That pump along with standard pest control sprayer nozzles or rainbird xeri spray nozzles would work great if you just wanted a timed burst. Link to rainbird xeri sprays available in spray or mist, 1/4 to full circle----> Clicky Link to typical Agricultural Pump that I have used before----> Clicky I have many years experience with building custom irrigation system so If it needs water i'm the guy who can get it to where you want it....lol. I learned about these xeri spray nozzles a few years back and I still love them to this day because they are cheap and effective. (I'm not a salesman even though I sound like one)
That pump would be exactly what I need!!!!! ...only if it was 120v Arg. I have the timer and all that... now all I need is an awesome pump like that... The search continues! I didn't know (I should have realized) that there were small pumps like that with PSI ratings... I've been driving myself crazy with the small aquarium and pond pumps! Btw, this is the product line I happened to find at a local Lowes... they work perfectly with a garden hose! Lol. They look a lot like the xeri sprayers that you linked to. I already have all the pipe work and fittings done, all I need left was a pump that would actually work with the system. Thanks for your help!
