# cheap ultrasonic fogger disks?



## DrawntoLife (Nov 12, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/Etree-Ultrasonic-Maker-Fogger-Fountain/dp/B0067XS2IG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418693381&sr=8-2&keywords=ultrasonic+fog
thats a link to a amazon item. i used to own a reptifogger which eventually gave out and i refuse to spend that kind of money on a fogger again, i also had a mistking that i got rid of when i fell out of the hobby for a bit. I dont plan on buying expensive equipment like these for a while but if i decide to start up the tank i have, having a cheap humidity solution would be nice and I feel like this might be an option if placed in a mason jar with an air intake coming from a air pump and exiting with a larger hose carrying the fog. I have the air pump lying around and the hoses and jar just wondering if they are worth using. i will still hand mist.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I think if you go into some older posts, especially with Philsuma's, you will see some interesting hookups with some cheap machines that can be hooked up with timers...The ultrasonic ones may not be what you expect...so check out the options for the modifications....


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

just checked out that link...those things are crap...please look at the older posts about those "foggers"...they are not the least bit good to use for lots of reasons....


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## wriggles (Apr 5, 2014)

You get what you pay for unfortunately. The last time I tried a cheap DIY fogger build, the fogger came broken out of the box, I plugged it in and nothing happened. Even if it does turn on, check out the reviews on that thing and it won't seem worth the effort or money constantly replacing it =(
I went to walgreens and got a $25 humidifier that's been working well for 4-5 months so far. If you shop around you can probably go even cheaper =)


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Dude check out "house of hydro" misters. They are awesome!!!


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I think if you used a plastic container and put two holes in the sides....one for a lift pump outflow and the other leading back to the reservoir the lift pump is drawing from. Then another hole for fog to exit. This placed above the tank would allowvthe fogger to operate with a continuous water level if the fogger and lift pump are rigged to a timer together.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Mohlerbear--how would you have one of their units set up? I did try the fogger--but it splashed all over the place, and the unit in the tank got hot...then all the water evaporated...so how is/are the units you mentioned any different--particularly safer.


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## profjunk (Jun 23, 2010)

i always go to goodwill and the like,buying the "cool visible"misters they are the ultrasonic ones , they are usually 5 to 7 dollars US,i just make sure they dont have hard water deposits encrusted to them , this means the water used before wasnt RO and it always needs to be RO or distilled one of these larger units can mist 12 10gal vivs , just misting 2 separate 15 minute times a day
i run it all through 2"pvc to the drop down hoses made out of blue O2 hose
just m 500 to 700 cents worth
jeff , exiled in arizona


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Judy S said:


> Mohlerbear--how would you have one of their units set up? I did try the fogger--but it splashed all over the place, and the unit in the tank got hot...then all the water evaporated...so how is/are the units you mentioned any different--particularly safer.



You've used the house of hydro ultrasonic floating discs, and it got hot and evaporated the water?!


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Did you set it up the same way they did? In a storage bin, with fans and output holes?


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## FwoGiZ (Jul 8, 2008)

You can't use fogger pucks in a setup... it has to be out in a tub or bucket and plumbed into the viv with a fan somehow.

I just bought a house of hydro triple disk puck with float. I tested it in a tub and from the tech specs, I think it maybe be a VERY good investment. A bit more expensive but from my understanding, you double or even triple efficiency, quality and longetivity.
they were designed to work with TAP WATER. Not RO... this means they will last MUCH longer. The disks are 20mm instead of 16 and coated with teflon or something like that.

But in all honesty, if you're looking at a cheap way to keep a vivarium humid, I think gettting a mistking off internet would be your best bet. Foggers are fancy hardware. Mistking is staple.

Mohlerbear, how did you build you storage bin? I think it needs some kinda separator in there right? so the air pushes the fog properly?


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

FwoGiZ said:


> ...
> 
> But in all honesty, if you're looking at a cheap way to keep a vivarium humid, I think gettting a mistking off internet would be your best bet. Foggers are fancy hardware. Mistking is staple.


An automated misting system is fancy hardware as well. Cheap would be one of those manual hand sprayers ($7 - $20).

David, fog will help with humidity, but it will not have the same benefits of misting. That is why most people use fog only for looks/awe effect. 

If you are set on a fogger, I have been using one of these 15 minutes daily for 2 years now. I modified it so a hose is attached where the cool mist comes out. The machine sits on the floor and the inlet is a straight shot 5 feet up. No fans necessary. 

The problem with the fogger you linked is that frogs cannot get in contact with them (they get hot, are ultrasonic, etc.). You could create a "fog box" using a small food storage container with a hose attached to it. My concerns are that you will have to monitor the water level daily as these foggers have an ideal water level to perform at their best and I am not sure how well the fog would travel through a pipe without a fan. Alternatively, you could keep the fog box inside the viv, but who would want that?!


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## FwoGiZ (Jul 8, 2008)

Yeah I guess I forget that not everybody has gazillion tanks 
Those sprayer thing for spraying pesticide are like 15$. Definitely best bang for you bucks. Better misting than mistking actually because you always put more mist where you feel it needs more right?

See I bought a very similar one to what you have, and it never even worked... So I kinda gave up on the cheap one but I guess it's a hit or miss kinda thing...


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

FwoGiZ said:


> You can't use fogger pucks in a setup... it has to be out in a tub or bucket and plumbed into the viv with a fan somehow.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes that's exactly what I meant. Nice! Do you like the triple disk? How many tanks are using it on? I'm not sure exactly what you mean by separator? Its a plastic tub like on his YouTube video with a pvc output which branches to smaller pvc that runs to each individual tank. And I have a little fan that pushes the fog through into the pvc output. Wait you're not supposed to use RO?! Lol I thought you were. It's basically like 10" deep of water with 6-8" of space with a lid on top. Yeah it is a little pricey but I got annoyed with filling up my little humidifer basically daily. Awesome man, I'm glad you have one! 


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## FwoGiZ (Jul 8, 2008)

Yes I like the triple disk, haven't tested it in the viv yet but I tossed it in the tub and it makes lotso fog real fast. My fan will be on a controller so I'll be to slowly fill up the tank or just toss crazy amount of fog like a nightmate is happening!
This is for my masterpiece that I am currently working on! it's a 180gal 4x3x2 tank, here's the link to the journal/blog I am making if that is of any interest...
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...giz-living-room-display-vivarium-journal.html

So on the instructions, it specify that you have to use TAP WATER in caps letter hehe... I guess this is cause they were designed to break ferts into the fog too.

85$ for the triple head one... for the quality of the product, I think this is very good. I really feels like it's sturdy and gonna last. And that float thing... yep I agree it's wonderful haha  I like low maintenance stuff too.

I thought there was a specific way to build the bin so that the airflow carries the fog up properly .. I'll have to check this out. How did you build yours?

I hope this isn't considered hijacking ehe... maybe OP will consider this fogger


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Mohlerbear--no, I used the one the OP linked...and I still love the effect, but am not sure how you all have connected what you recommend, to the vivariums themselves...Pictures??? Diagrams? You are responding to one of the village idiots, so be real specific....


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

FwoGiZ I'll check out that build journal after work! The float is awesome and a great idea. It's a obvious tool too that I had never thought about until I saw theirs. 

To you and Judy, most of the working stuff is hidden but I'll show you the diagram I built up if that helps! And I'll post the link on how it was built in working order with the tub. Once I am home from work. Work gets in the way of vivariums unfortunately 😝


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I have been looking at the site that was recommended...really interesting and much safer looking than the original piece of.....dodoo...so how many tanks can have the fog effect with the 3 disc set, a controller to be the master of the set up...and the tubing which would run to three tanks...pretty neat. Does the fogger for that many need to be above the vivs? A float valve would be inside the "box"--but maybe I missed where exactly--and if the water was totally gone, would the unit shut itself off so the house wouldn't burn down???


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## in2Diy (Dec 15, 2014)

JPccusa said:


> An automated misting system is fancy hardware as well. Cheap would be one of those manual hand sprayers ($7 - $20).
> 
> David, fog will help with humidity, but it will not have the same benefits of misting. That is why most people use fog only for looks/awe effect.
> 
> ...


Thanks jp, will probably just plumb a standard cool most humidifier since I already have the overt flow box with 2 homes 1 for drainage other for fog and I'll hand most as recommended, I couldn't use my pc user name on tapatalk for some reason. Nice to see you're still active on the forum how is the viv?


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

The cheap small foggers they sell on ebay work just fine for me. You have to understand the majority of failures come from people who stick them in dirty water with a lot of solutes. Then they get failures of the disk. The nice thing about the cheap ebay foggers is that they are completely modular. Many come with separate power supplies and disks so you can change out any part if one fails. That said in about 2 years mine has not failed. The pre made ultrasonic foggers you buy have a number of draw backs, all the parts are usually custom and set in size, if it breaks you might be out of luck and if you custom made a connector and they don't sell that fogger anymore you may have to buy a new fogger and make a new connector. For me they were just too bulky to fit in my space. 

Many call for tap water because many of them have water sensor built into them and this sensor operates off the ability to sense and electric current in the water. If you remove all the ions from the water by using RO water it cannot detect this. You can get around this by adding a small amount of tap water to a large amount of RO water. This will keep your water fairly clean and prolong the life of the fogger but still allow the sensor to work.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

So can a fogger replace misting entirely? I'd imagine fogging a tank up for a time period would result in quite a bit of condensation on the plants and the plants should be able to pull fog as it lands on them-I know this is the basis for fogponics after all.


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

I would imagine some plants need more water than a fogger can provide. For example, a brom will never accumulate water in its cup that way. Maybe if you run the fogger 24/7, but why would you want to do that? And I'm not sure that would be enough if your viv is vented (they should be). 
Besides, misting helps to wash away/break down poop, flush the substrate, etc.


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## in2Diy (Dec 15, 2014)

Dendrobait said:


> So can a fogger replace misting entirely? I'd imagine fogging a tank up for a time period would result in quite a bit of condensation on the plants and the plants should be able to pull fog as it lands on them-I know this is the basis for fogponics after all.


I Think for some plants like orchids and broms it will work but I think many will still require water at the roots. Looking further into it I think I'll fog 30 minutes a day split in 2 or 3 different times and mist once by hand power week. You bring up a good point about using a humidifier and modifying it. I think the disk fogger in a large Mason jar with an aquarium air pump supplying the pressure to send the fog up to a pipeb and since those disks are so cheap it might be worth trying just for the fun of diy. I also have all the other materials on hand including a very large air pump


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## in2Diy (Dec 15, 2014)

Judy S said:


> I have been looking at the site that was recommended...really interesting and much safer looking than the original piece of.....dodoo...so how many tanks can have the fog effect with the 3 disc set, a controller to be the master of the set up...and the tubing which would run to three tanks...pretty neat. Does the fogger for that many need to be above the vivs? A float valve would be inside the "box"--but maybe I missed where exactly--and if the water was totally gone, would the unit shut itself off so the house wouldn't burn down???


I would recommend you check the water often or have a large enough reservoir to not worry about it


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Judy S said:


> I have been looking at the site that was recommended...really interesting and much safer looking than the original piece of.....dodoo...so how many tanks can have the fog effect with the 3 disc set, a controller to be the master of the set up...and the tubing which would run to three tanks...pretty neat. Does the fogger for that many need to be above the vivs? A float valve would be inside the "box"--but maybe I missed where exactly--and if the water was totally gone, would the unit shut itself off so the house wouldn't burn down???



I've mentioned this before in ultra sonic threads and no one uses it. In surprised it's not used all over the hobby. Yes it'll shut it self off or something. I can't remember how but if it runs dry it won't be bad. I put mine on top of all the tanks. It naturally wants to float downward anyways right. How I thought about it was. The humidifier from Walgreens in assuming was like one disk right, well that filled my two 40b verts and a 36 gallon bowfront twice a day for ten minutes and two more times a day for 5, so I thought a five disk would be sweet because it would fill it up way faster in less time and I'm going to always build more Vivs 😝


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Oh yeah I forgot. It takes a while to go through 15 gallons of water to fog lol. So it's not like it'll run out fast. Push the tub up with your hand. If it's heavy, it's full and if it's not, refill it. Better than refilling once a day. 


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Dendrobait said:


> So can a fogger replace misting entirely? I'd imagine fogging a tank up for a time period would result in quite a bit of condensation on the plants and the plants should be able to pull fog as it lands on them-I know this is the basis for fogponics after all.


If you fog enough I see no reason why you cannot replace misting with a fogger. Of course just like misting their exists the probability that some spots in your tank will not be well served and will need spot watering now and then. Its also possible that the high humidity will be a problem for other plants. But the current way many hobbyist mist doesn't equate to much of anything like a good drenching that would make misting that different than fogging. IE lots of people mist for very short 15 second times and there is barely enough to get much water flowing. I know at a local pet store they only system they have on many dart frog tanks is a fogger. However I don't know if they frequently hand water or not but I don't think so because the tank is always plenty moist everywhere. One could even argue that fogging is more likely to get a more even distribution of water. Misters in most setups hit the front plants and leave dry spots in the back that are only served by humidity / capillary action.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Pubfiction--good point--and the esthetics can't be beat with the fogger....so now I have to figure out how to hang a 15g water tank.....


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Would that cause respiratory problems over time with too much fog?


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## DrawntoLife (Nov 12, 2009)

Mohlerbear said:


> Would that cause respiratory problems over time with too much fog?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


doubt it since it is basically just moisture in the air, and ill be using distilled only


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

DrawntoLife said:


> doubt it since it is basically just moisture in the air, and ill be using distilled only


I wouldn't be so fast to dismiss that as a potential problem, excessive moisture can be serious. I do not know much about how it will affect frogs, but a constant dense fog can and will cause respiratory problems in many reptiles. Remember, dart frogs do not have a constantly high humidity in the wild and 75-85% is the number to shoot for. IME, by using a fogger rather than misting, your basically assuring that your humidity will be at incredibly high levels all the time.

John


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## FwoGiZ (Jul 8, 2008)

Anyone ever seen respiratory problems with a frog? I don't think that's possible but I dunno for sure.
Mist or fog doesn't change much I think..
You can overmist just as you can overfog!
Or you can do right amount and it's all good.
Fog will get absorbed better for sure and that's bout it.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I'd hope people would only be running the foggers for an hour or two at a time anyway, right?

Considering the amount of water use between foggers or misters that would be about equal to a few bursts of misting.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Also, has anyone had any luck getting fog into tanks just with gravity?

I built a little container so I could have the fogger inside the tank...but the fog seems reluctant to come out the way I want it to-bubbling out the top rather than spilling out the side. Frustrating as I beta tested it prior and it seemed to be working ok. Think maybe not being perfectly flat is the issue.

I guess I need to get a fan to blow fog into the tank(when I blew on the thing it indeed worked as planned).


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