# Will my water get stagnant?



## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

I had to drill a drainage hole in the back of my tank since the bottom is tempered. The hole is about 2 inches above the bottom, so obviously my vivarium is always going to hold 2 inches of water. 

Is there a risk of this water getting stagnant and stinking up the tank? I'm sure that organic matter will make its way down into the drainage layer at some point or another.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

JT,

Are you going to use a false bottom? This will help to keep the dissolved oxygen level high enough to prevent anaerobic decay. You could also add an air line down the road, if you notice any sulfur smell. I think you will always be able to smell a little aerobic decay from the frog droppings and dead fruit flies. Periodic flushing (by adding a few gallons of water to an area with excellent drainage) will help to keep the water under the false bottom from becoming too foul. 

How is your overflow going to be set up? Will it drain to house waste line? A bucket? You could always add a water feature and have the overflow drain to a sump with a return pump.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

I'm not exactly sure what a false bottom is. I have a layer of gravel that's about 3 inches deep (about an inch above the drainage hole), then a substrate divider, then my soil on top of that.

Is this considered a false bottom?

I then have tubing going from the bulkhead into a bucket to collect the drainage water.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

A false bottom is usually constructed with eggcrate elevated off the bottom by PVC pipes or eggcrate pieces turned sideways. This leaves open space under your substrate. The way you have done it will probably work O.K. but if the gravel becomes very polluted you may get some anaerobic decay. You will notice a sulfur smell, especially if you disturb the gravel. Again, periodic flushing with excess water will help to clean out the gravel. The larger the gravel the better off you are in this respect. I like the false bottom method as everything stays more oxygenated


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

I'll have to look into this false bottom a little more. I can always change things around since I haven't actually put the soil down yet. I wanted to get some feedback before going too far.

Right now I have the background built and put the gravel down to make sure I had enough. It's fairly large so hopefully it'll work well.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

I just read on another forum that neither a false bottom nor gravel is needed if there's not a water feature. 

This can't be true can it? Won't the soil stay too wet? I didn't hear anyone mention drainage. Here's a link to the thread:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load ... 28121.html


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

JT,

The problem with that board is that, as near as I can see, they are not talking about dart frog terrariums. I can’t remember if you have frogs yet or not, but these guys eat and poop a lot. They will hide if the humidity is not high enough and because of this you have to mist them often. These two factors (pooping and misting) are going to cause problems in a terrarium without proper drainage. Over time the soil will become saturated and anaerobic. Plants that like their feet wet will still do fine but others will rot. 

The way you currently have the tank set up will probably work fine. I think it would work better with expanded clay for drainage and even better with expanded clay over a false bottom. I’m simply thinking about getting some of the waste away from the frogs.


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