# Home-Made Misting System



## Uncaonce (Mar 11, 2009)

Hello All,

I am new to this (planning my first vivarium) and have a question. I have seen the Mist King systems and they look great but for $100 I am wondering what I could build my self.

Couldn't one just drop a power-head (aquarium pump) under the false bottom (5in water), connect it to a series of Mist King or home made mist heads and plug it into a timer? 

I am concerned about using an outside water supply. It seems to me there would be a lot of trial and error making sure you were not introducing more water than was evaporating and I kind of like to do stuff myself.

If all the water fetures are fed from the same reservoir (under the false bottom) all you would have to do is watch the water line and add water occasionally, right. If this set-up could be done you eliminate the risk of too much water because there is only so much in the tank and you don't need to worry about outside contaminents entering the water table. You would have to filter the water but I already have an old Eheim filter that I plan on using. 

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Unca


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## Colby02 (Jul 21, 2007)

I can only tell you that powerheads won't work for the type of misters that come with the mist king system (the kind that give off that fine of a spray). they can't handle that kind of head pressure. I know a few poeple who have done home made mist systems and I'm sure someone else will post and tell you specifically what kind of pump you need, but a pwerhead definately won't work. good luck!

Craig


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## AlexRible (Oct 16, 2007)

First off welcome to the board!

As far as the misting system goes.... I have bought a mist king system and imo they are worth every penny. For just 80 dollars more you can get a basic system with everything you need. If you do decide to make DIY misting system I wouldn't suggest using water from under the false bottom. It would most likely contain sediment and frog waste that even filtered would clog the nozzles. You always want to mist with clean RO water. If you are worried about introducing to much water into the tank, you can add a tube that goes under the false bottom so you can drain water out. Then have some sort of cap on the end so the frogs can't get in the false bottom.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Hi

We bought a mistking as well. The spray is so fine that there is no water build up. We still have to add water occasionally. Part of our top is open though. It's been running for 3 weeks and the water has dropped about an 1" in the 5 gallon bottle so far.

Glenn & Laura


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## Uncaonce (Mar 11, 2009)

frogfreak said:


> Hi
> 
> We bought a mistking as well. The spray is so fine that there is no water build up. We still have to add water occasionally. Part of our top is open though. It's been running for 3 weeks and the water has dropped about an 1" in the 5 gallon bottle so far.
> 
> Glenn & Laura


Good to know. Maybe I need to reconsider. How big is your enclosure and how many mist heads do you have?


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Hi

It's 18 x 18 x 24 high with 2 misting heads. I think there worth every penny. One of the things I like best is as our collection grows we can connect more tubeing and heads. It can do up to 15 misting heads. Good luck!

Glenn & Laura


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

Misting heads work at 30-100PSI.

You'd need a pump that can generate that much pressure.

AKA - not a powerhead. 

I tried doing this - the cheapest non-wholesale pump that can support this of decent quality was ~$75.00... I was considering using a FUEL pump for awhile (yes that would work) - however I realized it would be MUCH simpler (and only slightly more expensive) to buy a herpmist misting system.

Try herpmist btw - I love mine and supporting small business is always good for everyone.


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## dart_king (Mar 2, 2008)

Put it this way, if you need to but a pump for $75 and then make some nozzles, find some tubing, and timers are expensive, you might as well go with the $99.99 deal on mistking.com, here is the link----http://www.mistking.com/Starter-Misting-System-p-16229.html

P.s- Beware of Herpmist, many people have been trying to reach him to order his products, and they get no answers.


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## lizardstowe (Sep 6, 2005)

I have to agree with the rest of the group on this. A DIY mist system takes experimentation to get going the way you want. Experimentation takes money, by the time you have your system working just right, you'll have probably invested more than what a Mist King system cost. Then there is always expansion to consider, you may have to rework your own creation every time you set up new tanks. With Mist King, you just add tubing new heads and go! I have built my own "rain" system for some of my tanks but if you're looking for a fine mist, you can't beat the Mist King system. 

Matt


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## Uncaonce (Mar 11, 2009)

Thanks for the advice everyone!!! I am very grateful!!. I think I will take your advice and buy one as I was coming to the same conclusions that you have mentioned here.

THANKS!!!

Rob


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## Dragas (Sep 4, 2008)

I personally just use a hand pressurized mister. But I have kept this link in my favorites.

The name of the site - How to Set Up an Automated Misting System


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

That is a great DIY project, but after a quick look through the website, I couldn't see the total cost of the project. 

Also, how necessary are misting systems? I'm planning on building a viv and was considering NOT having any kind of misting... Is this possible with dart frogs.


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## Clthomps (Mar 14, 2009)

Making a DIY Mister is easier than the previous posters are suggesting. I put one together for about $30.

All you have to do is head to a Hydroponics store and ask about Aeroponics pumps and fogger heads. 


I will try to take some pics of it in a bit. You can do a google search and come up with some plans, just be aware that most of them are on Marijuana growing web sites.


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## Uncaonce (Mar 11, 2009)

Clthomps said:


> Making a DIY Mister is easier than the previous posters are suggesting. I put one together for about $30.
> 
> All you have to do is head to a Hydroponics store and ask about Aeroponics pumps and fogger heads.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info. I will give that a try and I look forward to seeing those pictures.


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## 604babypiggy (Mar 21, 2009)

no pics yet.. i've been waiting for 3 weeks now
lol


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## dylanserbin (Apr 11, 2009)

Uncaonce said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I am new to this (planning my first vivarium) and have a question. I have seen the Mist King systems and they look great but for $100 I am wondering what I could build my self.
> 
> ...


About the Eheim... If you were having a false bottom with a power head pumping water to a water fall, do you still need to filter that water? I thought you didnt need set up a filter for the Vivs. Or do you just need a water filter if you plan on recycling water into misters.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I've heard of some people using vehicle wiper fluid pumps connected to solenoids as cheap alternatives. Might be worth looking in to if you only plan on running a few nozzles, but for a large operation, a Mist King or Pro-Mist pump would probably be a better investment.


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