# Question about Hydroballs



## that Frog Guy

I am having problems. My New Exo-Terra Monsoon Misting System has Flooded my 36X18X18 so I stopped using it but the Humidity is now low and there are Puddles in my Plantation Soil.

So I was going to buy the Zoomed Hydroballs to put on the bottom of the the Terrarium to get rid of the excess water but I read a Post that said that they made the Terrarium Very Heavy. Like 200 pounds heavy.

I am glad I read that post as the Terrarium is currently on top of my entertainment center and it is not very sturdy. Had I done that it shurley would have collapsed!

So do the Zoo Med Hydro Balls absorb the water and expand?

I was thinking about Syphoning the water out every day but if it just gets sucked up into the balls my terrarium will get Heavy and fall over.

Before I do anything I wanted to consult you guys.

So my Terrarium is currently low on humidity and flooded at the same time keeping me from using my Monsoon.


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## warlock

do you not have anything under your soil?! like hydroton.. or falsbottom?


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## that Frog Guy

No, Just have Soil. I was wondering what a False Bottom was as I have read about it before here.


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## Scott

A false bottom would help. There is a TON of information on this board about how to construct different types of false bottoms. I would encourage you to read up on them.

I do understand your concern about LECA - but if you use a small layer of LECA, with an appropriate screen between the LECA and the substrate, it shouldn't be too bad.

You also may want to investigate a product called featherlite (from Black Jungle).

You're going to need to create a temporary home for your frogs in order to do this.

Also - you're going to want to do it sooner rather than later as that very soggy substrate is not good for your frogs.

s


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## warlock

that Frog Guy said:


> No, Just have Soil. I was wondering what a False Bottom was as I have read about it before here.


the false bottom question was answered in your other thread..

basically you. need the hydroton or a false bottom.. which ever.. to keep your soil raised up a little to keep the soil from getting water logged.. like yours.. 

i am also a newbie.. and i have noticed there is a trend of not answering questions for noobs.. that are asked every day.. over and over.. 

using the search feature usually gives you all the answers you seek.. 
and i use it every day..

i am long time member in another forum.. so i understand the curt attitude towards newbie repetitive questions..


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## that Frog Guy

So can I syphon the water out every day from the bottom to keep the weight down? Or does it go into the Hydro Balls making syphoning the bottom pointless?


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## Scott

If you have a water area - you siphon from the water area.

If you don't, you give yourself some type of access through the false bottom (small PVC pipe that is covered, something like that) so you can siphon using it.

s


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## warlock

Scott said:


> If you have a water area - you siphon from the water area.
> 
> If you don't, you give yourself some type of access through the false bottom (small PVC pipe that is covered, something like that) so you can siphon using it.
> 
> s


that was the first thing i thought of.. when i saw the false bottoms were used..


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## that Frog Guy

I was thinking about just sticking the tube through the soil after lifting up the screen cover between the Hydroballs and the Soil.

But I am wondering does the water just sit in between the balls or does it get soaked up in the balls causing the balls to expand? Meaning that I will not be able to syphon out water since there will be no water down there to take out and making the aquarium Heavy with no option of me being able to reduce the weight?


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## warlock

the balls have been baked at a high temp.. i don't think they will magically expand..

just like TERRA COTTA POTS>. or something like that.. 

i could be wrong.. but don't think so


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## DracheFrau

The balls will soak water but they will not expand. Yes they will get heavy, but if that is an issue move the vivarium somewhere a bit more sturdy.


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## that Frog Guy

So I guess when the Balls take in water (withought expanding) there is no way to reduce the weight or take out the excess water?


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## warlock

that Frog Guy said:


> So I guess when the Balls take in water (withought expanding) there is no way to reduce the weight or take out the excess water?


thats why people like FALSEBOTTOMS>. 

eliminates this extra weight.


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## DracheFrau

Do you have your mister running on a timer? It doesn't have to be running all the time or many times a day. Maybe once a day for 30 seconds would be sufficient. I hand mist so my stuff doesn't overflow. 

No, there isn't a way to reduce the weight.* The excess water you can siphon if you desire, or when you rebuild your viv you can add a drainage plug somewhere. I have some water (about a half an inch, put there myself) in the bottom of mine to help with humidity.

*Well there is if you use the false bottom method over hydroton.


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## AnacRoNoxX

The clay Hydroballs are a bit heavier and easier to setup in some cases. They are great for smaller tanks (10- 20 gallons), but for anything 30 gallons or larger It's easier to just construct a false bottom - not to mention, a lot cheaper with larger tanks. You need about ~2 inches of drainage area under your soil depending on your setup with a small access to drain, otherwise you get a swampy mess. It can be as simple as running a piece of air-line tubing from under the hydroballs (similar to what you mentioned) during your tank construction, then run it out the back and into a small bucket. For that simple setup, I used a small syringe to start the siphon. DON'T USE YOUR MOUTH unless you like the risk of spending the next day(s) by the toilet, no telling what microbes you just ingested lol. 

Do a search on "false bottom construction" and you'll find good threads. Hope this helps.


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## lincolnerickson

Here is how my hydroton looks. You can see that I have a layer of water that is about 1/3 of the height of the hydroton. 









I use Hydroton from a hydroponics shop instead of Zoo-Med Hydroboalls but the products are roughly equivalant. Hydtroton has bigger balls and usually cheaper. 

I have a Exo-Terra that has a volume of hydroton of 18x18x2.5 inches. That works out to be about 13 pounds of hydroton. Josh Frogs says a liter of hydroton is about a pound and one cubic inch is 0.016387064 liters so you can do the conversion and find out how much the Hydroton for you tank will weigh dry. 

Of course it will soak up water so that will increase the weight once you have water in your tank.


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## jeeperrs

Ok, you have several threads with the same topic....

1. The soil should not always be in contact with water.

2. False bottoms and hydroballs are designed to let the water drain out of the soil, keeping the soil from becoming saturated. Your soil sounds saturated. I wouldn't blame the mister for the saturation but the fact you don't have any drainage.

3. The hydroballs are not designed to soak up water. Again, it is designed to let the water drain from the soil.

4. You are going to have to break your tank down regardless to put either the false bottom or the hydroballs in. 

5. Once you have an area for the water to drain (doesn't matter if it is the false bottom or hydroballs) you will have to drain the water or syphon the water out. To drain it, you will have to drill a hole (I don't think you are ready for this) in the glass. I would recommend you syphon. Just put a tube in the bottom of the tank and make an area for it to come out the lid. This way you can syphon without disrupting the tank.

6. It isn't that hard, so just relax


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## jeeperrs

Here are pictures of my false bottom. Notice the PVC holding the white plastic light divider (egg crate)? Notice the soil on top of the plastic? There is fiberglass window screen separating the soil from the white plastic.


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## DracheFrau

Also if you're curious about where to acquire these things, you can find hydroton at Star Nursery or a hydroponics store. Egg crate can be found at Home Depot, I believe. Substrate barrier can be bought super cheap at Joshsfrogs.com. Can get damn near everything from Josh's. Check out other sponsors and what they have for supplies too.


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## that Frog Guy

Could I use aquarium gravel under the substrate instead of Hydro Balls?


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## reptileman79

By adding aquarium gravel your looking to make your tank weight a ton. The Hydro-balls weight much less that aquarium gravel. As mentioned before if your tank is small to average size ( less than 30g or so ) stick with Hydro-balls, if its larger than go with the false bottom. IF you use aquarium gravel better make your that's where your tank is going to stay because good luck moving if after its filled with gravel.


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