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Member	Message
#2267037 Dp525 View Profile	Enclosure building status Currently building a temporary 8x4x4 cage with a light DIY water filtration system . This will have to do until I have time this summer to build a larger enclosure which will be a 12x8x4 with heavy duty filtration "DIY pond style" for handling large monitor waste...smh.ugh...In regards to the plastic liner that I added I have been doing that for years it works for me and helps aid with humidity. It’s also great for when I do massive cleaning of the enclosures; I turn the substrate over periodically to prevent mildew. Opinions vary but it works for me. In addition, I hired an electrician I am a big advocate of the whole DIY movement in reptile husbandry, but I want my stuff to be in code... makes me feel better when I close eye at night.
05/20/12  09:13pm
#2267052 3240 View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267037  Enclosure building status Have you ever used a filtration system for a large monitor?
05/20/12  09:55pm
#2267083 Milkweed666 View Profile	Message To: 3240   In reference to Message Id: 2267052  Enclosure building status I know sometimes pics are kinda hard to scale, but doesnt look like much room for burrowing will be available. Just judging from hieght of water dish. Jw. Not trying to diss your enclosure at all
05/21/12  02:40am
#2267084 Daryl- View Profile	Message To: Milkweed666   In reference to Message Id: 2267083  Enclosure building status Your attempts at a filtration system may sound good in theory, but I bet after a month with a large monitor then you will be elbow deep in crap trying to clean it out and cursing the thing! Unless you have the monster of all filters, usually a good bucket does the job better!
05/21/12  02:43am
#2267119 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Milkweed666   In reference to Message Id: 2267083  Enclosure building status 6x4x4 for borrowing in addition to 2x4x4 next to the soaking area; that will suffice for now my adopted monitor is still going through rehab.:( from previous owner and is only 40" its recovering nicely and still in quarantine till end of month ... Dimension on photos can be deceiving I suppose...
05/21/12  12:04pm
#2267121 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Daryl-   In reference to Message Id: 2267084  Enclosure building status Actually I won’t be I’ve done it before and it’s not a theory. It’s simply a cost and building issues for some herp owners. Congratulations on your bucket usage, I’m glad that process works for you.. Filtration building is tedious but worth it. The last filter I built years ago had to be maintenance about once every eight days. I figure that’s beat two times a days..lol .. In addition the issue with filters is finding the right type of pump, one of my colleagues uses a basic manual sewage pump. Which works well if you want to poison Wouk animal with oil residue. I personally like high powered pond pumps that have the ability to take in large objects. I don’t really mind about gph until I build the tank for soaking. I’ m still going over the tank dimension before building my bigger enclosure. Filtration is a bitchy subject and a costly one which I don’t suggest to anyone. Basically because theirs nothing worse than having the pump!!!!!lol. I’ve had great results and will be posting pic soon... The filtration I’m putting in now is capable, but temporary until the bigger enclosure is built.
05/21/12  12:18pm
#2267123 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: 3240   In reference to Message Id: 2267052  Enclosure building status Yes I have, and I have built a few for my idiot friends with larger reptiles .... Only thing cheap about it is the buckets and PVC pipe. When I firrrrrrst started doing it , was simply because of my travel schedule. Nowadays there are so many more options and with manufactures catering more to large scale aquarium projects the inflow and outflow diameters on filter friendly pumps is increasing. But like I said the $hit is expensive and all pumps aren’t create equally... It’s just a method that works for me....
05/21/12  12:25pm
#2267127 Daryl- View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267121  Enclosure building status I was never calling it a bad idea, I just said that many have tried yet more have failed regarding filter systems - you clearly have knowledge that some don’t so I wish you the best of luck!
05/21/12  12:34pm
#2267138 3240 View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267123  Enclosure building status Can you provide some details of the filtration system? Link, pictures, or specs? I invested a significant amount of time and money in a filtration system years ago and it was a nightmare. The amount of solid waste produced by large monitors was a real issue. It was a nightmare and was rather nasty. Attached are pictures. The first filter contains larger particles than the second filter. To put it in perspective I use the same filtration system in this large Koi pond. Do you have any pictures of previous enclosures? Sounds like you’ve built some elaborate set ups and I’d enjoy seeing them. My lack of success, when it comes to filtration, has prevented me from acquiring a few species, such as Merten’s, that I’d like to work with.
05/21/12  02:08pm
#2267140 3240 View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267037  Enclosure building status Probably a dumb question but what’s the "DIY movement"?
05/21/12  02:12pm
#2267141 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Daryl-   In reference to Message Id: 2267127  Enclosure building status No harm Daryle my responses have a tendency to be seemingly abrasive, my apologies to all blog member present and future. Its just that I’m new to this method of info sharing. My writing style suffers from having to be too concise at time and not conversational enough. My purpose is to help, share, and possibly learn where I can. I hopefully can gain allies when my research on varanus begins this fall, going to need an unfathomable amount of numeric info from experienced varanus owners. I’ve spent several years tumbling through husbandry practices and found a comfortable ground. An unescapable right of passage for all of us unfortunately:(; but a shared one nonetheless. "Without critisism their is no science, without science there is are no answer."
05/21/12  02:16pm
#2267143 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: 3240   In reference to Message Id: 2267138  Enclosure building status @3240..... Now your talking!!!!! A full scale set up, haven’t see one of those since I was in Asia aka koi heaven..lol. I hope I can give some ideas. Do you have the model specs of your pumps; and PVC tube sizes in flow ad out? Pond looks damn good aestetically. I’ll respond in crazy psycho detail tonight ..... I have labs until 7pm unfortunately:(
05/21/12  02:26pm
#2267214 Gatorhunter View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267143  Enclosure building status What are your plans once your light weight tub starts to flex from water pressure? I tried tubs like those for water bowls but if I drilled them to run pipes through then they eventually leaked. The light weight tubs flex to much and break seals around the pipes. I had to use heavy concrete tubs and used over the top filtration that aquarium people use when they do not have a tank that was pre-drilled for a sump. How much water do you plan to move/ GPH? Turnover rate? What type of pump? MAG drive pumps are awesome pumps Are you using biological filtration with carbon? If you do not allow biological filtration then your ammonia levels will eventually get to high. Carbon is for water clarity. Turtles with crappy filtration get eye problems and other issues. I would have left a 3-4 inch drain in the bottom of the tub with a check valve for water changes. Better then trying to suck out the water and crap. I had large fresh water fish before I moved. 26in red-tailed catfish, 24in shortnosed gar, 20in silver arrowana, 12in pike cichlids, 13in oscar, and about another dozen large fish so I had to learn filtration inside and out. I still do not know how I would handle large water loving monitors but I did have my crocs down to weekly water changes after 2months of messing with it (fish was only once every two months if I wanted clear water). The crocs had to be maintained daily though. They broke the pipes, destroyed my bubblers, splashed out the water (mega mesh and hard on your pump). I still never got it to the point of being helpful over a pain in the butt. I think it can be done but I think it is going to require an acrylic custom made box, two pumps, a pile of check valves, a high turnover rate, large drain, large pipe, and some serious sized filter socks to prevent large particles from getting into the main filtration let alone the pumps.
05/21/12  11:14pm
#2267220 3240 View Profile	Message To: Gatorhunter   In reference to Message Id: 2267214  Enclosure building status Good post Dustin. Glad to hear that I wasn’t the only one to have problems.
05/21/12  11:57pm
#2267262 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Gatorhunter   In reference to Message Id: 2267214  Enclosure building status Way ahead of you bro the enclosure is a temporary encloser; I stated that in the initial posts. But yeah I’ m going to post pics of the new enclosure filtration as I construct it after this one... I ordered 1 inch cell .. Blah blah you seem to know your way around filtration so I’ll spare ya the mumbo jumbo. In regards to everything else I’m running through industrial pump models and calling manufactures. I’ll be posting their responses on the ability of their particular pumps to attack ungodly amounts of aquatic waste debri. I was just researching zoos and their aquatic filtration notes and i found some of their contractors which I will be posting my findings for you guys with massive ponds. I’m using allot of commericial grade equipment for my next encloser, I’m adopting a pond type of filtration style but with some definite twist, safety features, and added durability.
05/22/12  01:53pm
#2267264 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: 3240   In reference to Message Id: 2267140  Enclosure building status @3240 YouTube DIY ponds... Crazy info DIY stands for DO IT YOURSELF....
05/22/12  01:56pm
#2267338 Milkweed666 View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267119  Enclosure building status I meant the depth. Unless you made some kind of dam around the water tub, wouldnt the highest level of substrate be the top rim of the tub? Im no expert but every thread on here says atleast 12 inches of dirt. Your tub looks maybe 9 inches tall at the most. Not sayimg your wrong, just curious on how your going to do it.
05/22/12  11:27pm
#2267357 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Milkweed666   In reference to Message Id: 2267338  Enclosure building status No, your absolutely right! 24" is the generally accepted depth among owners. From photos, post, and photos that practice seems to be producing happy monitors.  My question is, the recorded burrowing depth for certain varanus species is surpasses a meter in depth with vast tunneling systems. I mean 24" in my opinion isn’t even meeting the perceived natural conditions half way. So I’m staing with my controversial 10" in my temporary tank. My new enclosure I’m placing 20" of corse soil and rock substrate running into 24" incline. This will be surrounding the large 20" deep custom cell cast tank. This is my feudal attempt to mimic a bank. In addition, a meter deep of rich thick soil on the opposite end of the enclosure with a plant compost on the bottom and top layer to generate a slight natural warmth. I mean no matter what we try all enclosures are the equivalent of a shoe box for any animal. My less than elaborate enclosure is just an attempt to justify my madness as a herp keeper... Varanus ornatus as you know with the confusion it had with the Nile species has little legitimate info. In 2002 an African check-list of their zoogeography was compiled by some guy Mark K. Bayless for a bio journal. Which pinpointed their concentration in specific area. This information is 10 years old and I’ve been digging ferociously through 2010 and above journals from different sources. The evidence of their concentration doesn’t seem to meet enough opposition for me to think other wise of Mr Bayless’s commendable but outdated study. Now the habit range as it stands is Ghana, Cameroon, and Liberia. You probably already know this is the African rain forests region. And when it comes to temperature stastically rain forest are 15 to 25 degrees below or above the equator and the forest floors are damn near bare. The floor and shrub level consist of course dirt and the famed rich rainforest soil and shrubs with the canopy blocking sufficient sunlight for new growth. zoo and Hollywood portray rainforest as jungles but those thick vegetation areas are usually just clearings and not the bulk of the rainforest. With all this I decided that due to the difficulty that scientists have finding the damn thing..lol.. I should base a small part of my husbandry and cage building on geographical information. I wish the pet trade smuggling guys would right a publication...lol.
05/23/12  09:17am
#2267365 Milkweed666 View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267357  Enclosure building status Sounds like your enclosure will be amazing. I like the incline idea.
05/23/12  10:33am
#2267991 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Milkweed666   In reference to Message Id: 2267365  Enclosure building status Thanx, I just hope it’s habitable for my ornate. He had a rough time before I adopted him, i feel the thing deserve me going the extra mile. The damn thing eats like a king as well.lol. I’m trying to stay true to the food items they find in that region. THANK GOD FOR ASIAN MARKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
05/28/12  05:24pm
#2268172 Mdf View Profile	Message To: Dp525   In reference to Message Id: 2267991  Enclosure building status dp525 just keep in mind that the soil level however small it seems is recommend so that monitors are less likely to suffer dehydration in the hands of new keepers, they can dig into the soil & escape large spot lamps & ceramic heat emitters. If you caught the post about gators fire he had that wiped out most of his collection, only one survived & laid eggs a few weeks later!! the key to her survival was deep substrate, that’s why deep substrate is a most when your new to the game! :) As been advised i would really over do it on filter filtration & a bottom drain is a most for it even to start to work, good luck with your build & please keep us posted! :) 3240 that pond looks really nice. :)
05/30/12  03:41pm
#2268480 Dp525 View Profile	Message To: Mdf   In reference to Message Id: 2268172  Enclosure building status dehydration has never been in a problem for me with my monitors i always adopted a light misting or fogger on a RELIABLE timer. Mini ecosystems that I build tend to hold majority true to the natural environment . Its a pain in the dummy for most, but I have to go that extra mile. Humidity levels is a touchy issue for allot of individuals because they get scared off by the possible bacteria issues and over doing it scares. My substrate views won’t ever change, but I damn sure understand how you feel about it as a necessity for new owners. In addition, I won’t dare cheapen the purpose of substrate either. My tactics although different are sound and videos and pics are coming soon. When you get right down to it’s ecosystem mathematics from hell. I believe that enclosures are weekly maintenance items. soil pH and water pH being should be in their necessary ranges. I don’t recommend anyone new to the game reading this to play with soil pH until you know what your doing...all in all An outdoor enclosure would be my number one choice honestly...(sigh), but it does hold well for my research unfortunately.. I’ll keep you guys posted. I’m playing the 5 to 10 day UPS waiting game we all know and love. All inputs are noted. :)
06/01/12  08:00pm

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