Questions about Tropicaire humidifier....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:55 am

Hi all!Last night I set up the Tropicaire humidifer, and my humidity was perfect. I monitored it for a few hours at least, and it was pretty constant....However, I woke up this morning to 40% humidity! I almost died when I saw that!I've managed to get it back up to %66 at the moment, and I'm trying to figure out ways to make it work better. I've been reading posts on here, that say to make the tubing shorter from the pump to the unit. Mine is just under two feet, and I have a Rena 100 (the guy at the pet store told me that I needed less since it's not a water aquarium, but now I'm reading it's good to get something for MORE than the aquarium, which I will be doing shortly) I have a 29 Gallon.Should I make that tubing even shorter?I guess the tubing from the humidifier to the tank is about 4-5 feet. Should this be shorter as well?And how about placement? Does the pump need to be higher than the humidifier in order for water not to get trapped in the tubing? Does everything need to be higher than the tank?At the moment, I have the entire set up under the tank the in the little cabinat.If anyone has any advice or suggestions, please do let me know! I'm thinking I might be getting another tropicaire at this point!ACK!Thanks in advance!:-)~cAt*

Post by **JediMasterThrash** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 3:48 am

Check ventalation. You still need to keep the top covered to keep the humidity in. But you may be able to cover it less than before and retain the same humidity.Check the humidifier itself while it's running, and make sure you can see a good supply of bubbles pubbling up from the airstone. If not, then the pump might not be strong enough.Make sure the water level in the humidifier is well above the airstone.The pump does not need to be higher than the water level within the humidifier, but you do risk water backing into the pump and destroying it. I recommend getting a valve, which only costs about 1.50. This prevents water from going the wrong way in the line, and it also behaves like a muffler, reducing the noise slightly.Make sure that the air tubes in the tank are near the bottom. THey should be along a back wall, maybe just a few inches off the floor. Also check the placement of the humidity gauge. If the gauge is near an opening in the top, it will read less humidity than if it's near the air tubes or a waterfall or moist substrate.I've heard the recommendation that the pump be rated for twice the size of your tank. I also recommend moist substrate in addition to the humidifier.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:27 am

quote:Originally posted by Jedi Master Thrash:Check ventalation. You still need to keep the top covered to keep the humidity in. But you may be able to cover it less than before and retain the same humidity.Heya!Yup....before I had the cage type top with a towel which seemed to work wonders. I replaced this set up with the glass top, which pretty much covers the entire top, except for a tiny little area on the opposite side of the humidifier....Check the humidifier itself while it's running, and make sure you can see a good supply of bubbles pubbling up from the airstone. If not, then the pump might not be strong enough.Yup....got the bubbles going fairly well....Make sure the water level in the humidifier is well above the airstone.Check. No more than half an inch lower than the maximum level!The pump does not need to be higher than the water level within the humidifier, but you do risk water backing into the pump and destroying it. I recommend getting a valve, which only costs about 1.50. This prevents water from going the wrong way in the line, and it also behaves like a muffler, reducing the noise slightly.Ohhh, I was reading up one one of those and was going to get one. I knew about the water issue, but if it reduces the noise, that would be even better. The pet store employee told me that out of all they carried, the Renas were the quietest! Errr, I'd hate to hear the other ones, that's all I can say!Make sure that the air tubes in the tank are near the bottom. THey should be along a back wall, maybe just a few inches off the floor. Yup, although, I only have it on one side....Here is a picture of the setup.... You can see it on the right, behind the tree thingy....Do you think it would be beneficial to get another one going and place it on the left side of the tank? Does it matter that one side of the tank is less than perfect condition wise? Some even stay over where it's drier, so I don't know. Maybe they need the choice....what do you think? I also have the UTH on the right, under the tube....Also check the placement of the humidity gauge. If the gauge is near an opening in the top, it will read less humidity than if it's near the air tubes or a waterfall or moist substrate.I keep the humidity/temp gauge closer to the bottom. It's situated on the 'bad side'/left side because I like to see the worst case scenerio, but when I move it to the right, it seems more or less the same....which worries me!I've heard the recommendation that the pump be rated for twice the size of your tank. I also recommend moist substrate in addition to the humidifier. Hmmm, yup, the sand and the eco earth is a perfect condition....just moist enough. Also have the fountain, and two water dishes. In addition to that, I also have two mini dishes with two sponges....I'm going to go crazy! LOLI think I need a bigger pump, for sure. That has to be it. And perhaps another Traopicaire for the other side. What do you think?Thanks for your help!:-)~cAt*

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 12:38 pm

Have you tried testing your humidity gauge? Are you sure it's correct? I thought I was having terrible humidity problems until I put the humidity gauge from my ISO unit in the tank and compared it to the one already in there. The ISO gauge shot up to 90 (and they say the anolog kind tend to run low anyway) which really had me concerned. I am waiting on a digital to come from petdiscounters, because people say they're more acurate.Your crabitats look great, by the way!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:55 am

~cAt: I feel your pain! I had the same problem with my Tropicaire when I first bought it... I couldn't get the humidity over 60% at all, no matter what I tried. My substrate was 3/4 sand and 1/4 EcoEarth. I kept the tank (55gal) covered, tinkered with the placement of the humidifier, changed the tubing, bought an even stronger pump, but to no avail... the system finally started to work only after I put natural plants in my tank, and the air is now keeping at a constant 78% (unless I lift the lid for a while, and it drops to about 70). I'm not giving you a great answer, I'm sure, but I'm just sharing my experience with getting everything to work right.As a side note, I have an Indo that loves nothing more than to take the hard plastic tube off the side of the terrarium by hanging on to that suction cup!! Crazy crab.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 7:09 am

I'm glad I found this post! I also have a tropicaire and couldn't get the humidity to stay up (even after addressed my gauge problem). I cut the tube which was about five or six feet, down to two and now the humidity is apparently perfect (I also bought the valve-but I ordered it from Petdiscounters and it's comming). My humidity is at 75 and stays that way. Right now I am keeping in mind that my digital gauge is on it's way and I don't know for sure if my anolog is too high, or too low, so I am very happy with 75. Thanks all!