MistKing users?

[miguel camacho!]

Any fellow Uroplatus enthusiasts using a MistKing system? I'm interested in hearing how you manage the spraying schedule for various species, and furthermore if anyone has any suggestions on how best to deal with a single unit misting differently sized enclosures. I'll potentially be hooking it into my custom 2'x2'x4', a 75 gallon converted vertical, and an exo terra 18"x18"x24". Very excited as I've mulled over the idea of getting a MistKing system for a long time now.

 

[Jackp308]

Have no recommendations on your dimensions but this is what I have going on.

6- 18x18x24's -One standard nozzle centered per cage.
1- 36x18x18 - Two standard nozzles centered evenly.

To ensure my cages aren't completely saturated and have time to dry out enough between mistings and throughout the day I have chose to use
one mintute misting session 10 mins before lights out at 5:50pm then lights out at 6:00pm and one minute misting session at 12am.
I used Ultimate Mistking System- 5 gallon bucket for reservoir with small heat pad stuck to side to keep water at a comfortable temperature.

These are all standard Exo terras so they are the same dimensions except the one which is close and Im housing the same species of sikorae in all of them. Soon I will connect to my 24x24x48 Screen that I keep lineatus . I will obviously have them at the same misting intervals and see how that works out.

Also Im in process of converting the cages as Marty has shown on Mistking site with removing the screen from the tops and replacing with acrylic. Drilling ventilation on the tops as well. I have basically ruined the screen tops within 1 year of misting due to rust. Which I think is a manufacture problem and I have addressed Hagen of the quality material that "exo terra" chose to use on their products. They are completely orange now and will drip rusty water.
I love my mistking. Wouldn't have it any other way.Ill post some pictures when I complete the acrylic tops and add the 24x24x48. Hopefully by the end of this weekend .

 

[Calfirecap]

I've been using the Mist King nozzles for quite some time now. I've tried different varieties, but the Mist King heads seem to provide the finest mist and the fewest drips. For larger cages I use two heads. I'm using the Exo-terra cages but unlike the other comment I haven't had any rust problems and I'm probably going on 4 years plus.
As for misting durations, I have them set for 15-20 seconds and I still sometimes have too much water and as a result end up changing out all the substrate. This problem is usually do to drips. In the winter they get misted twice a day and in the summer 3-4 times a day. There are 17 cages set up on one system and 15 hatchling cages set up on another. The hatchling misting is more like 10 seconds 2X/day. (Exo-terra cubes can flood quickly if there is a problem)
Each cage is also plumbed to a humidifier, also on a timer.

Lawrence

 

[miguel camacho!]

I thought I read something or heard something about the nozzles being guaranteed drip proof. I might be wrong. But thank you both for sharing your experiences.

 

[Jackp308]

I use the additional zip drip valve. It comes with the current packages. I have no drip issues with that being set up.

 

[BonnieLorraine]

The older Exo Terras don't rust, I'm going to guess yours falls under that category Lawrence. They switched their stainless steel screen manufacturer in China to a lower quality screen, and the rust problems only popped up about a year or so ago. All of mine need the screen replaced, and they're practically new.

 

[Calfirecap]

Bonnie,
Very interesting and disappinting news about the Exoterra screen top change. I was going to pick up a couple of more so I could purge the last of the Zoo Meds from my racks. Guess I had better wait.

Jack, good to hear the Zip-drip valve works as claimed. The problem on my end is that I'm using Pro-mist pumps and the zip-drip won't plug into them. I converted all my misting heads to Mist King several years back, and then again upgraded to the black colored reduced drip tips, but kept using the pumps from my original set up.

So there you have it Miguel, make sure you use the Mist King pump, zip-drip valve, and Mist King heads. It will cost you in dollars, but you will make up for it in labor and convienence.

Lawrence

 

[miguel camacho!]

Got it. Eagerly awaiting my MistKing system.

I want to make mention, though, that I have one of the Exo Terra 18x18x24 enclosures from when they first rolled out in the early-to-mid 2000s (used to have two), and the screen top on at least the one I have now is slightly rusted. Not to the point of brittleness, but there is definitely rust on the top screen, so it's not just the newer models.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

On the related topic of over saturation, a drain may be installed in the lowermost layer of the substrate (hydroton, aquarium pebbles, etc.) to prevent over saturation and flooding in the unlikely event of a misting system failure resulting in a misting cycle that fails to stop.

While floods are not a particularly huge risk in the exoterra enclosures with front opening doors it is a serious potential risk in normal aquariums fitted with a screen top.

We lost 12 75 gallon paludariums of breeding A. vermiculatus to a flood situation; while our circumstances were not the result of misting failure (this was an actual flood), we have developed enclosure design methods to prevent the issue from happening again should we ever find breeding stock to work with in the future. We later calculated our total loss was in the range of $12 to $24k range, not including lost offspring or lifetime sales losses.

The moral of this is, plan for the worst and hope for the best, if your plan is inclusive of every possible failure you are highly likely to ever experience one.

Maurice Pudlo