The feature of waterfalls or drip wall gives a visual presentation that increases the esthetic look of a terrarium. Essentially, it aids in maintaining increased humidity levels that are required for tending most tropical species of amphibians. Some owners observe that water elements even encourage breeding in particular species. The next paragraphs will touch on tips for making drip walls or small-scale waterfalls on your terrarium taking into account future expansion.
Before building the waterfall, make a plan of what you will do first. You can sketch the idea of your drip wall just to concretize it a little. Mull over where you want the water to flow, of course, water always seeks its own level. The elevation of the boundaries has to be considered. Drip walls are indicated for terrariums that are basically eighteen inches high. Anything below that will make it hard to do, even unrealistic.
Consider the submersible pumps that you are going to use. These can be bought in fountain pump dealers online. The specifications of your pump depend on the height of your drip wall. The unit of measure in the US being used for rating pumps is gallons per hour or GPH. The higher the GPH the more powerful is the pump.
There are ready-made water installations that can be purchased at pet shops or companies that specialize in containment supply. But they are only good for terrariums that are not permanent such as during trade shows. These look very artificial and are not advisable if your set up is not temporary.
By placing a submerged pump inside the environment under the drainage substrate (dirt, sand, rocks, or gravel), the water element could be created. This method is the easy way, no drilling, no hiding. But the disadvantage is when the pump needs fixing, you have to take out everything, gravel, rocks, animals, and all. Remember to place a filter fiber over the pump intake so that clogging won’t occur. An alternate method to the above set up is to place a false bottom directly above the pump.
Another design is constructing a sump below or beside the terrarium to house the pump. With this set up, accessing the pump is trouble-free but you have to drill two holes for the pump tubes to go through. You have this done at glass shops for just a minimal cost. Just make sure the glass used for the terrarium is not made of tempered glass, otherwise, it will shatter when drilled upon.
The last design concept is to use a canister filter. This is also located outside for easy access and removes waste particles from the water.
If you are having a hard time deciding what pump specifications are best for your drip wall, contact us. We also deal in large scale pond pumps as well as solar pond pump s for your outdoor fountain needs.