will sand and gravel make a good filter

[Guest]

I'm thnking of putting a waterfall in gogzillas cage to bump up the humidity. Obviosly tegus love to crap in their water and kick in substrate. I remember in middle school we did an experiment in which water was poured thru a layerr of sand and then gravel. Supposerdly this cleans the water. I'm thinking if I incorporated this into the design that it would take care of the bio waste and if I put the whole waterlevel above the regular substrate. Then that would solve that. Obviosly he would be able to climb to the water source but not kick stuff in. Does this sound sensible to yall? Also have any of you heard of biosand? Supposedly it contains good bacteria to eat the bad. Have any of you heard that it would be safe for something like this?

 

[Citrinellus]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm</a><!-- m --> This link explains the nitrogen cycle and beneficial bacteria. Which is what you would need in your filter.

I've never heard of biosand... but I have beneficial bacteria in my fish tank gravel. But, it isn't enough to handle all the fish waste. Which is why I have to use additional filters. So the sand/gravel combo would only be able to remove large particulates from the water. Not sufficiently remove the ammonia and nitrites.

Even if you had a good working filtration system, it would take a few weeks to months for it to cycle and become large enough to sustain the waste your tegu produces. And if that is sucessful, you would still have to change the water frequently to remove the nitrates. It seems like your idea is a lot of hassle when you could just use something like this, <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm</a><!-- m -->, and have better results.

If you any questions on something or missed I something, feel free to pm me.

 

[Guest]

Hmmm. If you crapped in a bucket of water and "filtered" it through some sand and poured it in a bath tub, would you want to bathe in it? What about drink it?

I would bet you wouldn't.

You're going to need at least a huge canister filter of some sort. And with the amount of waste your tegu would make, you'd still doing weekly (at least) water changes and cleaning. This includes the waterfall basin, all the hosing hosing, water pump/filter, etc.

I've built a waterfall in my vivarium of only a handful of tree frogs and it is A LOT of work still.

I used to have one in one of my lizards tanks. Even using a Fluval 105 canister filter, rated for up to 25 gallons, required DAILY cleaning even for a mere 10 gallons. I couldn't even imagine how much work you'd have to do for an adult tegu.

 

[Guest]

I would go with a two stage filter system. The first is mechanical. This would be something to filter out solid matter. I would use a prefilter sponge and clean it out daily. Followed by filter floss of filter pad. Depending on the waste you will change it about once a week. The the second stage would be your biological. a sand filter would work great. These are used on most public aquariums or ponds. Here is a link for a unit: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5163+5186+5280&pcatid=5280" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... catid=5280</a><!-- m -->
Another is a fluidized bed filter: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3654&pcatid=3654" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... catid=3654</a><!-- m -->
You could also use most external pond filter systems or a large canister filter. No matter what you use I would clean out the open water daily and change about 1/2 the water weekly with dechlorinated water. I use the natural method and let the water sit over night.
If you have any questions just PM me. I have 20 year experience with aquarium setups. I have set up large systems in three pet stores including one of my own. I have set up dozens of tanks in offices and homes. I have done consulting for pet stores.

 

[Toby_H]

I recently added a home made 6~7 gal DIY water dish which includes a filter for my Tegus Enclosure...

Water in any form of reservoir will need to be changed frequently. By filtering it you can make it need to be changed a little less frequently or allow you to change less per week.


Running the water through just about any material will allow the physical waste to get stuck in the material (mechanical filtration). So yes gravel and sand will serve this purpose. Although I would select a material that would be easier to clean.


I wouldn't be overly concerned with "biological filtration" in your Tegus water feature.

Basically animal waste is ammonia based. Then one kind of bacteria "eat" the ammonia and "poops" nitrites and another "eats" nitrites and "poops" nitrates. Since nitrate is far less toxic than ammonia this makes for an easy way to improve water quality.

It works well in fish tanks because there is a very consistent supply of ammonia. Fish emit ammonia through their gills during breathing and emit waste fairly consistently/constantly.

The waste 'provided' to your water feature by your Tegu will be a bit different. Some days it won't add any waste at all, some days you'll pull it out promptly, some days you'll miss it and let it biodegrade in the filter. Thus it will be impossible for the bacteria to establish a quantity for consistent use, since the "food supply" will be very inconsistent.


Instead, my suggestion would be to use a filter media that is easy to clean. I am using a sponge. The water box was designed so I can easily access the sponge (but the Tegu cannot) for daily rinsing (it takes about 3 minutes). Making the media easy to clean is the trick to ensuring it will be frequently cleaned.

I would also encourage frequent water changes. My method is to scoop a gallon or two out and scatter it across the mulch every day or two and replace what I took out with fresh water. This gives me about 150% water change per week.

Inevitably there will be some "beneficial bacteria" (Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria & Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria), but I wouldn't put to much concern into this. You and your Tegu will be better off to rely on removing the waste promptly as opposed to trying to biologically break it down.


I do not agree with the opinion that you will need to break the whole system down scrubbing each part frequently. While I wouldn't poop in a bucket, filter it and drink it... I also wouldn't eat dog poop which several members recently reported as a common event in their Tegu's lives. Personally I like to shower after I go #2, but my Tegu doesn't even mind crawling through his. Lastly, keep in mind our Tegus have a very different 'digestive system' and are capable of processing a lot of things that our fragile human systems aren't. Raw meat for example.

All that in mind, a respectable maintenance schedule on a well planned out water feature should not be a problem...