# My er... setup?



## PhilinYuma (May 9, 2011)

Someone, Sporeworld? said recently that they weren't much turned on by net cubes. I tend to agree. Even when the netting and plastic sides are clean, visibility is not good, and when they get dirty, they are disgusting. I use just about all net cages, so don't expect to see any "Ooh Ahh!" pix here.

My plan was to set up about 60 feet of shelving with cubes, light/heating and humidification for about $500. When I'd had a thoroughly good laugh about that, I decided to start with half that space and then double it later. I do not keep my bugs in my bedroom, I sleep in my bug room, which make s a lot more sense, and I reckoned that if I could learn to sleep standing up, I could probably squeeze in a further 30' of "emergency" space.

The cubes are racked on Sterilite shelving. A five shelf, 3' long unit, about 14" deep costs about $50, so I started with two of these. They are strong and easy to assemble and clean. There is a clearance of about 4" between the top of each cube and the bottom of the upper shelf, but three cubes are pretty cramped on one shelf, and for the upper few, at least, I stack one humidifier between two cubes to humidify the shelf below.

Cubes cost at least $10 each (yep, the price has gone up!). They have a volume of about 71/2 gallons. They will not support the heavy "furniture" placed inside a 10gal glass tank, but they are cheaper, unbreakable, lighter, better ventilated and much more easily humidified. Fifty will cost you $500 retail (I worked that out myself!), though you can engineer a better deal if you buy that many. They are also much more easily cleaned than glass tanks. I keep a spray jar, with a red label and *BLEACH* in large letters. I clean a cube by spraying the undiluted bleach on it, inside and out over the bath rub and leaving it to do its thing. This may be a bit harsh for some folks' lungs and skin; I'm past noticing. Ten minutes later, just wash off the cube and leave it in the Yuma sun for ten minutes to dry.

I have no idea if this thread is of any interest to anyone, so I'll stop here and see if it gets any response. If it does, I'll go over heating, humidification and odds and ends. Cheers!


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## alicenwnderlnd (May 9, 2011)

keep going......


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## hibiscusmile (May 9, 2011)

Dear God! I wrote an answer and it is now gone! :hammer: 

ok, Phil, I agree with the net s of no use to me much either. I use them for breeding but no like the poop and insects falling out when u pick them up, makes more work for me.

gotta laugh, as I am past noticing the bleach too! :sweatdrop: 

So where are these cubes, u mention?

cubes? what cubes?


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## sporeworld (May 9, 2011)

If it helps, here's some of the re-thinking I've been putting into my enclosures (note: They are ALL communal). Here's where I'm at now:

A single communal ooth is hatched in a standard deli-cup setup up. Easy to monitor, humidify and heat (heatpads seem the easiest).

Once hatched, they move to an aquarium with sheets of fiberglass screen hotglued to the sides (for climbing) and a fully screened (removeable) top (NOT the sliding kind). Easy vwatering and ventilation.

Food-Holes cut in the top screen, reinforced with rubber washers.

Here's the part I like: This enclosure will be un-openned for about 3-4 weeks (L1-L3). That's about as long as I feel I can leave debris and frass without cleaning (I have very deep substrate). Food goes in and is eatten, or falls to the bottom.

The L4-subadult move to the much larger screen cages, or custom terrariums. Adults will be separated as needed (species dependant).

The SMALL glass aquariums are pretty easy to clean, if you have a work sink, or a yard with a hose. The larger ones are custom built with removeable sliding glass doors.

What I'm really realizing now, with species like Idolos, is that there is NO REASON to have a tall tank. They will always end up on the top. So I've been looking at arachnid tanks which tend to be very short.

I love, love, love reading and seeing pictures of other people's setups!


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## warpdrive (May 9, 2011)

oh, keep going Phil. we need some photos too.  

Harry


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## wyethia (May 9, 2011)

Interested in learning more...not understanding what you mean by "cubes" though...

Wyethia


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## PhilinYuma (May 10, 2011)

Oh, "cubes" are usually 12" fine net mesh cubes that won't let fruit flies out but can be nibbled through by a hungry cricket, though that is pretty rare (right Rebecca?) They are available at stores that sell butterflies. Both Mantisplace and Mantispets sell them at competitive prices. Check 'em out!

Using net cubes raises different issues for maintaining temps and RH than do glass cages or deli cups.I line the bottom of the cube with three or four layers of paper towel and mist that for passive moisture, and this may be enough if you live in a moist part of the country, but where I live the indoor RH is often in single digits, so occasional misting is not enough for tropical species like flower mantids that like it wet.

A cube will hold 4 deli cups comfortably, in which I incubate the ooths as I think I described somewhere else. I use two cubes and can just squeeze in ten pots. I mist them with one of those cute little Vick's heater misters that you can buy in Walgreens. They use sterile water, of course, so I only use that one. One day I shall have to make a larger hatchery and get a larger humidifier -- maybe one of those penguins! The rest of the humidifiers are the large 21/2 gal/day ones by Crane which are ultrasonic (their "adorable penguin" humidifiers are too small to be very useful), and cost about $40 at Amazon I use four of those, one in the middle of each of the top two shelves, and the mist drifts down through the holes in the shelves onto the cubes on the shelf below, so that gives me high humidity, about 80% RH for 8 cubes which get preference for tropical breeders. maintenance consists of filling the tank with tap water morning and evening, and rinsing the tank and the misting unit once a week with a vinegar solution. My house is FF and HF (but not BB) friendly so FFs are always being attracted by the moisture and traces of vinegar and invade the humidifier, where they drown. Kinda sad.

I am most pleased with my lighting/heating setup. High humidity knocks down the temp, even in my house, where I don't turn on the AC until the ambient temp is 85F. I have tried spotlights mounted on poles, but I am clutzy and inevitably catch my arm or elbow on one of the hot lamps. This makes a kind of pleasant roasting smell, but chunks of skin tend to stick to the glass and cut down on the light output. For the past week, I have been experimenting with xenon under-counter strip lights by Utilitech. The 171/2" strips cost about $40 at Lowes, so they may be cheaper elsewhere. You can get longer, more expensive ones, but the 171/2" is long enough for a 36" shelf and you can gang two together to eliminate a power cord. These are three-bulb halogen lights that use Xenon gas rather than argon or krypton. The light is whiter and the heat output a little less, which is a good thing since I can easily get 80F+ with 80% RF, so I am very happy. BTW, I guess that everyone knows by now not to touch the bulbs (when cold, of course) with bare fingers because under the high heat, salts in the oil given off by our fingers will become incorporated into the glass. Some folks say that this will lower the life of the bulb, but it is actually more interesting. The lighting industry describes the event as a "non passive failure" which is a cute way of saying that the bulb explodes! The bulbs are protected by a glass strip, but I was a little concerned about their coming in contact with the water vapor, but so far, so good. I have two up at the moment but will get two more at least, so that the two humidified shelves are well heated.

Well, there you have the basic setup. Maybe I'll think of the stuff I have forgotten, tomorrow.If anyone with a similar set up has found better methods and solutions, particularly regarding humidity, I would really like to hear them.


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## hibiscusmile (May 10, 2011)

Oh!  I thougth we were talking plastic :huh:


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## warpdrive (May 10, 2011)

have you tried a swamp cooler? or would that chill your room too much to be usefull?

Harry


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