# Easy way to keep a humid enclosure clean



## angelofdeathzz (Jul 29, 2011)

Just thought I'd throw this out there for people that have Humid tanks and get mold in the substrate from time to time:

If you have NO real plants or soil in you tank but need high RH you can get mold problems and I found a easy way to deal with it, the Sphagnum Moss or what ever you use for substrate can get mold and or fungi if it stays wet and the frazz and dead flies stay wet to long, so yes you need to clean but a 1 part white vinegar 2 parts water will kill all of it, used as a spray(not on mantid directly) or poured over the substrate(you do want high RH right) will kill all mold in a day or less and not harm your mantis, it smells a little funny(it is vinegar) but is harmless to animals and your mantis (not directly put on the mantis, leaves or where they may drink!) It's been working for me for over 2 months, for me to test it out before I spread the news. It may need to be done more than once to get full benefits of the treatment.

Not a excuse to not clean your tank, but I've cleaned the whole thing(replacing substrate and all)and in a few days to a week still saw mold crop up in high RH set ups.


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## sporeworld (Jul 30, 2011)

Nice. I've been battling mold for a while now. Also battling little gnats. Yuck!

Any issues with the vingar ATTRACTING things like gnats...?


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## PhilinYuma (Jul 30, 2011)

Sporeworld said:


> Nice. I've been battling mold for a while now. Also battling little gnats. Yuck!
> 
> Any issues with the vingar ATTRACTING things like gnats...?


Because I use mostly net cubes, I don't have these dew point issues, but I do use vinegar to clean my humidifiers, and whether they are attracted by the traces of vinegar or simply by the moisture, my humidifiers attract FFs phorid flies, midges, you name it.

@Angel: You can avoid this condensation by checking the temp at which you have a RH of 100% (dew point for that particular water vapor pressure) and then increasing the temp a few more degrees _at the coldest point in the tank_. In my experience, I can have a temp/humidity setup where the RH is, say 90%, but as the water vapor sinks into a lower, cooler part of the tank, it reaches the dew point. Had you considered using some sort of basking stone to increase the temp in the bottom of the tank, or are you trying to maintain saturation levels?


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## angelofdeathzz (Jul 30, 2011)

I haven't had any gnat problems or unwanted pest's to date, but I never had them in the first place,one prego pest and your in for a tough time to keep them down after that vinegar or not. You can make traps for you unwanted guests by filling little solo cups with vinegar and adding a few drops(3-4) of dawn(dish soap) to it, works very well and is safe and cheap. If you have a problem you'll be amazed at how many little dead bodies you'll see in the cup in one or two day's.

And yes Phil I heat the bottom of the tanks as well, but I think that only encourages the mold, y/n ?


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## sporeworld (Aug 29, 2011)

So, I'm considering putting the viegar w/ soap solution INTO my enclosures. But in a cup with a wire mesh lid on it. Fruit Flies (and whatever those other little things are), can get into the solution, but not the larger mantids. Thoughts...?


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## d17oug18 (Aug 29, 2011)

evorating soap into the same environment of an expensive species seems trivial. Try on another species, soap in the atmosphere will create lime scale and that may get ON the mantises. My 2 cents sense you plan on putting this mixture in a high heated area. Im no chemist so i could be wrong on this info.


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## Termite48 (Aug 29, 2011)

I am not chemist, but Chemistry was my minor at Fresno State University one hundred years ago. Fortunately the formula for simple soap has not changed. It does not, in the simple state evaporate, only the water evaporates. If one uses pure water, there should be no problem with the soap idea. The good thing about soap is that is also in reducing the surface tension of the water ( as a surfactant) makes it a trap for gnats and they cannot escape as does a yellow jacket for example. As with Phil. so far with the use of the net cage, I have never had mold and I do use a substrate in some cages (coco fiber). I am also raising a baby Panter Chameleon and to get a little liquid in her life, I made a needle hole in the bottom of a 6 oz. Dixie Cup and place water in the cup, set it on top of the cage over where I have a live plant in a pot. The water makes a little splash here and there as does rain, and little Chamy likes to get her drink that way as do the feeder insects that are too stupid to use the water crytals. No mold in there either.


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## angelofdeathzz (Aug 29, 2011)

I would think it's safe to use around the mantis, we could drink a whole cup of it and not die, may have the runs real bad but its not lethal, and with mesh on top there's no need to worry. But the gnat's may not be so lucky...(;


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## Precarious (Aug 29, 2011)

All I do is cover the floor with paper towel and keep the moss in a shallow dish (like the wide ones you get Chinese food in). That way you can keep the moisture contained within the dish so the rest of the floor stays dry. Plus you can just lift the dish out to clean or replace the moss.  

I started doing this because some of the wood I was using in my enclosures was developing mold from all the moisture in the moss. Now the moss doesn't directly touch any of the wood and no more mold.


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## angelofdeathzz (Aug 29, 2011)

Yeah very good point, but not very fun to look at, but a enclosure with a deli cup or two filled with moss then holes in the upper part to let out moisture and a lid with dry moss in the bottom of the tank that never really gets wet is something you sparked my brain on, thanks man.


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## sporeworld (Aug 31, 2011)

My mold issues are from dead bug parts (mostly flies).

I like the moss-in-a-cup idea, but I've been trying to keep it crazy-humid, and I don't think that will be enough (well, maybe).

Of course, I could always put multiple cup'o'moss in. The advantage here is that most of the body parts will fall on dry paper.

I've also considered drilling holes in some pvc, and stuffing it with cotton, sponge, or even paper towels, then soaking it (or pouring water INTO it).

I've also used something like this (below) for my flies. Maybe use it for mantids, too.

My link


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 31, 2011)

The problem with peat moss for me is that it can be a source of mold itself. Consider using the kind of plastic sponge that we use for bungs and is sold as a crib matress. You can cut that into any size that suits you and you don't have to bother with protect iting it from insects., Also, you can sterilize it by boiling or giving it a bleach soak.


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## RevWillie (Aug 31, 2011)

You guys probably know about this system already, but...

When I was raising panther chameleons I read about and made a 'fog' system: ultrasonic humidifier with top output, PVC coupler fits in top hole, PVC pipe goes 3' up and 90 degree elbow to horizontal pipe over the tops of the cages, horizontal pipe has 3/8" holes every 3" on the bottom. Hook the humidifier up to a multi-event timer and your cages get a fog/humidity shower whenever you want.

Sorry, I looked and don't have any photos of the system - but I still have the humidifier.


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