How do you clean terrariums?

[Paul Mc]

I'm curious about how to clean a few things.

First, the water in the false bottom is developing algae over the rocks that hide the false bottom. Is there some kind of chemical that I can use in the water that would be safe or does this just mean I need to remove everything and clean it up?

Second, the glass continually gets caked with scum. I'm assuming that I just need to take a clean clothe and wipe it off - no chemicals.

[Wjs2nd]

I believe most false bottom terrariums people have made have a drain plug. That way they can freshen up the water. I'm not to sure about the cleaning aspect for you. Someone with more terrarium experience needs to answer that.

[fishmommy]

I wipe the inside with a paper towel - or scrub with an aquarium scrubber if needed.

The water in the false bottom I siphon out with a tube. I did not drill any of my terrariums so I have to do it the hard way. All my false bottoms open up into either a pond or just an open area that I cover with a rock when I am not doing maintenance.

I drain the water every so often when it gets scummy, and manually clean the rocks.

If you really wanted to, you could add an aquarium-plant-safe algaecide but never add more without first draining and replacing the water since it will build up in there otherwise.

[Mikefromearth]

I actually siphon out the water in my false bottom and use it to water my plants! I figure all the great nutrients that leeched into the false bottom from the decomposing soil would be perfect to fertilize my plants. I've had 5/6 of my orchids bloom so far (in 8 months), so I must be doing something right! I use no additional fertilizer. Also, I use rain water/dechlorinated tap water to dilute the false-bottom water.

[ewcia1028]

Hello Mike,how do you siphon out the water from the bottom?

[Mikefromearth]

Originally Posted by ewcia1028

Hello Mike,how do you siphon out the water from the bottom?

I cut a small hole in the eggcrate in my false bottom. It's covered with vinyl screen which I can lift up. I just put a hose through the hole and siphon out the water into a bucket, which I then use to fill various plastic containers.

[Paul Mc]

So you guys don't take the false bottom completely out then to clean? Or I guess you would have to if it was a bad build-up.

[Mikefromearth]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

So you guys don't take the false bottom completely out then to clean? Or I guess you would have to if it was a bad build-up.

Nope. I cant take it out even if I wanted to. It would ruin my tank.

[Hornemadness]

For the water in the false bottom in the past ihave just had a pump that was in there in the corner that had a tube that went up and watered all the hanging plants, or if i had a false coco back, ran down it watering everything that had roots. If you let it run continuously you don't have problems with scummy water as it is always flowing. I use a razor blade and scrape away the mineral build up on glass. Its easier that scrubing it. However a good way to avoid even having mineral buildup on glass is to use a sonic mister or fogger (some places call the humidifiers). The great thing is that they cause the water to turn into mist ans the minerals get left behind on the metal plate in the humidifier. Makes it so you only have to clean a very small area, water/mist your plants and have glass that stays clean.