Tell me your gravity water system secrets!

[Armiyana]

Seriously wondering what I did wrong. The only thing I know happened was my partner saying, "At least we fixed the tub flooding thing" 2 days ago. Is that the problem? Lol

I have your typical quick bucket setup. Reptile Basics 5 gallon tub, tubes and nozzles. I had an issue with flooding 2 months ago, so I took down the nozzles, took them apart and soaked them in some CLR. I'm in southern California and the water is known for being ridiculously hard at times.

I haven't drilled a hole in the bottoms for drainage yet... seriously considering it though after almost coming close to flooding another litter like last time... ugh.

There's no debris in the line. The 2 flooded tubs this time were the bottom two with the least amount of water being needed for rats. The only thing I did was maybe fill the bucket slightly more than I usually do... the last check I'll need to do is check that the actual bulkheads are still tight, but there's no leakage around the bucket.

Tell me.
What are your secrets for keeping your tubs hydrated and leak free! I would like to know.
Is my fate going to hinge on CLR soaks every 2-3 months in case of hard water buildup?

[Bogertophis]

I feel your pain as to the hard water in So Calif- I used to live there. But I've never been brave enough to use anything for watering all my rodents other than individual water bottles (& only the kind with the ball bearings in the tubes- they truly work!)- talk about being labor intensive. I've heard of this happening to others using these systems, & I wish I knew what the secret is- I think sooner or later, you just deal with a flood.

[Armiyana]

I've actually had to soak regular water bottles for the hard water buildup as well. Cause it would crust around the pipe and push the ball bearing up.

[Bogertophis]

I've actually had to soak regular water bottles for the hard water buildup as well. Cause it would crust around the pipe and push the ball bearing up.

Oh yeah, been there...

Watering systems are tempting but I knew someone that had an extensive set-up they used for a while, & they trusted it; but once it was left alone when they took a vacation, it failed. (I'm not that trusting... but admittedly that was years ago- I would have hoped they'd have the issues worked out by now?)

[Armiyana]

if it's (mostly) not broke, why fix it? lol
i suppose it's just the fact that any type of plumbing can fail. If i had the money for a perfect rodent room i'd probably look at a wat to set it up to a reverse osmosis filter and one of the self pressurized systems directly to it. xD
alas.... i am stuck with a simple rack in the downstairs area for now. lol