Reservoir Watering system?

[Bdadawg]

I had problems with the round 5 gallon buckets so have temporarily taken it down until the square buckets arrive. The square buckets hold 3.5 gallons, so it should only flood 3 of the 4 tubs if there is ever a problem ::grins::.


I did have each line set up so I could do a full drain.

Unscented bleach is just 100% chlorine (some brands may have a few extra additives). So it makes sense why adding extra would help ... however the chlorine will have dissipated from the water within 2-3 days (unless your city water uses chlormamines instead of chlorine). Chloramines are chlorine binded with ammonia and is quite stable.


Bryan

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

What kind of problems did you have with the round buckets? I'm still in the drawing plan stage of things, and will test it on a small scale first once I come up with the time/money to implement it. I'm getting tired of the random water bottle leaking, and not because of a nest or bedding forcing it to leak. + the time to refill 50+ water bottles = oy and soon it will be 120+


I figure a 3.5 gallon reservoir would last one of these racks for a full week, but that would require 10 buckets just for one section.

ah well, I have time, and regular water bottles for now heh

[Bdadawg]

Basically I just cant get a good seal on the round buckets (and didnt allow myself enough room room to drill the bottom of the bucket). If i tighten it enough to get a good seal on the round bucket then I have misshapen the bucket and either the bucket cracks or the valve slips.


Noone said that one bucket had to water only one rack ::grins:: 1 3.5 gallon bucket should last 16 tubs 1.5 to 2 days (really depends on the temp of the room they are in ... over 76f and they are going to drink alot more).

HH HHOHH
O Aisle
HH HHOHH

If the racks are set up like either of the above diagrams it can easily water 16 tubs with only a little extra tubing. (H are the racks O is the bucket). The bucket would be on a 8-10" raised platform (upended milk crates work well as a platform).

You can get the 3.5 gallon buckets here. They are a flat rate shipper so you can order 11 buckets (19lbs) for 5.95 shipping. The buckets are $1.75 each.
(I spend alot of time researching for best prices).

Bryan

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

Basically I just cant get a good seal on the round buckets (and didnt allow myself enough room room to drill the bottom of the bucket). If i tighten it enough to get a good seal on the round bucket then I have misshapen the bucket and either the bucket cracks or the valve slips.


Noone said that one bucket had to water only one rack ::grins:: 1 3.5 gallon bucket should last 16 tubs 1.5 to 2 days (really depends on the temp of the room they are in ... over 76f and they are going to drink alot more).

HH HHOHH
O Aisle
HH HHOHH

If the racks are set up like either of the above diagrams it can easily water 16 tubs with only a little extra tubing. (H are the racks O is the bucket). The bucket would be on a 8-10" raised platform (upended milk crates work well as a platform).

You can get the 3.5 gallon buckets here. They are a flat rate shipper so you can order 11 buckets (19lbs) for 5.95 shipping. The buckets are $1.75 each.
(I spend alot of time researching for best prices).

Bryan

Yeah my calculations are that a full rack of 3x2' tubs (4) goes through about 1 gallon every 2 days in a 68-72 degree environment (in this case it is around 20-28 large rats), so in that case 3.5 gallons would last 3.5 racks for 2 days, or 4 racks for almost 2 days, which works for me.

Thanks for the links and info. Im thinking I might give this a shot soon, as soon as i finalize a few things. I want to use it for my mother racks as well, but I may be better off sticking to water bottles with them. (15 tubs in a 4 wide, 14 inch deep rack)

[Bdadawg]

Just an update.

Found one more site with good pricing on the valves.

http://www.klubertanz.com/Catalog.htm

from here click on feeding and watering.

They also have 1/3" hardware cloth (really hard to find). 1/3" is good for both mice and rats.

Bryan

[Sevo]

Just an update.

Found one more site with good pricing on the valves.

http://www.klubertanz.com/Catalog.htm

from here click on feeding and watering.

They also have 1/3" hardware cloth (really hard to find). 1/3" is good for both mice and rats.

Bryan

I ordered watering valves from these guys last week.. great service and the shipping was cheap

chris

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

Did you get your system with the square buckets up and running? I keep having other priorities trump my plans for building these, but now that i have nearly 100 bottles to fill, it is becoming something that needs done heh

[Bdadawg]

Ive been working on a "shop" to expand again for the last 3 weeks or so. So no, havent got it back up yet (no point in putting it back together when Im going to move it again shortly).

The shop will have shelfs set into the wall about a foot above the cages to provide the gravity feed. But most of my caging is now 5+ feet tall ... so ill have to use a ladder to fill them. Im still trying to think of another method that doesnt involve a pump (with gravity feed I only have to worry about 4 gallons of water instead of 40 getting pumped through a stuck valve). Ive still got 1/2 a wall to plywood (interior), so I have a few days to figure it out.

Even though I'm over 6' its still a pain to work with some of my top levels that are 5 1/2' tall, so I may work with a step ladder anyhow.

And yeah, im with you on the 100 bottles. Ive got about that many for my mice ... and another 80 or so for the rats. Takes about 2 hrs a day to fill em all now (and do a quick check of their tubs).

Bryan

[Sevo]

I have my rat rack on a auto watering system..

This is what i made so i dont have to keep filling the 5 gallon bucket:

get a floatless toilet water valve from HD and rig it up and adjust it to your water height.

Also, i put a valve and a hose at the very end of the system and have it on a slow drip ( i mean very slow)so fresh water will always flow and the bucket get fresh water in it. It helps the lines fresh

just some ideas i use

Chris

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

I have my rat rack on a auto watering system..

This is what i made so i dont have to keep filling the 5 gallon bucket:

get a floatless toilet water valve from HD and rig it up and adjust it to your water height.

Also, i put a valve and a hose at the very end of the system and have it on a slow drip ( i mean very slow)so fresh water will always flow and the bucket get fresh water in it. It helps the lines fresh

just some ideas i use

Chris

Have any pictures of your setup?

Im willing to refill the reservoirs manually, would rather not have 50 gallons in my basement