It's ironic that you posted that because i was thinking about that other post just today while I was visiting Lowes, HD, and Target. I looked at all three for an ultrasonic humidifier and never found one. I saw plenty of evaporative types, cool and warm mist, and even one old-school type vaporizer. I read all the boxes and none were ultrasonic. Walgreens is the place eh? There's one right up the street from me. I'll check it out.

Am I correct in assuming the other types won't work? Since they put out more of a stream I'm guessing they would condense in the plumbing. Thanks for the link.

thats cheap homer a ceramic disc alone costs £30.00
over here $50-60

Are this Ultrasonic Humidifiers the same as the ones for facial care and stuff like that or are they specially made for terraniums and such????

You buy it at Walgreens, a drug store, or you can buy the Sunbeam brand (the Walgreens brand is just the Sunbeam with another label) ultrasonic humidifier wherever they are sold(I recommend these brands because the reservoir hole is the exact size to fit a 1.5" PVC pipe into to pipe into a terrarium). It's an ULTRASONIC humidifier. Most of the humidifiers used for facials are steam humidifiers. These are usually made for people with colds, asthma, or just a dry house.

Another option is to use a misting system. I'm currently working with some other hobbyists to put together a misting system which can be sold as a unit that can run up to 6 misting nozzles at 1 minute intervals on a timer for around $50-$60. My prototype is working quite well, and I'll let everyone know when we get things lined out.

Anyway, to answer your question, the humidifier is not manufactured for terrarium use, it has been retrofitted as a terrarium fogger because these seem to work better than the "fogger discs" alone. You can get the same effect by using an aquarium pump and a fogger disc, but then you pay as much or more than the humidifier and don't have the refillable basin and flexibility of use.

All of the ultrasonic humidifiers were sold out at the local Walgreens. I guess people have been reading your posts!!! I noticed that none of the other ones even had a round hole...usually a slit....I can definitely see the benefit of the 1.5" opening. I use a vaporizer in my living room for the orchids and could definitely use something that would allow me to direct the stream to different areas. Highly appreciated info! I'll be checking other Walgreens in the area.

Woohoo!!! Went to a different store and they had a huge display of ultrasonics ON SALE! It just so happened to be the last day of a sale where the machine was $25 plus you get a free gallon of water...saved me a trip to the water kiosk. Those things are pretty darn cool. Anyone have any idea if the ultrasonics use more or less electricity then a regular 'vaporizer'? I'm sure I could track down the watt info and do the math but...I really don't want to. :)

The pic didn't come up, so I'm not sure what I'm thinking of...does this machine create a fog effect that "pours" down from above, like the same effect that stuff you get on halloweed does (dangit, what's that stuff called? The super cold stuff...)? Or does it just spray a small, well, spray of water?

It's a fog effect, but true fog--tiny, tiny droplets of water suspended in the air. If you have ever used an ultrasonic humidifier, it creates a fog that is so fine that it usually evaporates before it reaches the ground (in a home that has 50% humidity), but in a terrarium, the fog lingers for quite some time due to the high humidity. It's a pretty cool effect.

The link apparently doesn't work because it has been about 9 months since it was first posted. The pic is gone now. Sorry.

So it doesn't produce the cascading "dry-ice" effect?
*is happy I remembered the name*

The dry ice stuff would not be beneficial for plants or any inhabitants, so it should not be used.

Yes, it produces the same fogging effect, but it is not by the same mechanism. DON'T USE A HALLOWEEN FOGGER OR DRY ICE IN A TERRARIUM WITH LIVE ANIMALS--it is not safe.

It makes the cascading 'dry-ice' effect far better then any other option I've seen short of an expensive fog system or actual dry-ice. Aside from the hassle and expense of messing w/ dry-ice I don't see any reason why it would do any harm if you only have plants. The CO2 would kill animals possibly but the plants would like it as long as it wasn't constant.

Well dry-ice is out of the question for me, considering this is all going to be for two White's treefrogs. But I'll check out the stores for a Ultrasonic humidifier anywyas.

Use these instead! They are the same price as a walmart humidifier, but easyer to use and you can get replacement disk cheap!

Here is a link that might be useful: good choice for fogger

I used a system very similiar if not the same as the one being described, vacuum hose attached to an utrasonic humidifier (wallgreens) via pvc adaptor and had a very nice fog affect but had a major problem with water forming on the inside of the hose leading up to the top of the tank, the mist would gather on the inside of the vacuum tube and drip back down the tube into the mist release chamber of the ultrasonic humidifier, when this happens the water has nowhere to go but onto the floor! I tried putting the humidifier on top of the tank thus eliminating the hose but this got to cumbersome when accessing the tank, so I gave up on it all together. If there was something I was doing wrong please correct me! =)

I have the same set up I am useing an air o swiss humidifier with a clear plastic tube I have it going for a few monts now no problems at all

I went ahead and hooked the whole thing up again today and sure enough the @#$! thing leaked all over the floor again!Grrrrrrrr!

I have the untra sonic type from walgreen. (sunbeam) I have it piped out to 2 cases. First... you will need to get the "adapter" for the 1.5" pvc... at HD or Lowes... . go to the toilet/sink pipe area... (not the same spot as the regular PVC fittings)... they have an adapter that brings the thickness of the tube down to fit perfectly in the opening of the humidifier.

I have the pipes set up so that they branch into 2 lines... as long as you have it set so that all the fog that condenses on the inside of the pipes drips back to the humidifier.... it works fine. No leaks or anything for me at least.

the small fan is able to push the fog up at least 6 feet ( i just put the pvc on top as a test and it worked.

Question: Are you all letting these humidifiers run all the time, or do you have them set up on timers for intermittant humidifying?

iliketerrariums, i don't have any real world experience with this type of thing, but, from my limited studies in fluid engineering your problem may be the vacuum hose. they are usually ribbed on the inside (for strength) which causes chaos in the flow. this leads to vapor condensing into liquid. i would suggest looking for something smooth on the inside and see how that works. just some advice based on limited info. hope it can help.