a new viv, thing, monster

[NavyNate06]

well, i've been on here a while now, and i've read a ton of posts, believe me, i think i've read them all pertaining to what my interests are. let me tell you, i'm not disappointed. anyway, i digress, i've build probably four or five vivs so far, some of them successes and some failures, but hey, they happen. so i recently bought the most beautiful CWD, i know yours are better but...i don't think so. i currently have it in a 29 gallon tank. which it seems to like, but i wanted something bigger. so.....i looked around and got some ideas and started building a 4x4x2(LxWxD) enclosure for it. i know it won't be big enough, but a big one will come once i move again. now i just moved into my apartment from off the navy base and i haven't got a garage or any power tools(except a circular saw and a drill) so you can imagine what kind of a bear its become. so, its going to have a pool made from an old kitty litter pan with a pvc drain for ease of maintenance, two uvb and one uva lights, two basking shelves and a jerry rigged fogger. i might put some ventilation fans in it. it depends on my ambition to figure it out. i'm a retard when it comes to electics, seriously, IQ of 3. any more advise is always helpful.

pics coming soon

[griffen0218]

sounds like it is going to be awesome

[NavyNate06]

i sure hope it will be. the exterior is painted and the inside has been sealed and caulked. i have the tub placed, and am starting on the basking shelf.

heres a few pics of it so far. missed a lot of the building process but thats okay, use your imagination. anyway thats my dragon in his fog. i got an Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier from Walgreens, it was only about 25 or 30 bucks. i still need to make an attachment for it, but that shouldn't be a problem.

that reminds me, what in your opinion is the best fogger placement inside the enclosure. up high so the fog falls or down low. i'm not sure if i'm using a screen front or glass. budget issues.

[froggsong]

You've gotten farther than me so far!!! I had the case almost built, and then realized that I must have been on crack when I first calculated my measurements, so now I have to take it all apart and start over on that part!

It looks good so far, but I have a couple of questions...

First, what did you seal the interior wood with? It still looks like plain wood in your picture... Remember this is a very high humidity enclosure, so you have to be sure your wood will not warp or rot.

Second, what are you doing for lights? Your top is entirely enclosed, I see, and it is dangerous to have the lights INSIDE the enclosure, because if they are able to, they will try to hang upside down from the bottom of the lights, and you don't want to risk burns! I know you said two uvb and one uva lights, but what are you doing for ambient heat and basking heat?

Third, a screen front is a really bad idea for CWDs, because the screen will not hold in your humidity... The only way you will be able to keep a constant 80% is too keep the room that humid, if you use a screen front. If you can't afford glass ATM, then go with some plexi... You can get away with using the thin stuff for a while, but it will eventually warp from the heat. That way you can save for the glass.

Fourth, other than thinking about using a screen front, what are you planning for ventilation? You CAN go with an entirely closed tank, but you will have to at least move the air around so that it doesn't stagnate. I'm planning on using my current screen lid for the tank mine is in right now, and keeping part of it covered like I do now, and also having part of the top made of wood.

As for fogger placement, I think you would get better results from having the inlet into the tank up high, that way the fog falls to the bottom, instead of having to rise to the top. I could be wrong, but I just think that would work better.

One more thing, if you are planning to have a substrate that will support live plants, I would recommend using the marine epoxy at least for the bottom of the enclosure, if not the entire inside. If you don't want to do that, or can't find it, you can line the bottom with plexi, like I am doing, or you can coat the bottom with silicone (which is going to end up MORE expensive than lining with plexi).

Hope this doesn't come off wrong, I just want to make sure you have thought of everything BEFORE you get it finished!!!

[griffen0218]

dude keep posting pics bcuz it sounds like it is going to be freaking schweet!! oh and froggsong crack is very bad!!

[NavyNate06]

thank you all for the help your giving. well, it looks like the build will be going on the back burner for a while. we might be getting evacuated from the tropical storm thats headed, and i kid you not, straight for jacksonville. though this will give me time to brainstorm the rest of the project. so far i've been flying by the seat of my pants and getting by with the skin on my teeth.

the interior has been sealed with a few layers of deck sealant. and some silicone 1, not too worried about the toxicity since it will be a few weeks before its done. i've put down two coats throughout the entire inside and i think i'll put about 2 or 3 more down before i'm finished. the marine epoxy shouldn't be too hard to find. i've got a Westmarine down here and i'm sure they've got it. i might throw down some of that too just to be certain. i don't want it leaking all over the apartment. i've already had my clothes washer malfunction and flood the place so i really don't want to deal with that again, though it won't be nearly as severe.

for lighting, i was thinking about putting the ballasts on the inside but i will probably reconsider it, my CWD does like to climb. but thats down the road. i'm trying to find some cheap 24 inch under cabinet fixtures rather than the ungodly expensive ones at Petco. for heat i was planning on cutting some holes an placing some heat lamps in such a way to point the heat in at an angle while still inaccessable to my critter, sounds way too complicated and it is, i'm still working on that part. i would put some undertank heaters under the substrate but i don't want to risk shorts in the wires. doing that would aid in the humidity as well but i don't know how to do that safely. another work in progress.

for ventilation i was thinking about cutting some 1 inch holes around the top and a few at the bottom and covering them with silicone or if i use the marine epoxy i'll just epoxy the screen in. if i don't get enough flow i'll install some fans or drill some more holes.

now for the front, i would consider glass, but i have tried to cut it myself for homemade aquariums, and i've found i'm glass cutting dislexic. plus i don't want to pay for custom glass. i'm better with plexi but for some reason its more expensive down here than glass. i'd like swinging doors but i don't have the tools to cut the slots for the panes and craftsmanship sucks so it may be a while, stupid cats are chasing escapee crickets. i've thought about sliding doors and am leaning more and more that way, but i have to figure out how to go about doing that.

so i think that covers it for now. keep the critisism?? coming, from the experience around here i don't think i'll ever take offense to it, as long as it helpful. i'll tell you what though, my 6x6x2 will be equal to the eagle lander after this project.

[griffen0218]

seriously plexi glass is more?? acouple of weeks ago me and my mom went garage saling adn we picked up to huge sheets for a dollar a piece hadnt been used just alittle scratched but thats alright

[froggsong]

I promise I wasn't criticizing you!!! Just making sure you had though of everything... I've been planning my large build for some time now, and I find I have to keep going back and redoing things because I didn't think of them before! I wanted to do sliding doors, but it isn't working out for me at all... So I bought some wood I could use to sort of make a three layer sandwich around the glass to frame out some doors. The reason I couldn't do sliding doors is because I could not find any sort of track anywhere... Besides, the way I am planning it now, I will be able to completely open the doors and fold them along the sides to get them completely out of the way for maintenance. I don't think UTH's would be a good idea with wood, they don't work properly because the wood absorbs the heat but doesn't release it as much, does that make sense? You CAN however, put an aquarium heater in to help with heating the enclosure and aide with humidity, just make sure it wont warm your water too much. I got one that is preset to 78 degrees and rated for 2 to 5 gallons for the tank I currently house my CWD in. I ended up taking it out though because his heat lights are now over the top of the water, and they warm it up enough on their own. The UV strip lights should be fine inside the enclosure, but I would do a test on how hot your particular bulbs get before you install them. Mine are barely warm to the touch, so I think those should be fine in the enclosure. If you want to be really sure, install them where you want them, and then put a wire cage around them so the dragon can't reach. He may hang upside down from the screen though, lol... I'm not sure about diagonal placement of your heat lights though... I'll have to think on that one for a while.

Well, I have to go get ready for work... I finally have a day of tomorrow to work on MY tank again... YAY, I get to take it all apart and start over again!!! (I hope the sarcasm came across in that...)

[NavyNate06]

yeah the sliding tracks are what is holding me back from the sliders too. if i had a table saw it would be incredibly simple, just cut two parallel groves just over sized to the panes in two 1x4s and install them. for a light cover i was thinking about using our ever faithful eggcrate under the lights, but i don't have much room to work with. i tried to give the CWD as much room as i could in the enclosure. heating and basking will remain a thorn in my side it seems. but we'll figure something out.

[NavyNate06]

oops forgot about some pics.

the one is the box from my humidifier so if you like the idea you know what to get. i'm still trying to find some fittings to work with the opening, its an odd size.

the other is some stuff i picked up in the bird section of petco.