56 gal aquarium to terrestrial terrarium conversion

[little98dime]

this build has really gotten me inspired. I'm building one for my female Tremper Patternless, only with a 20 gallon high. Keep it up!

[fallenangelfyre]

Originally Posted by little98dime

this build has really gotten me inspired. I'm building one for my female Tremper Patternless, only with a 20 gallon high. Keep it up!

spanks!

question guys-
so i'm getting close to starting my concrete board & grout substrate idea, and i'm just not sure where to put the flexwatt. adhering it underneath the tank would make me feel much more comfortable with regards to the leo's being accidently electrocuted. but i'm worried that it would not transfer enough heat from the outside. since this is all-enclosed i can't use heat bulbs to supplement and am relying solely on the flexwatt for heating the entire enclosure. i left an access hole for wiring and am contemplating putting the flexwatt in a thin bed of sand under my concrete board substrate inside the tank. if i do this i was thinking i would wrap the clips and exposed wires from the flexwatt in electrician's tape and then kinda paint silicone around that as well to try to further water-proof. or do you think it would be sufficient with the flexwatt outside the tank? input? ideas?

[beckdg]

if i were to put flexwatt inside an enclosure i'd take lots of precaution.

early morning, before coffee example...

fill the clips with silicone and then put them over your connectors pressing the silicone in place to overflow a bit.
use your regular 3/4" black tape over the exposed ends like the instructions say. then run more all the way around the seem. then repeat with 2" black tape all the way around.
then take foil tape and tape your black tape down to the flexwatt on the top and bottom so the black tape doesn't curl up.

at that point if you wanted to waterproof the bottom with silicone or just silicone it in place go ahead.
one more piece of foil tape around the perimeter to hold it in place on the glass wouldn't be a bad idea.
then if you'd like you can waterproof the whole thing with silicone.

[little98dime]

Why not use a cobra mat? I have one in my 40 breeder under a later of sand and slate tile. Stays steady at 92 degrees. You could also use a regular heat mat. Never understood using flex watt when you gotta wire it and tape it,....

[beckdg]

cobra mat is flexwatt with a little rubber and a name brand stamp that skyrockets the price tag. wiring up a flexwatt takes about a minute and since you're already wiring it there's no qualms with adding essentials in line like a controller or dimmer. my flexwatt with dimmers cost me less than a cobra mat half the size and i have full control.

with all the extra we do to our tanks to make them more comfy/better looking and the fact that most of the extras we'd use on a flexwatt we'd most likely have laying around or can be found for cheap/used on other projects... i see no reason not to.

EDIT: for example i bought a lamp dimmer cord for my heat rope under pj's enclosure. i was in a hurry to get it so i picked it up locally for $19.99 plus tax. the heat rope was (if i remember correctly) ~$35. for the price of the dimmer alone i could have installed flexwatt with a dimmer and been done with it and saved the $35 i paid for the heat rope.

pssst... btw, the reason i chose the heat rope over the heat mat in the first place is it was about half the price for the same heat/area at my lps.

also, i find the adhesive on heat mats to be of poor quality to the point of being a major fail point and a sales gimmick. not only that i feel it's a common reason why glass shatters under the heat provided by heat mats. the heat provided is neither even nor consistent after a very short while when the corners and even the middle start to peel off the glass because the heat breaks down the adhesive. also, have you tried re-using a heat mat? i have used all the tricks i know of from using dish soap and a spatula to remove it so-as not to ruin/tear off the adhesive, storing them attached to wax paper, using dish soap and warm water to rejuvenate the adhesive for re-use, etc., etc. ... all with poor results. with flexwatt you apply the adhesive... silicone (that we likely already have) and foil tape (that we should already be using so we don't crack our glass) so there's no reason to try to salvage it for re-use. rip it off when you take the mat off and re-apply when it's time to...

[little98dime]

I was just curious as I haven't used flex watt myself. I got my cobra at a show for under $8 for a 40 gallon sized mat.

[beckdg]

another option is to get a heat mat at a hydro shop. they make them to keep plant roots warm. usually they're better for huge enclosures though as the smaller ones are harder to find at hydro shops. the prices are much better than at a lps though.

i must say though, $8 for a 40 gallon size would be a good price if i didn't already have enough flexwatt for all my future projects.

[little98dime]

yeah i couldnt pass up the price. down side is I have to wait for a show for those prices. :/

[Dwent]

this looks great! just the grout alone looks good, but i can't wait to see how the painting gives it another layer of awesome!

i also like how that hide is held in position with a set of wooden dowels to prevent it from harming your leo. this build was very well planned out, and you can tell just by looking at it.

[fallenangelfyre]

thanks for the praise guys- i'm pretty stoked that i'm finally making some progress on this one again, and am excited to see how it all turns out
beck- you the man. i will indeed take extra, extra precautions if i put the flexwatt inside the enclosure. thank you for all your suggestions on how to accomplish this.