Aaaaand here we go, Hypnotoad's build.

hypnotoad · #1 (**permalink**) 06-29-2010, 03:15 AM

Greetings everyone, stopped by for a first post a few weeks ago about a space I was thinking about working with but I figured I'd start a thread for the build because it's gonna be a doozy.

I'm building this tank for a small phelsuma species or lygodactylus williamsi, haven't decided yet.

Here's the space that sparked this whole idea:

and it's accessible from this laundry room closet:

The idea is that I'll have a front opening viv with a nice white wood frame to match the shelf and all the ugly bits (misting system, lights, etc) will be hidden in the closet.

Well on Saturday my wife told me she was tired of hearing me talk about this and insisted that we go to home depot to get started. I didn't object.

I had already drawn up plans so getting wood cut was pretty straight forward. Here's the initial box:

It's oak plywood attached with corner braces and two part epoxy. I also drilled holes and put in screws every 6 inches or so along the edges.

here's me contemplating wood placement after siliconing the bottom (and exploding one tube because i didn't read the directions about the little foil seal inside).

The dog wondering what all the commotion is about (silicone is dry, don't worry):

So today I screwed some driftwood into the walls and applied some foam. This is where I think wood as a building material can be advantageous. Everything heavy hanging from the walls is attached before I apply any great stuff, so the foam isn't bearing as much weight as it does in glass tanks. For this reason i decided not to bother with egg crate material. anyway, here's what I've got so far:

Some initial stray observations:
1) you need more of everything than you think, especially silicone
2) if you've somehow never used a caulking gun like me, READ THE DIRECTIONS ON THE TUBE
3) great stuff gets really big. You can trim it, but the porous, bubbly guts are probably a nightmare to spread silicone onto.

more to come, going up to the wind river in wyoming this weekend for the fourth so I'm gonna try and scrounge up some driftwood.

Thanks for looking.

Stacyah · #2 (**permalink**) 06-29-2010, 10:53 AM

Looks good so far! subscribed

Ozymandias · #3 (**permalink**) 06-29-2010, 11:10 AM

looks good the silicone is actually pretty easy to spreed on carved great stuff (bubbly guts ). it proves a better hold actually and depending on you methods of back ground you have to cut off the smooth surface.

(its always good to have extra supplies, especially silicone)

hypnotoad · #4 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 03:43 PM

Well it's been a while, but I've been busy making a huge mess.

Here's a photo of my "workspace" to give you an idea

Anyway, I screwed in some more African root wood from my local aquarium store and kept foaming everything up. Ozy you're totally right, the carved up great stuff holds silicone much better than the smooth foam surface. I've been sticking a mix of peat moss and Zoomed Repti bark on top of the silicone and shooting the super hard to reach places with a tiny bit of matte brown exterior rustoleum.

To make a "bowl" to hold the substrate I screwed a 2.5 inch tall board across the bottom and foamed that up too. Here's what I've got so far.

Attached a piece of horizontal bamboo with corner braces and foamed it into place.

Left a bit of the lower left corner un-foamed and drilled some holes to attach an exaust fan to the outside. The holes are full of silicone and I may just end up cutting a big hole and putting some screen over it.

anyway that's where I am so far.

froggsong · #5 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 03:52 PM

It's starting to look good! Can't wait to see more of it.

Oh, and as for the mess, at least that's not in your KITCHEN!!!!!

CrazyAirborne · #6 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 05:12 PM

wouldnt you want to seal all the wood on the inside before building? or did you and i missed it? or are you planning on having all the foam covering it so it wont matter? Idk. i always just see people coating the inside of wood Vives with an epoxy or something?

hypnotoad · #7 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyAirborne

wouldnt you want to seal all the wood on the inside before building? or did you and i missed it? or are you planning on having all the foam covering it so it wont matter? Idk. i always just see people coating the inside of wood Vives with an epoxy or something?

I guess I just figured the foam with silicone covering it would keep the wood itself from getting wet. all exposed edges will be covered with silicone and the whole outside will be painted with something waterproof. we'll see if it works but I think it'll be fine. It's a day gecko viv so it'll never be soaked.

froggsong · #8 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 05:50 PM

As long as there is a silicone barrier between the wood and the water, it will be just fine. I have a cage made of pressboard (cheap old stuff too, from the late 80's or early 90's, I had the bookshelf forever, lol) that was up and running for a couple of years at least. I took it down because I wanted something different, it still holds water just fine.

Just beware of pinholes in the silicone where it directly contacts the wood.

jpstod · #9 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 06:34 PM

Great Start

What are you going to house?

How are you doing a Top?

I wish I had a space I could do this.

I think it would be Nice because you can do a Screened top and have everything out of sight in the Closet like in a Zoo

hypnotoad · #10 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpstod

Great Start

What are you going to house?

How are you doing a Top?

I wish I had a space I could do this.

I think it would be Nice because you can do a Screened top and have everything out of sight in the Closet like in a Zoo

yeah I'm gonna staple a screen top to the front. I have a mist king on the way and there'll be a small plank across the top to string the nozzles through.

The tank will house a trio of Phelsuma Klemmeri.