krazyeyez
Member
- Messages
- 42
Ok, so for anyone who has thought about building your own enclosure, especially to provide adequate space for adult growth, you might have run into a few hurdles... I know I have.... But I think I finally found a generally inexpensive way to house our little monsters ...
USED AQUARIUMS: hard to come by, and usually need a salt water tank to get the volume needed, which even when on consignment, previous owners tend to think their 20 year old tank with busted seals are worth there weight in gold...
MELAMINE/PLYWOOD/LAMINATES: great concept at first glance, but try pricing 1/2"-3/4" material, for melamine it can run you upwards of $96 a sheet, plywood $38, and most laminates are too thin to support the overall weight... Then you still have to vapor seal all of these materials with red guard, s
ilicone, andlor fiberglass to ensure the layers/particle board dies expand with all the humidity your pet requires... Wow, that just git really labor intensive and expensive.... And we didn't even cover hinges, screening, plexiglas, or tempered glass
I even thought I struck a deal, when a local pet store owner offered to sell me a 9x3x6 rack made of 2" barstock for $200, but then I priced the plexi-$400+, and a new thought came to mind, when you take a 36" doorof its hinges the jamb is still less than 35 1/2" wide, so how do I get it in the front door... S***!
THE FINAL SOLUTION: yeah, that has an eerie tone... I was on a job one day, and a glad guy was there installing a retrofit. I got to discussing with him my great frustrations with trying build a new terrarium, namely, the cost of tempered glass... And he says to me, why don't you just call the glass companies and ask them to call you when they do a retrofit on a sliding glass door? Immediately it clicked... If any of you have ever worked construction/maintainence, or have just broken a slider, there are 4 panels of 1/4 tempered glass in those frames... Not only that, but they measure 34"x70"/94", so they will fit throught the door!
This got me to thinking, one of my best friends works at a home improvement store (canter say which, but they have a big blue sign) as a door and window specialist, so I'll ask him to let me know when someone is replacing an 8 ft tall slider. Well, I am stuck on 8 ft bc I want the space especially if/when I get another there will be pleanty of room... But he tells me that this store actually stocks a 6 ft for about $358 new(no scratches, no tint peel) *great little fox bit for those of you who only have one or youngin's....
So, you take the frame apart, lay out you four pieces (have one cut in half, no one likes to cut tempered but they'll do it if you provide the glass and don't make them liable if it breaks) , make a base out of 1-2" angle iron/aluminum (if you can weld, there are companies that'll do it cheap, and everybody knows a guy that can weld his bumber back together), stack the glass, silicone the sides, lay top frame(same as bottom)... And now you have a 500 gal + terrarium/aquarium that will last forever, or at least until your best friend belly flops into it in a drunken fit...
LET'S REVIEW: used/new sliding glass door panels $0-358, angle iron approx $40, 100% silicone $6, a friend to help you weld/pick up/move glass $ case of beer.... So now you have a huge enclosure, built to better specs than what you buy the starter 120 gal tanks for, and it only set you back. $54-404 , a case of beer, and a weekend.
Like I said, I have my heart set on an 8ft long enclosure, so I will have to wait a little longer 'til one becomes available bc I'm not prepared to drop a grand on a new door... But 6ft will suffice for most, and its way cheaper than ordering tempered from a glass shop(call 'em and find out). I will be building mine, and will post pics and steps to complete when done... Hope this helps
USED AQUARIUMS: hard to come by, and usually need a salt water tank to get the volume needed, which even when on consignment, previous owners tend to think their 20 year old tank with busted seals are worth there weight in gold...
MELAMINE/PLYWOOD/LAMINATES: great concept at first glance, but try pricing 1/2"-3/4" material, for melamine it can run you upwards of $96 a sheet, plywood $38, and most laminates are too thin to support the overall weight... Then you still have to vapor seal all of these materials with red guard, s
ilicone, andlor fiberglass to ensure the layers/particle board dies expand with all the humidity your pet requires... Wow, that just git really labor intensive and expensive.... And we didn't even cover hinges, screening, plexiglas, or tempered glass
I even thought I struck a deal, when a local pet store owner offered to sell me a 9x3x6 rack made of 2" barstock for $200, but then I priced the plexi-$400+, and a new thought came to mind, when you take a 36" doorof its hinges the jamb is still less than 35 1/2" wide, so how do I get it in the front door... S***!
THE FINAL SOLUTION: yeah, that has an eerie tone... I was on a job one day, and a glad guy was there installing a retrofit. I got to discussing with him my great frustrations with trying build a new terrarium, namely, the cost of tempered glass... And he says to me, why don't you just call the glass companies and ask them to call you when they do a retrofit on a sliding glass door? Immediately it clicked... If any of you have ever worked construction/maintainence, or have just broken a slider, there are 4 panels of 1/4 tempered glass in those frames... Not only that, but they measure 34"x70"/94", so they will fit throught the door!
This got me to thinking, one of my best friends works at a home improvement store (canter say which, but they have a big blue sign) as a door and window specialist, so I'll ask him to let me know when someone is replacing an 8 ft tall slider. Well, I am stuck on 8 ft bc I want the space especially if/when I get another there will be pleanty of room... But he tells me that this store actually stocks a 6 ft for about $358 new(no scratches, no tint peel) *great little fox bit for those of you who only have one or youngin's....
So, you take the frame apart, lay out you four pieces (have one cut in half, no one likes to cut tempered but they'll do it if you provide the glass and don't make them liable if it breaks) , make a base out of 1-2" angle iron/aluminum (if you can weld, there are companies that'll do it cheap, and everybody knows a guy that can weld his bumber back together), stack the glass, silicone the sides, lay top frame(same as bottom)... And now you have a 500 gal + terrarium/aquarium that will last forever, or at least until your best friend belly flops into it in a drunken fit...
LET'S REVIEW: used/new sliding glass door panels $0-358, angle iron approx $40, 100% silicone $6, a friend to help you weld/pick up/move glass $ case of beer.... So now you have a huge enclosure, built to better specs than what you buy the starter 120 gal tanks for, and it only set you back. $54-404 , a case of beer, and a weekend.
Like I said, I have my heart set on an 8ft long enclosure, so I will have to wait a little longer 'til one becomes available bc I'm not prepared to drop a grand on a new door... But 6ft will suffice for most, and its way cheaper than ordering tempered from a glass shop(call 'em and find out). I will be building mine, and will post pics and steps to complete when done... Hope this helps
