building a crossfire- DONE- lots of pics

I started building a crossfire yesterday. I ordered tracks, so I'm kind of at a stand still until I get them in. I'm going to seal the outside of the tank this weekend after the stain dries, and screw in the electrical stuff once thats all done. I plan on drilling 2'' holes for the plugs, and using grommets to fill in the extra space. I plan on tiling, grouting, and sealing the inside of the tank, and a 6'' "backsplash" and then putting in a background from petsmart. Heres what I have done so far...


Sides together


Upside down, but all of the vent holes cut and the back put on


Trim put on (except the front, cant do that until I get the tracks and can install those)


Outside is all stained (except underneath, which I'm debating even staining)

I'll update as I go, as I know I found it helpful to look at other ppls threads.

Looks great...looking forward to the final product!

Lookin good. I really like that design..

UPDATE

It's still not done but its closer... here are a few pictures I've taken... At this point everything is purchased. I'm taking it to a friends house tomorrow who does tile for a living and hes going to install the tile for me. I purchased black slate and some glass mosaic tiles which will go on the two smaller inside walls. The plexi is purchased, but still needs to be cut and hopefully he'll be doing that for me as well. I purchased a background for the portion of back wall that wont be tiled, but not installing that until the tiles are in. The trim pieces are also being sealed at the moment, and will go on last.


Pablo compared to the size of the cage.. (upside down)


Two side vents and lights installed


Front view


This is a sample of the tile I bought for the two inside walls (where the two side vents are)

I drop it off tomorrow to be tiled, should be ready to pick up this weekend, I'll most pictures then

Wow, Pablo is not a small dragon but that tank makes him look like a teenager!! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

Impressive.

I want to see what it looks like with those sheet tiles on the sides. I might have to do something like that for my cages.

Update:

The tank is tiled, just waiting to be grouted. It's at a friends house who does tile for a living and I forgot to get a picture or I'd post it on here. should be done tomorrow and I'll post pictures from there. I returned the plexi glass to home depot as they wont cut it and no one else has the tools, and purchased new plexi at a glass company who sells it in the exactly dimensions you need (a machine cuts it and you pay for what you need only). It was 5$ cheaper than the plexi at home depo, and already the right size- I pick this up tomorrow. I've been painting some last minute trim pieces I decided I wanted to add, and spray painting the white vents black so they blend in more. How long should I let the tank run before I put Pablo in? Obviously the temps have to be correct, but other than that does it matter? It shouldn't have any sort of smell to air out, as everything will be dry and aired out for a few days before its able to be used.

I'm debating moving my two leo's into Pablos old 40B, just can't seem to find a suitable place for it since I'm using Pablos stand for his new tank as well. I'm getting excited, as its almost ready to use! I'll update this when I have more pictures.

Nice.

Just make sure he doesn't grout down the tiles on the floor. You want to be able to remove those for washing poo off. Having grout there only will eventually absorb fluids and be hard to clean out. Removing a single tile that has been pooped on to clean it versus having to clean the whole floor each time is a time saver.

On letting your enclosure aclimate to optimal temps.... After getting all the lighting set up, as long as the tile isn't ice cold, you should be able to put Pablo in there as soon as 30 minutes after its turned on. Lights don't take too long to warm up.

Its basically done right now, but I cant move it off its back because the front oak trim pieces are still drying into place, so here are a few updates until I can get it on its stand tomorrow and get the lights pulled through the proper places, and get the lights ! I went ahead and put Pablos reptisun into the fixture so it would be easier to install, so he'll have to go without it for a while tomorrow while I get the temps going. Heres a preview I guess you would say...

Tile and background


Pablos old tank off to the back left (which hes currently still in) and his new tank on its back

Oh wow I love that tile on the side.

-Brandon

Another teaser as I have decided to go ahead and make a few adjustments. Pablo was in there for a good 10 minutes today, until I realized I'd better go ahead and fix a few things before I moved his old tank into the attic.

Up and ready to go....


Bathing Pablo to try and get off some loose skin hes shedding...(worked too, I got two 3'' chunks to float off his belly that would of ended up in the new clean cage)


I quickly realized I was going to need some way of easily moving the plexi. Using your fingers got tough, especially when it was all the way closed behind the trim pieces. So, Pablo had to go back into his old tank while I ran to Knobs and Locks to get some hardware knobs to glue into place. Here they are with the clamps...


I let them set for a good hour, then started double checking temps. During this time I managed to loosen one of them, so I put the clamps back on and wont remove them again until 7p tonight. That way Pablo can have a good hour in there to check it out, then go to bed in there where I've already moved his bed too. The lights have been running all day, and temps seem to be good.

Heres one of Pablo hoping I don't forget to bring his buddy with him...

Well it's finally all done. The knobs didnt take that long to dry, and temps are great, so Pablos moved in! He's really enjoying it I would say, as hes been going back and forth to the different sides of it and exploring. He almost took a nose dive into the back ground, but luckily he tried to climb it first and discovered it wasn't real. To anyone debating building a crossfire, I'd highly recommend it. the experience itself was terrible, as I did this all alone (besides the tile, I paid someone to do that, and my mom did help me move the structure). It was very expensive and a lot of work, but I know hes happier, so I am too. It'll also be nice to be able to slide the door open and NOT have to take off those darn lights to feed him every morning! Also, that wood thing on the right use to be in his cage, but after I made him that structure to try and give him more space (he utilized the top of it and underneath) I had to remove it. First thing he did was run to it, lick it, and climbed to the top of it like he remembered it! I'm so glad he has it back now, and still has so much room to run! I went picture crazy, but if it helps someone else in the future, then I'm glad I did it.

Pablo enjoying the heat


I was able to use his old stand that I had previously made for his 40B. Luckily I used deck supports so it can hold the new crossfire which weighs easily 150lb


Pablo on his wood thing.. if it ends up liking it that much I may switch the heat bulb and CHE so he can bask there, as the CHE is only turned on at night


Left side


Right side


With flash on...


Lights


Spray painted the tracks black and the trim piece behind the tracks


Looking down towards the cool end


another look into the cool end


Warm side (theres screen behind that vent so crickets, etc cant escape


I used computer grommets to run the cords out, kind of gave it a cleaner look


Side view- I spray painted the outside vents to match the stain

You did great! I am sure Pablo will have a very enjoyable life living in his mansion.

Beautiful viv when I get my next beardie I am totally makin my own looks so good

It looks great. Like I said in previous posts. the only thing I wouldn't have done is grout the floor tiles. Otherwise, epic build!