Newb with some Viv Questions

The back story. My youngest son who has a mild form of aspergers has been lizard and animal crazy since he was 3. His aspergers causes him to fidget A LOT so he was getting really bad grades in school. We finally found medication that gives him the ability to focus but we needed to find motivation. He's been asking me for a bearded dragon for a few years. So we made a deal, A-B honor roll and I would not only get him a bearded dragon I would build him a Viv. Well the little knucklehead went from an D and F student to A-B honor roll to get his bearded dragon. He's been reading and studying what he needs to care for it since school let out for the summer.

This weekend I started the build using a modified cross fire setup. I wanted to keep the lights hidden so instead of being 2' tall it's 3' tall. The front has a 1' face at the top to keep the lights hidden. I used Oak for the wood and I'm sealing the whole inside with poly acrylic. The floor will be tile and I'm also building a fake rock basking area. I have a few questions.

I started the fake rock and built the basking spot 18" from the enclosure floor so that I can mount the lights on the top of the Viv and keep them hidden but I think I built the basking spot too high. I prefer to use a fluorescent tube for the UVB. Should I get a T8 or T5? Lowes has a halogen flood that I want to use as the basking light. The fixture without the bulb is 6" high. That's 12" from the basking spot without the bulb. If I angle the light and place it 12" from the basking spot at and angle instead of directly above will that be ok? Also what watt bulb should I get? I live in Florida so the summer time temp in the room is 73-76. During the winter the lowest the temp gets is 68 inside. I can lower the basking spot if need be to allow the 12" but I want to angle the basking flood. The basking light will be hard wired with a dimmer.

My other question has to do with the fake rock. What is the strongest sealer to make the rock as durable as possible after applying the grout and paint?

That sounds like a really nice setup. The extra height is a good thing in my opinion and could go even taller if you wanted to. A good T5 would work well in that setup. It should be mounted right next to the basking light, 12'' above the basking area for best results. That will produce the highest temperature, brightest light, and strongest UVB over the basking area while providing other areas with low heat and UVB so there is a nice gradient. I'd go with this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ or an Arcadia bulb with a similar fixture such as a 24'' Sunblaster.

As far as the basking light goes, a PAR38 halogen flood light bulb will work really well and they handle dimming well too. I use mine with a dimming thermostat and it is quiet and long lasting. I would keep the bulb overhead rather than angling it. If it's a little closer than 12'' it shouldn't be a big deal as long as it's producing the proper temperature gradient across the tank and is out of reach to prevent burns. I usually recommend 12'' at least for safety and to ensure there is a nice wide beam of light over the basking area. It's not an exact rule.

As far as sealing fake rock, I'm not sure. I don't have firsthand experience with making those but if you don't get some answers in this DIY subforum, someone who has built one may be able to chime in and help.

Epoxy resin (there are some on toxic brands for ponds, pond shield is one) is going the be the most durable sealant. It would also be good for the walls. Polyurethane is my second choice but needs a few weeks to cure.

I donnot like polycrylic at all. It's not very durable and is not UV stable.

My modified crossfire is 4' tall with the top foot or so for lights similar to how you intend. It all gets used but I do use branches instead of a fake rock. For the work they take to make I haven't been happy with the durability and use team materials (I'm madly in love with cork).

Sounds like audit future dragon

CooperDragon":2hiqbadi said:

That sounds like a really nice setup. The extra height is a good thing in my opinion and could go even taller if you wanted to. A good T5 would work well in that setup. It should be mounted right next to the basking light, 12'' above the basking area for best results. That will produce the highest temperature, brightest light, and strongest UVB over the basking area while providing other areas with low heat and UVB so there is a nice gradient. I'd go with this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ or an Arcadia bulb with a similar fixture such as a 24'' Sunblaster.

As far as the basking light goes, a PAR38 halogen flood light bulb will work really well and they handle dimming well too. I use mine with a dimming thermostat and it is quiet and long lasting. I would keep the bulb overhead rather than angling it. If it's a little closer than 12'' it shouldn't be a big deal as long as it's producing the proper temperature gradient across the tank and is out of reach to prevent burns. I usually recommend 12'' at least for safety and to ensure there is a nice wide beam of light over the basking area. It's not an exact rule.

As far as sealing fake rock, I'm not sure. I don't have firsthand experience with making those but if you don't get some answers in this DIY subforum, someone who has built one may be able to chime in and help.

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I ended up lowering the basking spot 4" to allow for the 12" the halogen light needs. I'm going to go with the Arcadia you linked for UV. 75 Watt was the closest to 60 which I wanted but I bought a dimmer so no big deal.

Taterbug":2bcjcr1s said:

Epoxy resin (there are some on toxic brands for ponds, pond shield is one) is going the be the most durable sealant. It would also be good for the walls. Polyurethane is my second choice but needs a few weeks to cure.

I donnot like polycrylic at all. It's not very durable and is not UV stable.

My modified crossfire is 4' tall with the top foot or so for lights similar to how you intend. It all gets used but I do use branches instead of a fake rock. For the work they take to make I haven't been happy with the durability and use team materials (I'm madly in love with cork).

Sounds like audit future dragon

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I've already applied 2 coats of poly acrylic unfortunately. The sides are all that will be exposed and there's not really a rush so hopefully with enough coats it will hold up. If not I'll just tile the sides as well.

I've already dropped more money than expected on the fake rock supplies. I just want to find something durable enough to coat it with. I've seen some say modge podge but I've also seen that it's not durable. Durability, appearance, and easiness to clean is the top of the list.

Taterbug":35hncpg6 said:

Epoxy resin (there are some on toxic brands for ponds, pond shield is one) is going the be the most durable sealant. It would also be good for the walls. Polyurethane is my second choice but needs a few weeks to cure.

I donnot like polycrylic at all. It's not very durable and is not UV stable.

My modified crossfire is 4' tall with the top foot or so for lights similar to how you intend. It all gets used but I do use branches instead of a fake rock. For the work they take to make I haven't been happy with the durability and use team materials (I'm madly in love with cork).

Sounds like audit future dragon

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Where do you get the branches from?

So I finished my Viv today. I ended up coating the rock in epoxy resin and calcium sand over 3 coats of sanded grout. You could hit it with a hammer and not hurt it.

Tomorrow I'm going to have to pick up a different bulb for the basking lamp as with the Par 38 90 Watt halogen on the dimmest setting has the basking spot at 115 degrees with barely any light coming out. I might have to switch to an incandescent bulb.

Your heat issues may be due to too little air flow. I don't see any ventilation. I assume you have some up top, but you need some vents along the side toward the bottom. Not sure the best way to do it now that you already have the tile in, it really looks like you need some vents down lower.

charmander16":wdz1sitj said:

Your heat issues may be due to too little air flow. I don't see any ventilation. I assume you have some up top, but you need some vents along the side toward the bottom. Not sure the best way to do it now that you already have the tile in, it really looks like you need some vents down lower.

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There's 2 large vents on the side and 6 across the back just above the tile. The rest of the Viv is between 80-85 degrees, it's just the basking spot that gets really hot. The Viv sits directly below an AC vent (about 2.5' below it when on the stand) so it gets really good airflow. I'm going to pick up an incandescent bulb today and give that a shot. I'm not happy with the halogen as honestly I think it just gets too hot.

BTW, can you give some more info on how you made that rock structure, it looks really good.

charmander16":35z6vv6n said:

BTW, can you give some more info on how you made that rock structure, it looks really good.

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I started with styrofoam and glued it all together to get the shape. Once I had the shape I took a hack saw blade and ran across the surface to make it really rough. Lowes has a pre mix non sanded grout that you just add water to. I made a mix of that the same thickness as regular wall paint. Spray the styrofoam with water just before painting on the grout to help with bonding. I let it cure to dry which took about 3 hours then spayed the surface with water again then let it dry overnight. Then I mixed 2 parts non sanded to 1 part sanded grout and added just enough water that the thickness was just a tad thicker than interior house paint. Again I sprayed the surface with water then painted on a fairly thick coat of grout. I used the same procedure as the first coat to apply the 2nd coat. The 3rd coat was the same as the second except I put it on thick enough that it was a consistent texture. Basically the 3rd coat was to fill all holes and give a good surface for the epoxy resin to bond to. When curing the grout let it completely dry then soak it with water. Let the grout cure 3-7 days inside.

I got the epoxy resin from Reynolds Advanced Materials. It's called Tarbender and has a pot life of 45 minutes. You mix it at 100 grams part A to 41 grams of part B. Once mixed it's fairly easy to paint on with a brush. Use cheap brushes because you'll go through a bunch of them. I used the trial size which is about $30.

The first coat of epoxy encapsulates the grout so don't add sand. Make sure everything is shiny and fully coated. Let it cure for 16 hours.

The second coat paint the epoxy on about the same thickness as the first or a little thicker. With the epoxy having a 45 minute pot life you can do a section at a time. I did each step of the rock at a time. Paint on the epoxy then immediately sprinkle oven dried calcium sand over the epoxy. The sand needs to be sprinkled on quickly to allow it to sink into the epoxy. Put enough sand on that the entire epoxy layer is covered and unable to be seen or felt if you run your hand across it. On vertical surfaces I just sprinkled sand over it until it bonded. Let this cure for 16 hours then brush all the excess sand off and you'll have a surface texture like roofing shingles and a no gloss finish. I have scrapes on my knuckles from moving it.

The epoxy is UV resistant once cured and has very low odor even before curing. I could hit it with a hammer and not hurt it. I could add another coat of epoxy and sand to make it even tougher but it would be over kill.

The incandescent bulb was the answer. 65 watt BR30 makes the basking spot 100-105 while the warm side is around 85-90. The cool side is just above 80. That's after an hour of running. I'm going to check again in a couple hours and monitor it for a couple weeks while everything cures. Then a wipe down to sanitize everything before little guy gets his dragon in a couple weeks.