Cost of building?

[Danielle4]

ok so I have been wanting to build tank for a while now but I need lots of help for I'm clueless what to use.

I want the size 4x2x2 and it will have to have a front slider door since I would like to make this a stack-able.

Here are my questions and if you know the answers please give me a ruff guess on price of objects I know I wont be able to do this for under $400 but $500 is kinda my max with a lil flex.

What kind of wood is best? I want something to hold heat right?
What is the best stuff to seal the wood with? Anything I should not use at all?
Vents? how many are typical? I was thinking one on both ends and at least 2 in the back.
is slate the best tile? what can I fill the cracks with?

I'm the most concerned with the best things to seal the wood with because I want it to be easy to clean.

Please help I would like to start this project with in the next month or so

 

[Lara]

Okay I cant really give you costs I live in a different country, but we use Melamine/Superwood. It's basically chipboard. Dont use pine, dont use cedar.
A vent on both end is good, mine has 4 vents on the front, my cages have glass on the sides as well. The lid can open and it has sliding glass doors.

Try posting this in DIY, or have a look around first before posting a new thread.

 

[Dementeddogz]

I wouldnt advise using melamine. Use a hardwoord like oak or pine. Easier to work with, much sturdier and less weight then anything you would build with melamine.

What kind of wood is best?

3/4" hardwood birch or oak, something used to make furniture nice finish sturdy exc.

Vents? how many are typical? I was thinking one on both ends and at least 2 in the back.

Depends on the size and preference. I use two on either side and 3-6 on rear

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

We used the crossfire design which is 4x2x2 and we only spent around $140 for the materials

 

[Danielle4]

Yes I was looking at the crossfire design. I liked it but was not sure how temps held up in it. I live in Indiana and are winters are pretty cold so Temp is always a issue.

Thanks for the feed back I'm doing a bit of research with different stores to find where to get what I want for the best price.

Thanks again everyone

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Any type of wooden enclosure is going to hold more heat than any other material.. I wish now that we had put two vents on either end instead of just one b/c I've had a problem with it being too hot..

 

[crazykyle709]

Crossfire Enclosure is a great guide! We used it to build our beardie a new enclosure here is the guide

http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/


Hope this helps!

 

[Danielle4]

I'm looking at primer would I want water based or oil based?

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

I'm looking at primer would I want water based or oil based?

Water Based

 

[Danielle4]

That's what I thought but didn't know if it mattered.

I was also thinking about doing slate tiles but wanted grout it so it was easy to clean. But I have no clue what to use so any help with that would great thanks again