My Tank..Help?

[muzikfreakah]

Here is a pic of the tank im planning to build next week:


1.) Does the UV lamp need to be at the center? Can I keep it at the rear part of the tank, so when I fold up the top, the lamp will just be at the back?
2.) I plan to use plywood as the backing of the rear part of the tank so I can stick rocks with glue. Is super glue safe? Are those other guys using real rocks of are they made of plastic and then just painted?
3.) I will use a piece of drift wood inside, do I need to wash it off the pet store or do I just put it inside directly? I am scared to wash it as it mite get moldy :-(
4.) How often do I need to clean the tank, I will be replacing the newspaper every time I see poo or feces but what about the driftwood, decors etc..?
5.) How do you know when to replace the UV lamp? Is UV lamp for fishtank/Planted Aquariums the same for reptile lamps?
6.) How many Gallons with this size tank be? 48"x24"20" so I will know how many UV lamps to put

Thanks in advance guys! :-D

 

[duke11]

1. I think you can put it in the rear. As long as it stretches all the way across. Mine is in the rear also.
2. A lot of people do fake rock walls. I'm not exactly sure how to make them but you can look up a link about them. They are usually made of painted styrofoam I believe.
3. I didn't wash mine, but if you really want to wash it, put it in the oven at 200* F for a little while. It should bake off all of the germs.
4. All of your wood you can bake if you want, and you can do a wipe down every month or so
5. You should replace it every 5-6 months.
6. I'm not sure how many gallons. You will only need one UVB bulb is you use a tube. I would recommend the reptisun 10 tube which you can get really really cheap at petmountain.com.

 

[muzikfreakah]

I just came from a glass company and my viv is now underconstruction at Php 4,300.oo including the stand, thats about $86 USD. Still have to get tiles to fit them. Changed it from a 4 footer to a 3 footer its 36"x24"x20". No more sliding doors on the side, top breathing screen will be on left, right and front, the rear part will be glass all the way to the top since they need to mount the opening top door hinges on the rear glass. I had to make these changes to make it more feasible. I will be looking for rough tiles with in the week as well to tile it. I wanted the rear portion to be wood, but the glass company said it will more expensive because it will be hard to mount the wood and the glass and more expensive because I will need to get a carpenter to do it. Btw, I'm speaking with a glass and aluminum company so surely they would prefer to use all materials from them. Anyway I agreed, so my rear rock walls will have to improvised, how? I don't know yet lolz! I just spend $140 for two megray blubs and some vitamins, then this enclosure plus the bearded dragons, I think I will rest for a while on the spending, Drift wood will have to do for now (which I already have)

Thanks duke, Ill take you advice, but wont the oven burn the driftwood?

I am still figuring out the rockwalls, what kind of paint will be safe etc.. in the meantime I have a couple of rocks that I mite just pile up inside after the tiles are done

Instead of reptisun I decided to use one lamp on the far right side of the VIV, a megaray 100 watt bulb, the left side will have one energy saving light only to give a little light earlier at night before bed. Our temp here in the Philippines go to about 75-77 which is just about right for these guys so no need to heat them up on their cold spot. If they want to get cooler, Ill set up a small cave together with the fake rocks once I figure that one out.

Ill take pics as soon as they are done :-D

 

[peera]

Instead of reptisun I decided to use one lamp on the far right side of the VIV, a megaray 100 watt bulb, the left side will have one energy saving light only to give a little light earlier at night before bed

In the US, energy saving bulbs are almost always coils. I don't know if that's the case where you are, but those aren't good for your beardies eyes, so make sure yours isn't.

 

[muzikfreakah]

Instead of reptisun I decided to use one lamp on the far right side of the VIV, a megaray 100 watt bulb, the left side will have one energy saving light only to give a little light earlier at night before bed

In the US, energy saving bulbs are almost always coils. I don't know if that's the case where you are, but those aren't good for your beardies eyes, so make sure yours isn't.

Yes they are also coils, Thanks for the info, I did not know that, I will just by an ordinary 20 watt bulb then.