Preparing to attempt to build an enclosure(s)! Questions~

[Rachella]

I wanna build something for Dude and Girl but I had a few questions. I haven't even bought anything to start with yet and this is going to take awhile but I figured I'd make this thread to keep track of my progress with and to post any questions I may have.

Okay! To start off I obviously want to make them 4x2x2. I was thinking about making a double stack viv that would be roughly 6 feet tall. This would allow me to get the bottom tank one foot off the ground, two feet for the first viv, another foot between them for storage and then two feet for the upper viv.

OR, two feet on the bottom for space and then the two vivs just stacked right on top of each other.

The only problem is that making something like this would be heavy wouldn't it? How would it be transported if we were to move? So any suggestions on that end would be greatly appreciated.

Another question is the material to use. So far I've seen melamine, melamine, melamine! But it's so heavy and I could save a little bit of money if I went with sanded plywood. Would this be acceptable to use? It'd be a little lighter and cheaper. Is there anything I'd need to do to prepare it? What if I wanted to paint it? Is there a specific type of paint to use? Or if I didn't, would just using it straight from the store be acceptable?

That's going to be it for the moment. Once I'm more sure of the design and main material I'll definitely have more questions and when I do start this thing I will post pictures and any procedures I use!

 

[MBrian]

hmmmmm im trying to think what would make it light incase it needed to be transported but I cant think of anything, i think it would simply be heavy. You could always attach wheels to both of them but im not sure about anything else.One thing that would make it lighter is if your not attaching light fixtures or anything heavy to the back of your Viv's you could get a really thin sheet of wood that would'nt weigh much, because the back is not so important just make sure its not to thin if you plan on putting sand in your Viv.

As far as sanded-plywood that would be fine to use, I wouldnt paint it because it tends to look tacky but the great thing with sanded plywood is if you pick out the right sheets it'll look good if you "stained" it and you could buy that at Lowes or Home Depot.

Thats all i could really think of good luck with your Viv!

 

[Valex]

Make all the sections stackable. Build the storage, then an enclosure, then another one. This way, you just move them one at a time, then restack them when you are at the desired location.

 

[imageofeva]

rachella, i'm jumping in on your post because even if i wanted to use melamine, i can't seem to find it in large enough sheets so....

As far as sanded-plywood that would be fine to use, I wouldnt paint it because it tends to look tacky but the great thing with sanded plywood is if you pick out the right sheets it'll look good if you "stained" it

my question is, do you need to seal it after to stain it? if so, what to use, an all natural shellac?

btw there are some amazing stain shades available!

 

[Rachella]

Eek! I had meant to respond to this post a long time ago! I get side-tracked so easily!

Thanks a bunch to you two for your opinions!

rachella, i'm jumping in on your post because even if i wanted to use melamine, i can't seem to find it in large enough sheets so....

I don't mind! That's actually a good question! Does anyone know of any specific types of 'safe' sealant or stain to use?


UPDATE :: Well, we still haven't actually purchased anything yet for the vivs but I think we've narrowed down our procedure. We're thinking about using one of these

as the frame for the entire viv set up. A large sheet of plywood would fit on the back of that to form the back of both vivs, and because there's holes in the metal frames of the shelving it can be removed and re-attached when we'd need to transport it. So then we think we'd only need another sheet or two of plywood to cut up for the sides and the roof of the vivs. One on bottom, one on top. I don't think we'll paint the plywood, though the sealing and staining question quoted above is a good one!

The only problem is figuring out how to do the "base" of each viv. We use sand, so just using the shelving alone wouldn't be plausible because the sand would fall though. So we're currently researching and attempting to figure out a way to fix the problem while keeping the sand and still keeping the setup easy to break apart if we'd need to move it.

Any ideas, suggestions, thoughts, comments?

 

[Valex]

Im pretty sure you can use any stain as long as you seal it correctly. Most water based/ pothyurthane sealants are safe to use, as long as enough coats are used and they dry completly before being heated.

 

[MBrian]

Sorry i wasnt aware anyone asked me a question im in the same boat Rachella was!!!

my question is, do you need to seal it after to stain it? if so, what to use, an all natural shellac?

With my enclosure i used Oak wood i think it looks the best when it's stained but the down side is the price!! Just to be safe i didnt stain it on the inside of my Beardys Viv i just stained the outside of it and the supporting boards but i did seal it with Water-Based Polycrylic so that the stain would last longer not such a big deal imo since it's indoors.I'll post a link to my thread showing my Viv and the Stain i used was Red Chestnut color by Cabot but keep in mind different woods absorb stains differently so you might want to try something different or the same if using another wood besides Oak up to you Good luck and sorry about the late response!!!

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