4ft by 2ft by 5 ft (299.2 "Gallons")?
- Thread starter Liz Sagara
- Start date
Ha ha ha wow. I think I'll stick with like four. If that guy will call me back. If he doesn't I'll do two in an eighteen by eighteen by twenty four.
Find out details abotu the door ont he front... it looks like a very simple (cheap) box but doors is where such things get expensive... If it's a nice sealed door then it looks like a great buy... but if it's a flimsy unsealed door it may be a wasted investment...
Silicone does not perform very well on plastics, but that is the general rule in regards to making a water tight seal that is under pressure (such as sealing an acrylic aquarium). But it will work just fine to simply glue some plastic sheeting or plexiglas to wood as you would need here... Although I would not go that route...
It would likely end up being cheaper (than plexi) and could look A LOT better to buy a sheet (or two) of thick styrofoam and carve a background into it. Then paint/seal the styrofoam with Drylok.
I suggest using the cheaper white styrofoam that seems like thousands of small white balls pressed together... as opposed to the pink or blue foam type. The white stiff is much easier to make a 'natural' rock or wood like surface. The pink & blue stuff too often ends up having too many smooth surfaces which leaves a 'manufacturered' look to the final product.
Drylok gives a 100% water tight seal and sticks to roughed up styrofoam great. You can use standard latex paint pigments to tint Drylok any color imaginable. Sometimes the big box stores don't want to do it for you as it does void the manufacturers warranty, but I've found smaller Hardware stores (such as Ace or Aco) will add them without a problem.
A couple pointers on Drylok... Make the first coat very thin, and successive coats getting thicker and thicker... When adding Pigments, you will have to add more pigment to Drylok than you would to latex paint to acheive the same result/color... Buy a few small containers with lids (also available at Ace/Aco) and see if your clerk will add pigments to the containers. This way you can mix several colors yourself at home.
For reference, I've used Drylok on styrofoam in many Vivarium/Terrarium/Aquarium backgrounds and it's worked great. I've also used Drylok for it's intended use (sealing concrete) as well as to seal wooden structures (works well if the first coat is thin with thicker successive coats). The stuff is a DIY enclosure guy's best friend!
Silicone does not perform very well on plastics, but that is the general rule in regards to making a water tight seal that is under pressure (such as sealing an acrylic aquarium). But it will work just fine to simply glue some plastic sheeting or plexiglas to wood as you would need here... Although I would not go that route...
It would likely end up being cheaper (than plexi) and could look A LOT better to buy a sheet (or two) of thick styrofoam and carve a background into it. Then paint/seal the styrofoam with Drylok.
I suggest using the cheaper white styrofoam that seems like thousands of small white balls pressed together... as opposed to the pink or blue foam type. The white stiff is much easier to make a 'natural' rock or wood like surface. The pink & blue stuff too often ends up having too many smooth surfaces which leaves a 'manufacturered' look to the final product.
Drylok gives a 100% water tight seal and sticks to roughed up styrofoam great. You can use standard latex paint pigments to tint Drylok any color imaginable. Sometimes the big box stores don't want to do it for you as it does void the manufacturers warranty, but I've found smaller Hardware stores (such as Ace or Aco) will add them without a problem.
A couple pointers on Drylok... Make the first coat very thin, and successive coats getting thicker and thicker... When adding Pigments, you will have to add more pigment to Drylok than you would to latex paint to acheive the same result/color... Buy a few small containers with lids (also available at Ace/Aco) and see if your clerk will add pigments to the containers. This way you can mix several colors yourself at home.
For reference, I've used Drylok on styrofoam in many Vivarium/Terrarium/Aquarium backgrounds and it's worked great. I've also used Drylok for it's intended use (sealing concrete) as well as to seal wooden structures (works well if the first coat is thin with thicker successive coats). The stuff is a DIY enclosure guy's best friend!
Well I think it fell through... the guy still has yet to get back on me. I'll give it a week but it looks like I'm looking at the 18x18x24 pre-made glass terrarium and 2 white's Dumpies.
I still think you should make a Drylok covered styrofoam background... it is rather easy to make a glass box look like a little nook of nature right in your own home... especially if you inset a plant or two and a bit of moss...
Do you have step by step instructions and possibly links to the products so I can make a list....? I'm all about lists and things Or should I just stick with that cork backing stuff?
Also... does anyone know where I can pick up some good terrarium wood that's gonna be wide enough for dumpies?
Also... does anyone know where I can pick up some good terrarium wood that's gonna be wide enough for dumpies?
thats too big for a whites unless you have 20+. Is uggest go for a mata-mata, ast, callagur, frt or just some big turtle
never mind, i thought it was an aquarium. get a lot of them. please get post pic when you do get them
never mind, i thought it was an aquarium. get a lot of them. please post pic when you do get them
uting;4920881; said:
Why would it be too big if it was an aquarium? To me it just seems like more room... I think I'm gonna end up just doing the 1818x24 terrarium because he still hasn't contacted me. I think he sold it already...
