Scrubby enclosure

[percey39]

Hey mate im in the process of painting my scrub her adult enclosure and decking it all out. Her tank is made in 2 pieces 700mm deep each so it will still fit through your doorways. The whole tank measures 2m high x 2m long x 1.4m deep, i will be using glass still which is going to be the most expesive part. I am using 8mm safety glass with a one way tint on it. As her tank will be in the lounge room. The door on the tank is the same siza as your normal house doors which will make cleaning extremely easy.

 

[Joemal]

Percey do you have any pics of your setup you can post on here .That's a fair size lump of an enclosure .I'll have to get the tape mesure out and see if i can fit something that size around here .

 

[percey39]

Here is some pics, as i said im no where near finished yet but will give you an idea. Also its only 8 screws to take out to make it 2 halfs again, just used a small piece of pine. Its bloody big for a enclosure, but its on wheels which will support up to 450kg. Im looking at some ponds with fountains at the moment so i can controll her humidity easy enough.
The boss hates it as the foorspace is the same size pretty much as our queen sized double bed haha.

 

[Joemal]

Ok so next question is what to make it out of .Wanted to use Melemine base and painted ply top and sides .Has anyone used normal MDF (painted) in their enclosures .Not really any cheaper than melemine plus melemine is already sealed .Any ideas on the best stuff to use .

 

[percey39]

I have used 16mm MDF on that enclosure and nearly all my ven's enclosures as its a hell of a lot stronger than melamine and if you are making a big tank there will be weak spots in it. I just seal it with a good quality undercoat and then your normal exterior house paint as that will handle your enclosure temps as well as the humidity, it just has to be aired out for a bit longer.
I have found melamine gets brittle over time where your light fittings are and doesnt handle the heat as well as properly sealed mdf.

 

[Joemal]

Was going to ask if you had used MDF on yours Percey .Had a look at both Melamine and the MDF at Bunnings and yeah was more swayed to using the MDF this time .

 

[percey39]

Yeah i was the same when i went to get the wood for my enclosures, as i wanted something strong and that will last the test of time once sealed properly. Its easier to use as well, as we all know melamine is very easy to chip and wreck if you go too hard and fast with it.

 

[ezekiel86]

nice set up percey39...

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

that's huge percey, if you need a rock back wall with huge basking shelves , let me know. The size issue is important we had a customer order a 6 ft x 4 ft x 3 ft only to realise he forgot to consider the size of his door. We now always check before we sell someone something wider than 2 ft....

 

[percey39]

Cheers guy's, im hoping the pond and fountain/waterfall wont take up too much of her floor space. Its going to be my big feature tank, so im putting a lot of effort into this build.

 

[licky]

just plain nuts couldnt you just make it dissassemble, then just re-assemble it within the room

 

[Pythoninfinite]

HMR melamine particleboard pros -

HMR = moisture resistant
Much lighter than MDF
A better sealed surface than painted MDF

MDF cons -

Not designed to be used where moisture may be encountered
Needs very careful drilling before screwing into sides or it splits
Extremely heavy
Modern paints are designed to 'breathe' (let water/vapour move into and out of the substrate so the water trying to leave the MDF doesn't 'push' the paint film off the surface. (This is why older paints peel). Having high humidity within the enclosure, or large bodies of water, or even condensation on the glass which runs down onto the floor, will seriously compromise the structure of the enclosure in a short time. Paint will not work in the long term where there is significant & constant exposure to high humidity or wetness. Paint some MDF and leave it outside for 12 months and see how it looks...

There are waterproof sheeting options available (used for lining showers etc) from the bigger hardware outlets which will guarantee surface integrity if installed properly.

Jamie.

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

just plain nuts couldnt you just make it dissassemble, then just re-assemble it within the room

Can do but it wasnt what they ordered , we didnt know and when we build an enclosure IT DOES NOT COME APART

 

[percey39]

Im finally done with the painting on this tank. 2 coats of undercoat, 3 coats of black and 2 coats of clear waterproof sealant lol im coated with paint but it came up pretty well. There is no way that mositure can affect this tank at all. Here are some pics after painting.