need some feedback/advice

Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby AS.Legion » Fri Oct 12, 2012 10:19 am

OK.. so here is the cross view of the build... I need some advice/feedback in specific the waterfall/waterline.

Image

The orange line is the netting to keeo the substrate out of the water. In essence I would have a small pond that is filled with pebbles that is on the same level as the hydroton. thus the water will circulate nicely and I can monitor the waterlevel with ease... the pebbles will be there for gecko safety
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby bradmiller » Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:42 pm

Is this going on the bottom of you tank - the whole bottom?
Other than the fact you are doing this in a wood cage looks fine - I am almost 100% sure you will have issues with high humidity and the wood wrapping and rotting...
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby AS.Legion » Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:51 pm

I will be sealing the bottom of the tank with 4-5 layers of silicone and except for the small pond the entire area will be covered with substrate.

I will be building extracter fans into the cage that I will be playing around with so that I can set a timer to it to reach the needed humidity for day (60%) and night (75%).

the entire cage inside will also have 2-3 layers of silicone (except the glass)
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby fastback » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:09 pm

AS.Legion wrote:If you look at the first pic you will see the wooden frames. :)

I should hopefully be done this weekend. Then I will post a few pics.


I thought you were changing the whole design, and going with runners instead of the wooden frame.
Will wait for photos. :D



I can't seem to see the drawing you posted of the waterfall , it cut in half by the page.

One thing I will advise with regards to waterfalls and water features is the splash up effect you get from the water.
And sometimes this causes your enclosure to get flooded or really soaked.
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby AS.Legion » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:15 pm

Yeah... the resolution is a bit messed up of that picture... you can zoom the page out :( sorry.

I know about the splash effect and still need to play around with that.

seeing that silicone has a week curing period it will give me some time to think about it :D

I got a basic idea of what I want to do regarding interior decorating, but I will need to think of things as they come up.

And pics will come monday... promise :D
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby bradmiller » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:21 pm

Dude - that method of silicone is a: gonna be a serious messy mission to apply and b: not gonna work very well.

Your best bet would be (if you really wanna go with wood) is to use an epoxy coating a few millimetres thick.
Do this by filling each side one at a time - that way you will get a nice smooth level finish and that may hold the water penetration.

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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby AS.Legion » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:28 pm

Hmm I will definatly have a look at the epoxy.
What about fibreglass?

I was actually going to use a brush and marine silicone... so what I will do is try it small scale and see what happens. And do some research into the epoxy coatings.

Thanks
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby bradmiller » Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:27 pm

good idea - brushing silicone will be a pain.

At least with the epoxy resin you simply pour it in to one side of the tank and then wait to set. turn the tank to the next side and do it again until all side are done.

The fibre glass is used for strength - the epoxy resin is what holds it together - you have the wood so no real need for the fibre glass
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby it_bit_me » Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:36 pm

Use pond seal in black ,it will look spiff.
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby fastback » Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:08 pm

Are you using laminated wood or raw wood?
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby AS.Legion » Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:37 pm

I am highly thinking of bondseal. seems the best, albeit expensive option. color would not matter as you wont see it. and it is raw wood.
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby Fishy » Sat Oct 13, 2012 10:34 am

I think an easier option is to put a glass tank in the bottom to catch all the water. Remember that the waterfall will raise your humidity alot, read somewhere that it is not recommended for cresties. Also keep in mind that the cage will get very hot so think about installing fans for good ventilation. other than that this build looks very good.
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby fastback » Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:04 pm

Well I must say that bond seal is a good idea, I have tried and tested it out as a sealer.
I made a wooden box and painted 3 coats of bond sealer and then added water, and it stood like that for 2 months, no leaks.
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby AS.Legion » Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:26 pm

Lol. well I am at one of those crossroads were I have to dicide if I want to make a waterfall feature or not. until then I set up a smaller tank for my baby till then.
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Re: need some feedback/advice

Postby Fishy » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:51 pm

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