The big build - Paul

[Paul]

Twin wall polycarb, it's light and it's cheap, my main goals for this build seeing at some point I know I will be moving it.

Measuring and cutting.



Attaching panels.



Background almost finished.



Roof on.



Tree fern blended into side panel.



An idea of size. I'm 6ft 2/3 inches.



More to come!

[Philsuma]

wow !!!!

It's a vert ?

[Paul]

Oh no! I should have stated, not a vert. I'm just standing it up that way as the gorilla glue on the lowest side there was drying.

[RanaVenenosa]

Have you built a viv like this on a smaller scale? Curious if it held up to heat and moisture ok.

Looks like your doing a great job!

[Paul]

Nope, I was inspired by another build using twin wall and that held up ok. I don't know how this will turn out :lol:

[phelsumaman]

Looking good mate, and by the way that is one big viv. (I thought my 4x2x2 was big). The polycarbonate twinwall is the way forward, its light, moisture resistant.

Hows the tensile strength of the structure?

[Paul]

At the moment it's not great, each time I add more gorilla glue or finish one of the sides it increases a fair amount though. It's certainly strong enough but nowhere near glass. At least it won't shatter if I were to drop it!

Once I've finished all the GG and added the front panels I'm sure it will be nice and sturdy.

[Lady Bullseye]

Very interesting Paul! How are you planning on doing the doors? I am interested in watching this one, thanks for posting it!

[Paul]

There will be a long piece of either glass or acrylic along the bottom, maybe 6inches or so in height, then two sliding doors on top.

I plan to have a water area running along the front but not sure whether I will filter it. Both this section and the main land area will have drainage holes so I don't have to worry about syphoning excess water out. I'll be using 8 nozzles for misting and around 4 or so fans for ventilation. Possibly some hidden vents along the lower parts of the background, will see.

[Stu&Shaz]

have every faith in you on this mate,its gonna be a great viv, is this for your azzies mate,are you hoping to breed in situ.Its a good job i got that patient side to me,its hard waiting to see what you do with this,
Stu

[Paul]

Progress is slow....

[Judy S]

do you just run beads of silicone to seal the edges?? Won't lights distort the plastic?? So many questions...

[Paul]

Acid free silicone for the outside, gorilla glue for the inside. All tested and hard as nails!

I've used acrylic underneath lights before without an issue, if it does distort I'll replace it with glass. This material isn't very expensive anyway.

[Yasmine]

Any updates?

[Venutus1]

Me Likey.
Paul, how much is the polycarbonate and where to buy.

Thank you for posting this. Good work!

[Paul]

The glass runners are in and the supports for the false bottom. Can't progress any further due to a 3 week delivery delay of silicone :roll:

I'm in the UK where it's available at most hardware stores, not sure where to find it in the US I'm afraid.

[Venutus1]

The glass runners are in and the supports for the false bottom. Can't progress any further due to a 3 week delivery delay of silicone :roll:

I'm in the UK where it's available at most hardware stores, not sure where to find it in the US I'm afraid.

Ok, thanks.. well.... I always can "Google" ... my fingers arn't broke. lol.
The stuff you were using seems to look much clearer than what we have here.
Maybe it is just me.
I always though it would be great to make and market large vivs made of it.
Sort of knocked down and ready to assemble.
I can't wait to see how it comes out!
Have at it.
Cheers,
Todd

[Judy S]

Interesting material for the back and sides..they are sort of "wasted" anyway and certainly would make the weight lighter, and some of the things that are commonly used will bind better. Hopefully you will not be trying to seal glass to plastic...doesn't work...check threads and other boards about this subject. Picx when you get a chance...

[Paul]

Sorry for the most mundane update thread ever. I'm slow, I know it, you know it, I'm sorry. You deserve better good people of Dart Den.

Tree fern in, hopefully watertight just waiting to test.

What's left? Doors, egg crate, substrate, stand, one final piece for the hood. I can see the summit, altitude sickness is kicking in but it's the final climb.

Would I use twin wall again? No. Not for a display vivarium, for a frog room where I wanted everything cheap and simple definitely. It just doesn't look as tidy as wood or glass and it's annoying to work with. BUT...it's cheap and light, which is what I wanted.

[Paul]

Interesting material for the back and sides..they are sort of "wasted" anyway and certainly would make the weight lighter, and some of the things that are commonly used will bind better. Hopefully you will not be trying to seal glass to plastic...doesn't work...check threads and other boards about this subject. Picx when you get a chance...

No glass to plastic...there's no glass, maybe for the doors, if I can get some opti-white high clarity for a good price. If not it will be acrylic.