Vivarium rebuild, question on materials.

[MBRenegade]

Hey guys,

So today I heard a weird dripping noise coming from my vivs. I discovered my Boa had spilt her water bowl again, so after some hasty cleaning out of the viv to stop the leak I discovered the bottom edges of her viv had started to rot, it seems I totally forgot to seal them when I put the viv together like I have with my other viv (which is 3 years older and still looks like new in comparison).

Anyway, the rot seems to have gotten 5-6mm up the edge all the way around. I have taken this opportunity to replace the viv, however rather than buy new I have decided to just salvage what I can, such as the glass and glass runner things and buy a sheet of something to replace all the wood on the current viv.

Here comes my question, what material should I use? I have a shortlist so far of:

- Melamine MDF
- Melamine Chipboard
- Plywood
- Vaneered MDF

I would really like to use the Vaneered MDF or Plywood, as it looks much nicer than just White Melamine MDF/Chipboard, however if I were to use either of these I dont know how best to finish the surface to give it a lasting waterproof layer, or something that will stop stuff seeping into it anyway. I want to keep the costs down below ~£40 for a 2440x1220 sheet.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks. :)

[chairman]

I'd go with plywood.

You can seal the wood with polyurethane or various aquarium safe epoxies. You can paint it before sealing it with polyurethane. After treating the wood then I'd seal the corners with 100% silicone. Just make sure to let the enclosure sit empty for long enough for all toxic fumes to dissipate.

[ArcoIris]

I’ve ditched building heavy wood enclosures for cheaper, lighter no mess black PVC. Also recently built a showcase aquarium with black tinted acrylic. It’s pretty cheap also. Like the previous poster I deal with silicon for waterproofing. No painting required if you can find the color you like, super easy to cut and extra light to move.

[chairman]

The OP is looking to spend $50 USD per 4'x8' sheet of material.

I've used PVC boards but have never found any cheaper then $100, maybe $150 per sheet. Honestly, in the US, you can purchase a CDPVC enclosure from Animal Plastics and have it shipped to you for less than a typical consumer can even buy the materials for (guess that's the advantage of buying in bulk).