a few enclosure questions?

[0370]

starting to build a new enclosure for my bci.planing on making it 5x2x2.5 and it will be plywood.but i have a few questions...here they are:

1)where is the best place to get heat tape and a thermostat?
2)can i get the tracks for the sliding doors at home depo?
3)other than epoxy whats the best way to seal th inside?


thanks for any input.

[Big_V]

I dont think you can just go out and buy heat tape in Canada because its not CSA approved. But im sure ppl on this site will help you out more with that aspect. You can get tracks at most home improvement stores like Home Depot or Rona. Well there are many debates going on in this forum with what too seal the tank with. Just check one of them out. I fear we may start another huge debate on what to use. I think epoxy is still number one for finishing the inside.
Cheers, Ryan

[crazyboy]

you cant get heat tape in canada you will have to order it from the us. epoxy is the best for sealing cages because it forms a solid seal but you can also use several coats of urathane and then let it offgas for awhile.

[0370]

yeah i noticed that epoxy seems to be a favorite around here.but it's fairly expensive, and hard to find.thats why i dind't want to use epoxy.

[Big_V]

Invictus stated before in another thread that you may be able to use melamine paint to seal it. Its another option. Or paint epoxy. It wont be as hard but check out to see how it holds water as well and if there is any toxicity.

[MouseKilla]

Well a lot of folks seem to favour using melamine because it's already sealed, then aquarium sealant for the corners. I sure can't be bothered to paint myself so that's what I'm using.

I think you can get heat tape at PCPC but a human heating pad works just as well and you don't have to wire it.

[latazyo]

a few things:
you might want to consider taking that 5 feet down to 4 feet so that you can get better use of a 4x8 piece of plywood

and home depot might tell you they don't have those tracks (but they do, and they told me they didn't) they're in the isle with all of the hardware stuff like hinges and cabinet latches and door handles, etc

[Mason]

heat tape is at home depot in the plumbing department for 30 or 35 bux..... If you don't believe me I'll post a pic.

As for the sealant try PET VALUE, in the aquarium/fish section they should have a tube of real aquarium sealant. They can order it if it isn't in stock. I bought a tube there last summer for 7.99.

good luck

[Linds]

Originally posted by 0370
yeah i noticed that epoxy seems to be a favorite around here.but it's fairly expensive, and hard to find.thats why i dind't want to use epoxy.

I use epoxy and it is actually cheaper in many ways than urethane. 1) 1 gallon of the cheapest urethane cost me $40, and it takes many coats so I would've needed several gallons to complete my 6 enclosures; 1 gallon of epoxy cost me $55 and I only needed 1 coat, and actually applied an extra coat to the bottoms and still only used 2/3 of the gallon 2) It is permanently sealed and will not need to be redone in a few years due to cleaning and wear, worse if it is a humid environment - the enclosure will not break down.

[latazyo]

please do not buy aquarium sealant, 100% silicone is prefectly safe, I use it on everything, including reef tanks in which it is actually under water where the inhabitants live and breathe daily

there is no reason to buy "aquarium" silicone when you can get 100% silicone for 1/2 the price and they're exactly the same thing

just make sure it's 100% silicone and not that hybrid stuff that's part silicone and part acrylic sealant

[EXXXtacy2000]

The cheepest I have found Flexwatt heat tape, if you're not buying 50' or more is The Bean Farm. It's $3.75 a foot. For the thermostat I have a 5'x3'x2' and I just bought the Zoo Med ZOO Repti Temp 500R Thermostat RT500R for $22.95 from Reptile Supplies. I'm hooking up my infrared ceramic emitter to the Thermostat and the heat tape to a 150w Rheostat... A 4' wide enclosure is way cheeper like latazyo had said.

[EXXXtacy2000]

Go with epoxy. I think you can buy it at boat supply shops or boat repair. I'm looking into that now...

[0370]

thanks for all the help everyone.keep the info coming.

[0370]

one more question:
can i use flex watt heat tape to heat my cage? or just belly heat?
what i mean is will it give me the right ambiant temps if i use it on the back or the top of the cage?i'm already planning on using it on the bottom for belly heat.
tnanks

[EXXXtacy2000]

I don't think it's gonna make that big of difference in ambient temps. Maybe just a few inches off the surface. You need either an infrared ceramic emitter, heat lamp of some kind, or heat panel to affect ambient(s). Flexwatt is perfect for belly heat... Always use a rheostat or some kinda thermostat for control of flexwatt temps. Just read and see what worked for others and then see what's going to work for you.