Custom PVC CRB Enclosure

formica · 09-20-13, 11:51 AM

Working with PVC for the first time, made a small enclosure for my young CRB to grow into, 2' x 16" X 16" (next one will be 3' x 3' x 2'), its designed to hold a bio-active enviroment @ very high humidity, integrated, switchable 6K LED lighting and red for night time. Just got to put in a false ceiling to protect electronics and diffuse the light, install the latch/lock, seal the top and it'll be ready plant up

will be using a diffrent cement next time, the one I got was far to quick to start curing, ended up with a few messy joints

bit dodgy pictures, my camera phone doesnt like trying to focus on black PVC

6K Day Time lighting, mainly for the ferns and low-light mosses which will be in the enclosure, they dont need much to thrive

another shot with day time lights

an earlier shot with night light on

sharthun · 09-20-13, 01:08 PM

Very nice! Looks like lots of work!

LarryS · 09-20-13, 01:19 PM

Awesome! Great work.

You just don't see enough DIY plastic cage threads on the forums, thanks for posting.
Which cement did you end up using?

smy_749 · 09-20-13, 01:25 PM

Very nice man. Looks very good and I like the dimensions / viewing window size.

formica · 09-20-13, 01:48 PM

cheers guys!

Cement was Everbuild for PVC, will post up the exact name, def no good for joining pvc walls, i really had to rush applying it. might work better syringed rather than brushed

The viewing window is (almost) 16:9 ratio, based on widescreen film concept, hopefully the low front isnt going to be clogged up with substrate too often lol

formica · 09-25-13, 04:01 PM

false ceiling is in and sealed, i used polycarb dual-wall instead of a frosted diffuser, just because i had some spare from another viv build, gives a nice effect I think but I will be using a frosted sheet for the next one to see how it compares

doing some checks final checks on the humidity and temperature stability over the next week, also waiting for a new door handle which is on its way, then I'll plant up and put Ximena in her new home

so far humidity is holding @ 90% no problem, with no condensation on the door which is a nice bonus

I didnt use the push-latches in the end, bit to heavy duty for what I wanted, got a sample pack of other designs on there way, for now I'm using a simple wing-nut lock on each corner

Mikoh4792 · 09-25-13, 04:04 PM

Great build. Aren't those lights too bright without the diffuser?(for snakes with sensitive eyes) Unless you have a species that is used to being out in the sun.

formica · 09-25-13, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Great build. Aren't those lights too bright without the diffuser?(for snakes with sensitive eyes) Unless you have a species that is used to being out in the sun.

They arent as bright as the picture makes them appear, its only 1W of 6K, she has 12W of 6K in her current enclosure, which is still not much brighter than dappled sunlight on a forest floor, the 1W is about as bright as say 9-10PM mid summer (subjective comparison obviuosly) - the picture is deceptive, that said, the enclosure will be planted up with ferns and filled with branches and various other bits and pieces so that she can choose wether to be in the light or not

also at night/eve the lights switch to red, there is one strip @ 0.5W reds

Mikoh4792 · 09-25-13, 04:29 PM

ahh I see. Nice I'm now deciding whether or not I should use LEDS in my enclosures. 1W sounds pretty good, and would make it easier to control the temp gradient.

formica · 09-26-13, 02:34 AM

thanks guys!

cant wait to plant it up

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

ahh I see. Nice I'm now deciding whether or not I should use LEDS in my enclosures. 1W sounds pretty good, and would make it easier to control the temp gradient.

go for it! being low voltage they are also safer inside the enclosure, although as long as you buy waterproof ones thats not an issue anyway, they are encased in silicone - only thing to check is the tempreture of the voltage regulator, the one I have at the moment hits 60C, so I'm keeping it well away from the enclosure itself (which has a melt point of 65C and I am presuming that this is also the point at which HCL is released) - a larger power transformer (with more headroom, say 20W transformer for 1W of lights) should solve this issue

sharthun · 09-26-13, 08:21 AM

Awesome Work!

alessia55 · 09-25-13, 07:38 PM

Looks great! Nice work

dbank999 · 09-26-13, 01:45 PM

That looks awesome!

I'm about to start a build project myself, I was wondering where you got the material? I can't seem to find it anywhere. I'm familiar with Azek for outdoor trimming and what not, but I have never seen plywood type sheets of PVC material. The black is nice, makes the enclosure seem very professional.

formica · 09-26-13, 02:06 PM

thanks for the compliments guys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbank999

That looks awesome!

I'm about to start a build project myself, I was wondering where you got the material? I can't seem to find it anywhere. I'm familiar with Azek for outdoor trimming and what not, but I have never seen plywood type sheets of PVC material. The black is nice, makes the enclosure seem very professional.

it took me a while to find a supplier here in the UK, in the US you call the material PVCX, I think the main brand is Sintra for you guys, but dont quote me on that, its worth doing as much research as possible, and take careful note of the Datasheets for each product before you choose one, esp regarding the melting temp which is only 65C, and also the HCL emissions (combines with water to form Hydrochloric Acid in dangerous quantities when heated - not found any data to say what temps it becomes dangerous, but manufacturers say it should not be used outside in full sun...so my assumption is 65C, not a major issue as I wont be using ceramic or heat lamps to get anywhere above 35C myself), along with other adititves that diffrent manufacturers may add - no point giving you my supplier as the postage from the UK would make it a bit expensive lol