my first enclosure attempt..

[Yve]

I went hog wild at home depot today and started to build 4 snake enclosures. I'm using blk melamine and have a few questions about covering the edges. I bought the preglued veneer edging which you iron on to the exposed edges but I don't know what to do about the edges showing around the ventilation holes. I'm putting metal vents on the outside of the tank but what should i do with the inside? Should I screw in a vent on that side too? I don't think it will look good uncovered even if it is veneered. Any ideas to offer?

[asphyxia]

What I did was Face the vents in, and screw them on the outside,
they actually do not look that bad.

I also just used some silicone on the cut outs to seal the melemine, I think that is what you are asking

Brian

[Yve]

thanks Brian, i will surely put silicone on the exposed edges....but i bought these really flimsy vents (thats all they had home depot & building box). They're aluminum and the outside of it is kind of sharp so I will leave it facing outside. The other side has this white mesh on it so I went and got plastic ones today and I'm gonna screw them on the inside so everything is black and looks a bit better Can I use aquarium sealant on the raw edges instead of silicone?

[asphyxia]

I would say yes but give it a test

B

[Linds]

Here's the vents I use. I don't know how great it would be to use aluminum in an enclosure, I don't know how well it would hold up. I got my vents at Home Hardware and apparently Rona does as well (I don't have one around here). They are plastic and come in 3" and 5" diameter and go for $1.29 - $1.99 depending on where you get them. I don't know if that was much help, but I really like em so thought I would share I attached a pic of them. I don't even use anything to hold them in, they just pop in and out...super easy

ps- aquarium sealant is silicone

[Yve]

hmph!....wish i hadn't cut those holes out already!...that would have been a nice simple solution...unfortunately, to make the job look decent at this point I have to screw vents on the outside and inside. Between the two vents per hole I'm sure they'll hold up, the metal ones look more flimsy then they are. Once I get the enclosures put together I'll post a pic. They have a really industrial modern look to them, so far I'm happy.....lets hope it stays that way and a problem doesn't jump out!

[Yve]

i've run into another small problem.......the plastic vents that i bought for the inside of tank were white so I purchased a spray paint called epoxy enamel to make them black...an employee at home depot said that its a new product that is used for patio furniture it is dries hard and can be used on plastic. Well...i tried it and it scrapes off easily.....so....i have two questions here...what kind of paint can I use on plastic that is durable and safe to use with herps OR does anyone know where i can find black vents? Worse comes to worse i'll use the white ones but they stick out like sore thumbs

[Linds]

Eep. Good to know for future reference, I was checking out that paint the other day at Crappy Tire. It looked really good, guess thats as good as it gets though I don't of any black vents, I'm using white vents in my black enclosures, I figure it won't be too bad, contrast might look nice

[Yve]

its probably meant to be used on metal. oh well, if i find anything that works i'll post it. the black and white might look alright....maybe i'll paint the outside two-tone??.......j/k