# New Mac Enclosure (TV Cabinet)



## Gruni (Dec 28, 2012)

Well I managed to score a nice recycled timber cabinet just before Christmas on Ebay which will become the new home for my 2yo Mac who is currently in a 2ft glass enclosure. The new cabinet has an opening 930W x 600D x 650H. I have converted the VCR shelf to house and hide all the lighting and cables with a halogen down light for a heat source and a'warm' LED strip to light the enclosure. It will get a sliding glass door front on it and I am going to have a go at building a slate tile/heatcord basking shelf for the warm end which will be 2/3 of the way up the back wall.

As we are going for a bit of a bush theme to the enclosure Kathy and I will go back to our Warhammer 40k days and have a crack at a rock wall with some stickout ledges for Skilttles to meander over. We will add some fake plant stuff into the mix to make it a bit more interesting visually too.

I don't want to wreck the side walls of the cabinet so I will be putting the air vents into the back wall. Which leads me to my design question for now... I have a couple of rectangle air vents from Bunnings that I want to install but I want to make sure I place them the right way. My thoughts are to put one low in the warm end and the other up high in the cool side, if necessary I'll run a 12v computer fan at the back of the cool vent to draw air out of the enclosure and create circulation. I know some people will argue that I should put them facing each other on the side walls to create the cross draft but other than that line of arguement have I got the placement right? That is warm side vent low/cool side vent high?

I will post pics possibly tomorrow when I get my laptop out or else when I get home from Brisbane in a couple of days, for the moment I am on my dad's computer and I can't resize the images as easily as I can on mine so it will have to wait.


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## ltnclark (Dec 28, 2012)

I am unable to help but am interested in the answers. I am also up-cycling an old TV cabinet into an enclosure. It will be taller than the one in the OP and some slightly different design ideas but ventilation is something I too am concerned about. 

Dimensions will be 1080w x 1200h x 600d with the lower drawers converted to a completely darkened and colder hide (Got the idea from Stein enclosures who do a 'Snake Retreat' enclosure). I have started taking photos so I can post a DIY article on the good, the bad and the ugly. Should fit my Murray Darling nicely.


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## J-A-X (Dec 28, 2012)

This might help guys

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/diy-zone-5392/airflow-problems-new-enclosure-197245/


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## Gruni (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks Jax, I remembered that thread from when I first joined but couldn't seem to hit the right keywords to get it. 



JaxRtfm said:


> Ah the great debate  it's all personal choice, I prefer low at heated end high at the cold then the occupant should always have a warm corner. In the end it's what ever works for your occupant



This was the bit that sparked in my memory.  

I am working on the theory that the absence of a vent in the warm corner means with the warm air rising that it should stay warm and that the excess warm air should draw out of the cool side keeping it cooler... I only really plan on using the heat cord during the winter as the basking platform will be near the heat lamp, Once it is all set up I'll monitor it for a few days before moving Skittles across. I also have vents into the shelf area one next to the down light and one opposite. This should also help with air flow as there is a 3" cable hole at the back of that cavity. As I said pics will be up soon.


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## J-A-X (Dec 28, 2012)

Pics will be helpful, 

in the end it seems that as long as you have 2 vents, one high, one low then you are going to achieve ventilation to different degrees. 

Most people seem to favor either 1 at each end or one low at the front and high at the back. You need to consider where it is going before deciding on the location. Not much point putting a vent in a position that will eventually be up against a wall


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## Gruni (Dec 29, 2012)

The cabinet more or less how it was when I bought it, except we have already blocked off the shelf and made it fit flush so nosey Maculosa's can't get in where they aren't allowed. The holes in the rear wall have been closed with some pine inserts, glued and stapled in place.








This shows how much the 50cm strip of 12v 'Warm' LED's light up the space.



This is the cut out for the 12v halogen down light and the cage/guard we made so Skittles is safe and it doesn't detract overly from the look of the enclosure. It also has one of the vents next to it to help with heat build up in the cavity.





The shelf removed to show both vents. The LED strip will be mounted in the centre of the shelf immediately behind the frame of the light guard. These are not the vents to give are flow to the enclosure overall as they will be fitted to the rear wall of the cabinet and disguised a bit with the rock back ground.





That's as far as I've gotten for now. Next step will be to order the thermostats, glass runners, glass, and the makings for the basking shelf which will be topped with a slate tile. I can get foam off cuts from a mate who makes cool rooms so I'll source that and I'll see about getting some sample paints from Bunnings or the paint supplier. Oh and dad has a whole tin of pondcrete sealer that I can have.


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## ltnclark (Dec 30, 2012)

This is looking good Gruni. After reading ventalation info on the web, I am going to do something similar to what you have done. I have ordered my lighting/heating and thermostat so I can start to play with the positioning of everything soon. I will post photos when I get a little more done  (taking a lot longer than I anticipated).


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## PieBald (Dec 30, 2012)

Looking GOOD, nice cabinet


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## Gruni (Dec 30, 2012)

I got home and couldn't help myself, even though I have more to do I had to give it a polish and I have fitted the halogen and LED lights. 

It came up a treat and boy did some crap lift off it with a bit of natural wax spray and a cloth. The lights look good and the halogen throws the heat really well.

On a side note Skittles was out and super active when I got home, she may be oblivious of her new home coming together but she was UBER keen on the three mice I offered her, I've never seen her so hungry before, after having eaten one mouse I moved something in front of her tank and she struck at the glass with a thud aiming for my hand! :lol:


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## MyMitchie (Dec 30, 2012)

Wow it looks fantastic! The LED looks really good too.


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## Gruni (Dec 31, 2012)

I want to make a basking shelf out of a tile and heat cord as part of the build. Two questions:
a) What thickness tiles do people generally look for? A normal 'bathroom' type of tyle or more of a 'paver' tile?

b) if the heat cord is too long can you cut it down to a length that suits your needs? 

I'm looking at a 25cm slate/textured tile and a 15w heat cord which seems to come in 3m lengths.


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## Shotta (Dec 31, 2012)

looking good cant wait to see the finished product
also i dont think you can cut heatcords someone correct me! oh and for tiles i just use bathroom tiles seems to work


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## J-A-X (Dec 31, 2012)

Normal household tiles. No you can't cut heat cords to suit but you can space the cord out to give a cooler tile and larger area 
Always 'zigzag' your cord, never spiral - it will get too hot. 
Gauge the size of the tile by the size of the user. Larger snake, larger tile


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## Gruni (Dec 31, 2012)

Cheers. Skittles is 1.2m and will possibly get up to 1.5m, as a Spotted python I think a 25cm tile should be plenty of room especialy when I look at the spots she curls up in now. Even zig zagging the cord I don't think I can fit 3m under a tile that size. I'll have to see if I can get a 2m cord. The idea is to regulate the tile to 30*.

This is where I got to since getting home. Lights fitted and the log I had put aside sat in there for a sense of size. Also the new door handles are in this pic.


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## justin91 (Dec 31, 2012)

Awesome enclosure. Nice log, looks like a good fit. I'm currently transforming a tv cabinet into two snake enclosures.. A 25cm tile should be enough. I got a spotted as well and making a basking spot on a black normal house tile.

Where are you going to get your glass runners from?


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## J-A-X (Dec 31, 2012)

Grab a pice of string / rope and measure out 3m and then tape or under the tile to give you an idea. I've got a 25w in the shed I'll measure it and see if its 3m total or 3m heating


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## Gruni (Jan 1, 2013)

Bunnings can get them but I have to buy 4.5m lengths there as it is a special order so I am going to see the local Aluminium & Glass places and should be able to score something there. I want the ones with the nylon balls in the lower runner and brushes in the upper track.

The log was a piece that was amongst my firewood delivery last winter and I put it aside straight away for an enclosure build.  
I'll take a picture from a bit better angle next time as the log has some character to it that just didn't show up because of the camera flash.

- - - Updated - - -

I've hit a bit of a stumbling block with the basking shelf. I bought a really nice piece of slate today that has a great texture to it and is 200x300mm. My problem is this, I found a site that is not one of the sponsors on here who sell Reptile One heat cord (15w/2m) and they have some recomended instructions for use. They say that 2m of heat cord should do a surface of 1400sq/cm but my tile is only 600sq/cm. They recommend a 5cm gap between one line of the heat cord and the next when laying it. If I leave 5cm there is no way on God's green earth I can use up 2m of cord! 

Is it ok to wind it tighter than 5cm? What should I do?


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## J-A-X (Jan 2, 2013)

Gruni said:


> I've hit a bit of a stumbling block with the basking shelf. I bought a really nice piece of slate today that has a great texture to it and is 200x300mm. My problem is this, I found a site that is not one of the sponsors on here who sell Reptile One heat cord (15w/2m) and they have some recomended instructions for use. They say that 2m of heat cord should do a surface of 1400sq/cm but my tile is only 600sq/cm. They recommend a 5cm gap between one line of the heat cord and the next when laying it. If I leave 5cm there is no way on God's green earth I can use up 2m of cord!
> 
> Is it ok to wind it tighter than 5cm? What should I do?



Welcome to the fun side of heat cords  grab some masking tape, and tape the 'dead end' of the cord to the tile. Run the cord backwards and forwards in a Zig zag pattern at approx 3cm apart, taping it down as you go. Flip it over, pop it in the tank and turn it on. Leave it for a couple of days and check the temp every few hours at first incase it goes too high too quick. Increase or decrease the space depending on the temp. Trial and error.


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## Gruni (Jan 2, 2013)

Will that really matter as I plan on using a thermostat and putting the probe on the tile surface to read at 30*? And if I have to increase the spacing what do I do with the left over cord as you said earlier that you can't cut them shorter?


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## J-A-X (Jan 2, 2013)

LOL, sorry gruni, i dont use thermostats, just timers now mine are older, i tend to forget others prefer to. 
I couldn't see you spacing it out much further than 5cm, and the most common spacing is 2 - 2 1/2 cm apart. But regardless of the gap you can hang the excess out the back of the unit. Just triple check with a thermometer what the temp on the tile is, especially a piece of slate, the nature of slate is variable as it has layers of air trapped between layers of slate. 
Are you going to put the cord straight on the floor of the cabinet or are you going you route out a piece of timber ? 

Just don't leave the cord taped to the tile, tape and snakes don't mix. Either route into the cabinet (or spare piece of timber) or use cable holders - normally white 'n' shaped pieces of plastic with a nail on the side.


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## Gruni (Jan 2, 2013)

I am going to make a 'box'/shelf that will have a cavity beneath the tile where the cord will be routed and this will be mounted 2/3 of the way up the back wall on the warm side of the enclosure. The other heat is being provided by a halogen down light.


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## J-A-X (Jan 2, 2013)

If the cord isn't going to be in direct contact with the tile, you can put the cord a little closer together, to get more heat to the tile then run it for a few days then check for signs of scorching on the timber.


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## Gruni (Jan 2, 2013)

Hmmm in that case maybe a piece of fibro as a base for the cord to coil over... or lining it with alfoil?


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## J-A-X (Jan 2, 2013)

Either will work, but how do you plan on attaching it to the fibro ?


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## Gruni (Jan 2, 2013)

I figure you can still predrill the fibro and screw through it. Maybe just several layers of alfoil will do just as well. I'll do a bit of homework on that idea.


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## J-A-X (Jan 2, 2013)

I'll think about it too - I've always just used timber/MDF


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## Gruni (Jan 4, 2013)

Ok so I've been online and got a few bits including a 'rock' hide and two thermostats. One like this which has a day/night feature which will run the heat lamp for day time heating.






And a simple one similar to this to run the basking shelf/heatcord.





I also picked up some MDF to use as a backing for the rock wall, brackets for the shelf and did some dumpster diving for foam at Harvey Norman. I still need to go to one of the sponsor sites and order a 2m heat cord. Then after I have setup the shelf side of things I can start on the rock wall and next payday pick up some render, paint and pondtight. Oh and yesterday I picked up a hide that looks like half a log from the aquarium section of Big W. 

So all in all we are making steady progress. Kathy (my wife) and Skye (my daughter) have been looking at DIY sites getting ideas for the rock wall and how to paint it. We are thinking of getting some fake plants, preferably Aussie stuff like gum leaves, as well as some model railway lichen to add to the look of it all. 

I am also curious if I put some Spanish moss/Oldman's beard in the enclosure if it will survive and grow?


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## Stuart (Jan 4, 2013)

Looking good Gruni. Its going to be a spiffy setup.


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## caliherp (Jan 4, 2013)

Gruni said:


> I am also curious if I put some Spanish moss/Oldman's beard in the enclosure if it will survive and grow?


It's actually a bromeliad Tillandsia usneoides. It's easy to grow in terrariums. It likes high light any higher humidity. It will survive in less humid environments with frequent mistings. Hope that helps.


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## Porkbones (Jan 6, 2013)

Gruni said:


> Ok so I've been online and got a few bits including a 'rock' hide and two thermostats. One like this which has a day/night feature which will run the heat lamp for day time heating.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Do you have anymore pics?? So far it's looking good. I was going to build a tank but managed to find a corner cabinet pretty cheap so will convert that.i scored 3 lengths of LED lighting from bunnings for $20 as they are a deleted line.already put that in the cabinet.only had to used 2 of the LED strips as it lights up well.i will build a rock wall to fit inside,I see you are using MDF board, there have been some debates with this stuff lol but I'm guessing it will b ok to use for backing as it won't be heated much, and I'm thinking that you will be sealing the MDF board??. I'm in bunnings car park as I type lol bout to go in and pick up some small round vents for the tank.I'm def keeping an eye on this thread and keen to see your progress


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## Gruni (Jan 6, 2013)

Thanks for the votes of confidence so far guys, at this stage its hard to stuff up what I am aiming for, the cool/challenging part will be when I start the rock wall. :lol:

The MDF won't be an issue at all as it is only as a backing board for the rock wall so it won't be near the moisture or anything like that. I wont have much to show for a little while as I am waiting for the stuff I ordered to arrrive and that wont get here till about Thursday. Then I will be able to start looking at the rock wall as I need to have a play with the heat cord and basking shelf so I can allow for mounting them and feeding the leftover heat cord out. We also have a thing to go to next weekend which will mean I will have four days or so away from the project anyway. 

I will be posting progress pics as I go and the next step (this afternoon or in the morning) will be fitting the vents to the MDF and locating matching holes in the back wall of the cabinet. I've gone with 160x80 rectanguar vents rather than the round ones.

Curious though, has anyone used railway lichen as a way of adding a mossy look to their back grounds? If so what sort of glue did you use and how well did it last? 

Also can anyone PM me or post up a supplier of Australian fake plants? Rather than needing to use Ivy vines I would like to hang stuff that looks like gum leaves or something around the edges to frame the scene, and some spinifex type grass clumps for the bottom.


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## J-A-X (Jan 6, 2013)

Way to go Gruni  you're powering ahead ! 
As far as the railway moss, you'll find it hard to clean if it gets messy. I just 'stipple' a few different shades of green in the appropriate spots. Don't lose sight that it will be crawled over and pooped on (they always pick the worst spots) 
As far as plants, you could try 'spotlight' if you have them over there. I tend to buy when I see something rather than wait til I need it, I've got a good little stockpile going on! 

I know there is an online plant place, ill go hunt it down an PM it to you (no non sponsor links allowed remember people)


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## CaptainRatbag (Jan 6, 2013)

Looks awesome gruni.... well done


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## cathy1986 (Jan 6, 2013)

MORE PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :evil:


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## Gruni (Jan 7, 2013)

Well the glass places finally opened again today so off I went to get some quotes. I'm still waiting for them to get back to me on the toughened glass but for 2 pieces 815x465 3.2mm Lexan $131, 4.7mm Lexan $196, Laminated glass with the edges smoothed and some finger recesses ground in $214. I like the idea of the Lexan, it's the bullet proof poly carbonate they make the bank teller screens out of so very safe as far as kids tripping near the enclosure.

As for pics, I was going to hold off but as I was posting the prices of the glass here you go Cathy. This is the slate tile for the basking shelf.






And yesterday I test fitted the MDF with the vents in place. I also marked and drilled the corners of the vent openings for the back of the cabinet ready to jigsaw out.


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## J-A-X (Jan 7, 2013)

What use use as 'glass' will depend on your tracks, if your using plastic track that commonly comes in either 5 or 6mm so the thinner Lexan will be loose and provide a nice gap for your Mac to practise it's Houdini talents. My glass guys won't do smoothed laminate, because you've got two pieces of thin glass stuck to the laminate film to high a failure rate with chipping. All my hinged doors are laminate but not the sliding. 
Hinged doors solve these issues but you need to make sure you have room to open them if they're at floor level


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## Baturb (Jan 7, 2013)

I got my glass today, 2 pices 725x790x5mm all edges arised $130


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## J-A-X (Jan 7, 2013)

What type of glass ? Standard float or toughened ?


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## Baturb (Jan 7, 2013)

Just standard float, more than enough


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## J-A-X (Jan 7, 2013)

Is your enclosure at floor level? Like Gruni. I won't take the chance of it getting hit (too many visiting kids)


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## Gruni (Jan 7, 2013)

I am aware of the gap issue Jax although the supplier I went to today claims she can get different guage runner, just the plastic groove type. I want the alloy type with the little balls in the bottom track if I can possibly get it at a decent price, either way I think I'll probably just go with the 6mm laminated. 

Having said that I still have to check with the other glazier in town first and compare prices, I may even get a quote from the glaziers in Armidale as we go there quite regularly anyway. It's the catch with living in a 'small' town. 

I also varnished the bottom shelf of the cabinet and the MDF with a first coat of Estapol and what a pain is MDF in that sense!?!?!? It just sucked it up like a sponge. :lol:


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## J-A-X (Jan 7, 2013)

Ball runners are fine in theory until your beloved pet seems to take peeing or pooing right in the track as a challenge that must be tried every opportunity ! My juvies made life hard enough with just plastic track and 4mm float glass with polished edges ( up on a cupboard before anyone picks up on the 4mm glass  ) Pee down the window makes lovely pools in the track, a nice warm day has the effect of turning it into a glue that is sellable if marketed right ROFL

If you have an aquarium place nearby maybe try getting a quote from them - can't hurt, and often the small glaziers that are in the back streets are heaps cheaper than the better known companies.

as for the Estapol sucking MDF, - it does the same thing on any untreated timber (the proper stuff) so if anyone has a solution we'd like to hear it please


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## Gruni (Jan 7, 2013)

Interesting advice Jax, I must admit in 12 months of living in a glass enclosure Skittles has never pooped/peed right on the glass, she usually does it next to her castle or her favourite rock. :lol:

We don't have specifically aquarium places here although that is good advice for the city slickers. 

As for the MDF sucking it up, I'm not really worried as it is just to seal it from any _possible_ moisture causing swelling and not because I give a rats about how good the finish turns out. To be honest I expected it to do it but was a bit surprised at just how much it sucks up and how quickly. :shock: I'll give the other side a coat tomorrow and then give it all a second coat just to be on the safe side.


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## J-A-X (Jan 7, 2013)

LOL, mine are just juvenile delinquents I think, as for my adult coastal, well, lets just say he 
likes to show off ! I'm convinced if I threw some snow in there he'd try and write his name in it 

I like your thinking, better too much sealing than too little  

i hope you're taking lots of pics. ..... There are a few people following this thread and cheering you on LOL


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## Gruni (Jan 10, 2013)

So the MDF will be sealed finished being sealed in the morning. Yesterday and today some deliveries arrived. I now have the thermostats and the heat cord to start looking at cable routing and lengths etc. Now we are just waiting for the hide to arrive. But that will be it basically until Thursday when I can afford to go to the hardware store again and get some conjute to put inside the foam to take the cables where I want. Then the fun begins...


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## lizardjasper (Jan 10, 2013)

I can't wait to see it finished!!


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## J-A-X (Jan 10, 2013)

Gruni said:


> So the MDF will be sealed finished being sealed in the morning. Yesterday and today some deliveries arrived. I now have the thermostats and the heat cord to start looking at cable routing and lengths etc. Now we are just waiting for the hide to arrive. But that will be it basically until Thursday when I can afford to go to the hardware store again and get some conjute to put inside the foam to take the cables where I want. Then the fun begins...



What no pictures of paint drying  

rather than buy "conjute" (it's spelt 'conduit' by the way ) pinch a piece off your garden hose.......its flexible and will cost you nothing ...... unless your wife finds out


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## Gruni (Jan 11, 2013)

Thanks Jax it was a really big day yesterday and when I posted I didn't think the spelling looked right but couldn't be stuffed working out what was wrong with it. :lol: 

I hadn't thought of the hose, I wanted the 'other stuff' as a short piece was going to route the spare heat cord out and I know it can handle that sort of warmth, the hose should be ok too though so maybe some progress will be made before Thursday although the progress is also dependent on the basking shelf being built and I have to go see a mate about that one. On the up side it should be a pretty quick knock up. 

- - - Updated - - -

The new hide arrived today too! Woot Woot!! 8)











- - - Updated - - -

One basking shelf basically built. I took the tile and the cord to a mate of mine who made up a basic frame and recessed the lip so the tile sits securely in the top. the space between the tile and the bottom of the box is about 10mm. I then used some brass pins to press against the cord and wind it through the box. I may not have gotten it quite even but I think it'll do nicely.
















The next step will be to work out where on the back wall it will sit so I can position the brackets and start to prepare for the foam.


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## emmalene_bunny (Jan 12, 2013)

How far away is the completion Gruni?


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## Gruni (Jan 12, 2013)

That depends a lot... I need to buy the glass or Lexan for the doors but today I discovered that I will need to spend $200 on a new battery for the family car.



Either way, Thursday I will be picking up the render and paint so at least the background can proceed.


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## J-A-X (Jan 12, 2013)

Don't you love it when unexpected bills turn up  
When you go for render, get the acrylic render - some don't make it obvious but look for 'polymer added' and mine normally cost $14 for $20 kg. and it will go a fair way


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## Gruni (Jan 12, 2013)

Cheers, I got a price from Bunnings of $10/20kg but I don't know if that is acrylic or not. They ad all the oxides there too. 

BTW what is the magic time frame for making a new post that is a new post and not just an update? I'm just a bit worried some of the people following the thread might have missed the last bit with the new hide and the basking shelf.


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## J-A-X (Jan 12, 2013)

Bunnings didn't have any $10 bags in sight do I figured they'd either stopped stocking it or had sold out  
I'm not sure what the update timeframe is, I always thought it was only a few hours, but you've proved that wrong ! Ill check with the others and see what we can find out


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## Gruni (Jan 13, 2013)

I test drove the heat tile last night and it is definitely warmer at the end where the coils are closer together, even though I thought the heat would distrbute more through the tile. It was 42* at the warm end and 38* at the 'cool' end. I don't expect that would change that much even if I spaced the coils a bit more so I'll just leave it as is and I will place the thermostat probe on the surface of the tile at the warmer end of the slate and set it for 30*.


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## thomasssss (Jan 13, 2013)

coming along nicely gruni , should be a nice piece when its finished , let us know how you go with the light hidden up in the roof like that , ive been wanting to do a similar thing but am worried about heat build up as i use CHE only 60 watt though come of the concrete fibre board might help but im just not 100% sure myself


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## Gruni (Jan 13, 2013)

thomasssss said:


> Let us know how you go with the light hidden up in the roof like that , ive been wanting to do a similar thing but am worried about heat build up as i use CHE only 60 watt though come of the concrete fibre board might help but im just not 100% sure myself



The light should be fine, I use the same one for my current setup and it warms things nicely, the only thing in both cases I had to buy new 50W globes as the ones supplied were both dodgy. The heat build up should be fine for a few reasons, one being the air space in the cavity, two the vent I installed next to the light and thirdly the type of downlight is called a fire guard kit... Fire Guard Kits | Crompton . Even if this one is no longer available Crompton do other similar lights with the heat sheild built around the light. It should also be quite cheap to run as it comes with a 12v transformer.


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## lizardjasper (Jan 13, 2013)

Wondering how it's coming along now? Would love to see an updated picture!


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## thomasssss (Jan 13, 2013)

Gruni said:


> The light should be fine, I use the same one for my current setup and it warms things nicely, the only thing in both cases I had to buy new 50W globes as the ones supplied were both dodgy. The heat build up should be fine for a few reasons, one being the air space in the cavity, two the vent I installed next to the light and thirdly the type of downlight is called a fire guard kit... Fire Guard Kits | Crompton . Even if this one is no longer available Crompton do other similar lights with the heat sheild built around the light. It should also be quite cheap to run as it comes with a 12v transformer.


so those types of globes manage to keep a nice basking temp through winter ? i have heard of people using them but have never really looked into them myself , how can you tell that the globe is a heat emitting type , is that where the halogen part comes into it , completely new to this side of heating


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## Gruni (Jan 13, 2013)

lizardjasper said:


> Wondering how it's coming along now? Would love to see an updated picture!



The pics are all up to date mate, there is nothing of note to see at the moment and probably won't be until we start playing with foam later this week. I will post pics regarding the shelf bracket placement etc as things progress. I have been making sure my photo's are as step by step as possible but I figure no one wants to see a plain pice of MDF with varnish on it. 

Thomasssss, find a halogen down light somewhere like a shop display window and put your hand 6 inches away form it and you will feel plenty of heat. They emit as much if not more than a standard incandescent globe. I believe Stein Enclosures use halogen down lights to heat their enclosures as they aren't as visually noticable as a big ceramic fitting and a light cage. Obviously I'll be able to comment more when it is all setup and running for a few weeks. I don't anticipate needing the heat tile until winter.


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## cathy1986 (Jan 13, 2013)

I wish there was a book for building enclosures 
Sent from my GT-N8020 using Tapatalk 2


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## lizardjasper (Jan 13, 2013)

Gruni said:


> The pics are all up to date mate, there is nothing of note to see at the moment and probably won't be until we start playing with foam later this week. I will post pics regarding the shelf bracket placement etc as things progress. I have been making sure my photo's are as step by step as possible but I figure no one wants to see a plain pice of MDF with varnish on it.
> 
> Thomasssss, find a halogen down light somewhere like a shop display window and put your hand 6 inches away form it and you will feel plenty of heat. They emit as much if not more than a standard incandescent globe. I believe Stein Enclosures use halogen down lights to heat their enclosures as they aren't as visually noticable as a big ceramic fitting and a liht cage. Obviously I'll be able to comment more when it is all setup and running for a few weeks. I don't anticipate needing the heat tile until winter.



I just wanna see the glass doors go on. That's the most challenging part for me, and I wanna see how you do it.


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## Gruni (Jan 13, 2013)

cathy1986 said:


> I wish there was a book for building enclosures
> Sent from my GT-N8020 using Tapatalk 2



There probably is if you look hard enough... 

- - - Updated - - -



lizardjasper said:


> I just wanna see the glass doors go on. That's the most challenging part for me, and I wanna see how you do it.



With a bit of luck that will also happen next week if I can sort this car battery bill. :facepalm: I am thinking of using 4.5mm Lexan if they can supply suitable runners. Trust me those pics will appear ASAP!


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## J-A-X (Jan 13, 2013)

cathy1986 said:


> I wish there was a book for building enclosures
> Sent from my GT-N8020 using Tapatalk 2



We've got one ……and its interactive, we got the DIY zone


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## cathy1986 (Jan 13, 2013)

I need pictures lol im very visual

Cathy


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## J-A-X (Jan 14, 2013)

We've got pictures too LOL


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## cathy1986 (Jan 15, 2013)

JaxRtfm said:


> We've got pictures too LOL



Not enough!!! 

Cathy


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## Gruni (Jan 15, 2013)

The toughened glass has been ordered today so with a bit of luck it will be here on Monday.8) I'm a bit stunned as it is costing me $160 but another place quoted me fully double that??? :shock:


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## lizardjasper (Jan 15, 2013)

Gruni said:


> The toughened glass has been ordered today so with a bit of luck it will be here on Monday.8) I'm a bit stunned as it is costing me $160 but another place quoted me fully double that??? :shock:



Yeah, I got quoted from one place $400 something so I'm shopping around. Who did you go with?


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## Gruni (Jan 15, 2013)

The place in Armidale wanted nearly $400 but Inverell Aluminium and Glass must use a different supplier or something as they are doing it that much cheaper.


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## thomasssss (Jan 15, 2013)

Gruni said:


> The place in Armidale wanted nearly $400 but Inverell Aluminium and Glass must use a different supplier or something as they are doing it that much cheaper.


thats why i dont gibe rough estimates on glass for people , they vary extremely from place to place , the thing with toughened glass is that they cant just cut it from a piece they have ( from memory anyway ) and it has to be ordered in as toughened as once its in that state it cant be cut in the normal way , good choice though im sure you know my stance on glass already  toughened is what we recommended people use in trophy cabinets etc anything where the edges are exposed , where you also recommended it by the glazier or did you just go with it through personal choice


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## Gruni (Jan 15, 2013)

The glass place didn't give me any advice in that regard but I know a bloke who worked as a glazier and we had talked through the options. Except it was to expensive I would have taken Laminated instead with the edges chamfered.


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## Gruni (Jan 18, 2013)

So I have the back wall up to the point that Kathy and I can start roughing out how the background will look. I'm still not sure if I'll go with lots of small/medium rocks or sort of three or four large ones with grooves between them, either way there will be at least two ledges similar in size to the magnatec shelf Skittles has now. 

Today involved locating the heat shelf, putting a hole in for the thick part of the heat cord to come in as far as possible and fitting the conduit for the thermostat probe to be fed down to rest on the slate. I also used a piece of the conduit to make a 'lamp shade' for the LED ights as I found them a bit distracting when they were exposed, this also stops Skittles from pulling the light down as there used to be a gap of several mm that she could have hooked her tail through and with her body weight dislodged the light from its fittings. The 16mm rectangular conduit was the perfect size for it too. 


















The little blocks of ply in the corners and middle of the back board are so when I screw it in place from behind the screws will have something to bite into more securely than just the MDF.


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## J-A-X (Jan 18, 2013)

The planning stage is fun. I have to exercise great control when I start fixing things in or doing the render as I'm always tempted to change something ! 
You definately look like you're heading in the right direction


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## cathy1986 (Jan 19, 2013)

are you going to do a rock wall or anything like that?

Cathy


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## Gruni (Jan 19, 2013)

Cathy, I'm starting to worry about you... I know you said you are a visual learner who needs lots of pics but reading is visual too. :lol:

Yes I am doing a rock wall as I said from the start. Last night I decided on the type of rock effect I am going for. I'll do something similar to what Tit4n did for his... 






But rather than brown we will use tones of grey with just some brown to tie it in with the colour of the cabinet. I am also adding a couple of shelf/ledges for Skittles to use as she really likes her Magnatec ledge in her current enclosure. I got the foam dumpster diving at Harvey Norman and I just need to get the render, oxide, paint and pondtite still. 

I also discovered that the rock bowl I got for her water dish is pourous so I'll need to treat it with the pondtite too.


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## J-A-X (Jan 20, 2013)

My bunnings has stopped selling pondtite, so I'm glad I got the 4 Litre tub last time.


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## Gruni (Jan 20, 2013)

LOL, nice bump Jax. :lol:

Well I went to Bunnings today and got a 20kg bag of acrylic render for $12, they have a clearance on some oxides so I got one called Dusk that looks black, three tubes of Liquid Nails, some Pondtight equivalent and some water based expanda foam. Kathy played with the foam while I was out after I got her started so this will be pic heavy but here goes...

Product placement...





Getting started...











Fun and games...







Team effort in planning and building...




























Time to add expanda foam under the heat shelf and one other piece in the bottom right corner and then it's time to watch glue dry ready for shaping/melting and rendering tomorrow...


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## J-A-X (Jan 20, 2013)

Fun for all the family ! 
A quick suggestion - take the vent out before you render 

now that's a bump ! - by the time you finish this enclosure I reckon you'll owe me a coffee


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## Gruni (Jan 20, 2013)

Can't take the vents out now as they are too snuggly fitted...  I'll try putting some duct tape over them though and just try to be extra careful when working around them.

So any thoughts about the foundation we built today?

- - - Updated - - -

Just had a lesser catastrophe... the wall as leant up out of the way and the expanda foam hadn't set enough and just avalanched off the areas we had filled. The ordinary expanda foam dries much quicker but as it is turps based or some such it will eat the styrofoam anywhere the two come in contact.  

So tomorrow I'll have to get another can and learn the lesson of patience. I'll apply a bit at a time, the advantage of it being water based is that unlike the other stuff I can clean the nozzle and still use the can later where as the other sort dries and clogs the nozzle no matter how hard you try to clean the hose etc.

Oh well I guess rendering will have to wait a couple of days.

- - - Updated - - -



JaxRtfm said:


> now that's a bump ! - by the time you finish this enclosure I reckon you'll owe me a coffee



You're welcome to drop in for a coffee and inspect the handy work anytime you like. I'll even krank up the latte machine for you.


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## J-A-X (Jan 20, 2013)

Oh no! I'm not laughing AT you, really I'm not  

Ive had some beauties - is any of it salvageable ?. A standard saw will work well to remove most of the excess, and expandable foam cuts a lot cleaner than normal styrene. 

Nxt time lay it flat and remember 'less is more' with expanda foam, you can actually help it expand by misting with water...

i hope you got pics  we've got to let the forum know what to watch out for ! 

PS: I only do 'double shot' caffeine which could probably explain a lot :shock:


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## Gruni (Jan 20, 2013)

I salvaged some of it but the water based stuff seems to need forever to crust or set. I was too worried about what to do so I didn't get a pic when it happened. Does the regular foam melt the styrene or have I got it wrong on that front? Either way it is just a set back not a deal breaker. :lol:

Where it went...














Where it landed!






So Jax what do you think of the basic backwall design so far?


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## J-A-X (Jan 20, 2013)

I think you've done OK  

Im Joking, I think its fantastic ! 

How can you call that a disaster ? It's just an unplanned feature  

Once it's gone off, slice the worst bits off it ! The placement of the shelves and rock outcrops look good and well placed. Once you hit it with the heat gun it will look different. 
Do yourself a favour. Step back for a few hours, then come back and look at it- it's the best thing you can do ( fresh eyes)


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## Gruni (Jan 20, 2013)

Thanks, I was pretty happy when we called it a day. I'm a bit nervous about the render and finishing off some of the gaps etc but I'm sure it'll come together nicely. We have picked out some greys and a brown or two for the colouration.

What about the expanda foam, should I stick with the water based stuff or not?


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## J-A-X (Jan 20, 2013)

I don't see an issue with it ? Is it causing you any unmentioned problems?

the non water based stuff is harder to clean up, although a bottle of acetone comes in handy. Or pinch the mrs' supply of acetone nail polish remover  I never had a problem with it melting the styrene. It just stuck like the proverbial poo to a blanket


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## Gruni (Jan 23, 2013)

Well the toughened glass arrived Monday and last night when I went to fit it... it was too short by about 8mm. Grrrrr! Oh well after some thoughts of roaring at the glass place I decided to work with what I've got. I left the overlap to them and they said 50mm but now that it's in place the overlap is actually 90mm not that that is much of an issue. As for the height a good friend of mine who is a very handy cabinet maker milled an 8.5mm strip of beach that I stained and used to lower the top track slightly, so now the doors fit.











The expanda foam was too much of a PITA and even after two days was still quite soft compared to the stuff I have used in the past so I went back to the styrene and did a bit of patch work which I am actually quite happy with and I think by the time it is rendered it should come up a treat. 






The other thing is I made the clearence so small on the MDF I have to do some surgery to bring the styrene back within the limits as it won't fit at all at the moment. My mate gave me a nifty new tool, a type of Japanese hand saw that should make short work of it. I only plan to render the front face and paint the edges as Skittles can't do any damage to the sides.


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## J-A-X (Jan 24, 2013)

Just triple check there's nowhere for skittles to squeeze in behind it.

Oh the trials and tribulations of furniture conversion - dont ya just love it  

No two are the same, there's always something different to contend with. The fun bit is working with it not against it - but then again I've always had a twisted sense of 'fun' 

It's coming along very nicely !


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## Stuart (Jan 24, 2013)

When can I place my order?

It looks great mate, you should be proud!


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## lizardjasper (Jan 24, 2013)

Hope when I get my glass it's exact and not a few cms off! Ahh! I'd be so rank at them! I've finished making my foam backing wall too. I used a hot glue gun to attach my styrofoam "stones" to the backing. I've used it heaps of times before on making Christmas wreaths to sell and it works a treat at bonding styrofoam together. It's raining cats and dogs up here thanks to ex-cyclone Oswald, so I can't do any more work until the weather eases up. I received my light fittings and cords today so hopefully I can fit them maybe tomorrow...if it's not too wet...

Yours looks great! I prefer the styrofoam bits makeover to the expand-a whatever. Can't wait to see it finished!


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## mitch_hynes (Jan 24, 2013)

I want your enclosure haha nice job!!


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## Gruni (Jan 24, 2013)

Thanks everyone, I'm really happy with how it has come together. I think I'll be proud... once it's finished.  Overall it has been cheaper than buying one built but when I think of the hours that have gone into it I fully understand why they are so expensive. Including the new thermostats, hides etc this has cost me around $350 or so for every last bit that has gone into it. I think I prefer not to add it all up too accurately... :lol:

Tonight I trimmed back the edges and I got the little blow torch out and rounded off most of the sharp edges, some will disapear when it gets rendered. I still have a couple of tight spots to prune back near the edges so it will fit properly when I'm done but otherwise I'm ready to start rendering it so that will probably start this weekend some time. Then next pay will mean a visit to the paint section so hopefully it will be completely done in the next fortnight and Skittles moved in about a week after that as I want to run it and test the temps before relocating her.


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## TheJoyces (Jan 24, 2013)

it's looking so awesome Gruni. Congrats. Awesome to see your family getting involved too!!!!


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## J-A-X (Jan 24, 2013)

If you have sun up your way, put the tank, with rendered wall out in the sun for a week (wheel it back in overnight in case it gets damp) it speeds up the out gassing from the render, paints and glue. Then run it inside for a good week to let everything settle and get to temp. You'll be amazed how much heat the render will absorb. Then you should be good to move the new resident in


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## Gruni (Jan 26, 2013)

So this morning I started rendering. Seemed to go quite well and I made it really quite runny for the first coat... I did forget the PVA so here's hoping it sticks. :lol:

Must admit you need to keep moving with it as it loses it's soupiness quite quickly when you are working on a large area. 

3 cups of render goes this far...







Six cups gets you this...


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## justin91 (Jan 26, 2013)

Looking good man. Really good. After seeing all these threads about rock walls people are making I think I might bin mine and re-start. :S

- - - Updated - - -

Hey gruni, quick question, how are you going to stick it into your enclosure? Just drill it from behind or use glue? My enclosure is some pretty thick pine and my rock wall weighs a fair bit so bit curious on how your gonna do it.


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## Gruni (Jan 29, 2013)

I have about 7 points where I reinforced the MDF with some pieces of ply and have predrilled through the back wall which is 10mm pine. The wall fits pretty snuggly into the cabinet anyway so I have had it free standing without issue but I will screw through the back into those 7 points and that will hold it nicely.

After the crappy rainy weather (which we seriously needed) over the weekend, I went out after work today and gave it a second coat of render that used up three times as much as the first coat. It went on quite thick and after water smoothing it back I am pretty happy with the result. So I'll see how it dries over the next few days and I may not bother with a third coat and jump straight to the painting.







I'm still hunting for the plants I will use but the painting should be done next week and I'll post pics of it before fitting it and then I'll hold off until the last bits are done for the final reveal.


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## J-A-X (Jan 29, 2013)

$2 shops, OP shops, craft shops are all good sources of cheap plants 

Can't wait for the big reveal !


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## Gruni (Jan 29, 2013)

I have checked out all of the above in our town... :'( Going to try some places in Armidale on the weekend and then I'll just have to bite the bullet and grab some of the online ones I've seen.


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## thomasssss (Jan 29, 2013)

Gruni said:


> I have checked out all of the above in our town... :'( Going to try some places in Armidale on the weekend and then I'll just have to bite the bullet and grab some of the online ones I've seen.


i got some from spotlight that were cheap enough , does armidale have a spotlight though ? 

looking good though gruni , dont know if you where going to anyway but on the final coat maybe get a hack saw blade or something similar and use it to help high light some of the different areas and cracks if you know what i mean


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## scurrilous (Jan 29, 2013)

thomasssss said:


> i got some from spotlight that were cheap enough , does armidale have a spotlight though ?



If you dont have a spotlight your way you can try to find a few people on here and get an idea of what may be available, they will post anywhere in australia as long as the item doesn't exceed 2m for $7


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## Gruni (Jan 29, 2013)

The nearest Spotlight is in Tamworth 2 3/4hrs from here and we ave no reason to go to Tamworth in the fore seeable future. I might try Lincraft though they have a store in Armidale. We'll see what happens yet, I'm bound to turn something up. One of the other guys on here PM'd me some Ebay links but it was for vines like Ivy but I am chasing some stuff for ground level. There is a seller on Ebay who has some grasses and stuff but I'm not sure how much you are actually getting for the coin and it's not the cheapest especially by the time you add the postage.

- - - Updated - - -

Just a little update... as the render oxiding didn't go to plan (not as dark as I wanted due to limited oxide) I was mulling around how to undercoat the wall and was having trouble finding a spray pack that was waterbased in the right colour. While discussing with my mate down the road he said 'Just bring it down to my place, I have some matt black that we can chuck through the spray gun using the compressor!' What a legend, I didn't even think of a spray gun as I have a compressor at home too. This way we can tint it to a more charcoal colour with some grey and I can learn a bit more about how to spray and maintaining/cleaning sprayguns. 

So when we get back from Armidale (son getting his braces on) we will get the paint at the start of the week and things will be well underway!


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 1, 2013)

Can't wait to see it finished mate looks good I wish I could do this for a living haha


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## Gruni (Feb 6, 2013)

As I have a bit of time and I had a couple of pics I thought I slog away a little update. We mixed some charcoal base colour out of the grey I bought and using the compressor we gave it two hits and it turned out great. Now when Kathy feels energetic she can do the rest of the painting and I can seal it with the pondtight.

Spraying:






Sprayed:





I also took some pics of the new plants that the girls started to mount while I was with Kevin painting. I need to trim the wires sticking through and insert some lead sinkers into the styrene to weigh it down and then they can be shaped a bit better. The plan is to coat the base with PVA and roll it in aquarium gravel for a different finish and texture to the other stuff.

$15 plants fom K-Mart pulled apart and clumped for the enclosure:


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## Skippii (Feb 6, 2013)

It's coming together great! KMart you say? I'll have to check them out when I fetch some plants for Floyd's new enclosure.

Can't wait to see this when it's all finish, it's going to be fantastic.


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## Gruni (Feb 6, 2013)

They were in the home decor section. They come in white resin flower pots and we just busted them out of the pots which we will use for something else. You can also get little succulants in three individual pots for $15 too.


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## thomasssss (Feb 6, 2013)

with the plants , a little thing im planning on doing is just sticking them in about an inch thick of render or just cement in the bottom of an ice cream container , this should keep the centre of gravity nice and low to reduce them tipping over when they climb all over them and once coated in pondtite should make them nice and easy to clean


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## littlemay (Feb 6, 2013)

thomasssss said:


> with the plants , a little thing im planning on doing is just sticking them in about an inch thick of render or just cement in the bottom of an ice cream container , this should keep the centre of gravity nice and low to reduce them tipping over when they climb all over them and once coated in pondtite should make them nice and easy to clean



This is a great idea!

How were you planning on weighing down the plants, Gruni?


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## Sunnyfront (Feb 6, 2013)

I have a post one here with a tv cabinet enclosure I finished mine around October I think yours has come up wicked man few things different to mine but same shape proves how much you can make them to suite what you want


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## littlemay (Feb 6, 2013)

Sunnyfront said:


> View attachment 280875
> I have a post one here with a tv cabinet enclosure I finished mine around October I think yours has come up wicked man few things different to mine but same shape proves how much you can make them to suite what you want



Wow, that looks fantastic, really similar to how i would like mine to end up. Going to have to hunt down your build thread now...


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## Sunnyfront (Feb 6, 2013)

Check out (search) custom enclosure build - in DIY thread.


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2013)

You could also go to Sunny's profile and look through his Recently Started Threads which is often quicker and easier than the search feature on here... or Sunny could just post a link in here. 

As for weighting the plants, I like your idea Thomas but I also like irregular shapes so I'll see how my plan works first. As I said earlier my plan is to wedge some fiar sized fishing sinkers into the bottom of the foam but we'll see what happens, I also think the girls were a bit megre with the amount of foam they used on some of them and I will probably make some broader bases on the weekend.


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## littlemay (Feb 7, 2013)

Gruni said:


> You could also go to Sunny's profile and look through his Recently Started Threads which is often quicker and easier than the search feature on here... or Sunny could just post a link in here.
> 
> As for weighting the plants, I like your idea Thomas but I also like irregular shapes so I'll see how my plan works first. As I said earlier my plan is to wedge some fiar sized fishing sinkers into the bottom of the foam but we'll see what happens, I also think the girls were a bit megre with the amount of foam they used on some of them and I will probably make some broader bases on the weekend.




ah, i don't know how i missed that. Will be interesting to see how it works out.


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## J-A-X (Feb 7, 2013)

Sunnyfront said:


> Check out (search) custom enclosure build - in DIY thread.




Godmother wand in action again 

(Hope you don't mind Gruni, if you do I'll take the link out
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/showthread.php?t=191552


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2013)

JaxRtfm said:


> Godmother wand in action again
> 
> (Hope you don't mind Gruni, if you do I'll take the link out
> Custom enclosure build - Aussie Pythons & Snakes




I did say: ... or Sunny could just post a link in here.


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## J-A-X (Feb 7, 2013)

LOL, the smoke from my broomstick blurred the screen


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2013)

Wish I'd seen Sunny's post about the vents before I started but I think it should still work ok.


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## thomasssss (Feb 7, 2013)

Gruni said:


> As for weighting the plants, I like your idea Thomas but I also like irregular shapes so I'll see how my plan works first. As I said earlier my plan is to wedge some fiar sized fishing sinkers into the bottom of the foam but we'll see what happens, I also think the girls were a bit megre with the amount of foam they used on some of them and I will probably make some broader bases on the weekend.


thats pretty quickly sorted if you use a loose substraight a little deeper than the hight of the concrete , then just cover it up , that was my plan anyways , personal preference really , will be interesting to see how it works for you , id imagine the sinkers will do the same thing


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2013)

See and there is the problem/difference, I use astroturf as my substrate.


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## thomasssss (Feb 7, 2013)

Gruni said:


> See and there is the problem/difference, I use astroturf as my substrate.


ahhhh i see , what is astro turf like , ive been thinking about using it for my coastal for the ease of cleaning , ill probably stick to coir for the womas though as they actually use it for digging in


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2013)

It's great as far as I'm concerned. I have two pieces, one in while the other is cleaned and drying. I also put several layers of newspaper under the turf to soak up any water that spills.


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## thomasssss (Feb 7, 2013)

Gruni said:


> It's great as far as I'm concerned. I have two pieces, one in while the other is cleaned and drying. I also put several layers of newspaper under the turf to soak up any water that spills.


thats what i was thinking , could half cleaning time for him , like i said i will keep using coir for the womas but for the coastal whos rarely on the ground i dont see it as really necessary , actually kinda wasteful , what am i looking at roughly for 2 pieces 1200L 400W ?


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## Gruni (Feb 7, 2013)

No idea, I bought a big piece a year ago and still have quite a bit left so I don't think I'll need anymore for the new setup. It was quite cheap though and I just bought it at Bunnings.


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## Gruni (Feb 10, 2013)

Fresh photos to come later this afternoon as we painted the rockwall today and to my way of thinking it looks great! After staring at it for a while we think it looks a lot like 'iron stone'. 8)

But before I call it a day I need to ask Mum... How many coats of pondtite do you give the finished job?


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## J-A-X (Feb 10, 2013)

I give it 4, then a light rub with fine grade steelwool to knock back the shine ( under the sandpaper at bunnings 

Use the same pressure you would use wiping down the kitchen bench tops 

15 minutes from question to answer, is that a new record ?


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## Monitor_Keeper (Feb 10, 2013)

JaxRtfm said:


> I give it 4, then a light rub with fine grade steelwool to knock back the shine ( under the sandpaper at bunnings
> 
> Use the same pressure you would use wiping down the kitchen bench tops
> 
> 15 minutes from question to answer, is that a new record ?



Must be, yeah I tried this method after you recommended it and it works nicely, about to update my thread tonight!


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## Gruni (Feb 10, 2013)

Cheers, I had a feeling one simply wasn't enough. I also wouldn't have thought to rub it back, I already have a big ball of te steel wool from when I restored/customised my electric guitar.


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## J-A-X (Feb 10, 2013)

Well off you go then ! 

I expect pics tonight


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 10, 2013)

Me two stop going to work gruni and start gettin this enclosure done


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## Gruni (Feb 10, 2013)

I'm a bit miffed with the pics as they don't do the colours justice but here you go gang...

The red/brown ontop of the charcoal...






Adding some grey...





Lighter brown...





Light grey highlighting...





First coat of pondtite applied...





Just watching Top Gear and then I'll duck out for coat #2 of the pondtite.


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## J-A-X (Feb 10, 2013)

Pondtite's great it dries really quick.
You're on the home stretch 

Photos rarely do justice, although I have found I get better pics by having a light facing into the tank and no flash, sometimes the flash pulls the wrong colour forward. 
All else fails throw it on the PC, use your editing software and change brightness, contrast and saturation until you get something that looks close to what the eye sees. 
You'll find it looks different again once it's in the tank, with greenery, shadows etc 
That's when you step back and puff your chest out because

YOU DID IT !


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## Gruni (Feb 10, 2013)

Those pics are all with no flash but taken in the carport. I am happy with the real life product.


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## Gruni (Feb 10, 2013)

Just went out and put the second coat of pondtite on and it struck me that it has really brought out the reddy/brown that we used and we've lost some of the grey. I'm curious to see if that changes again when I rub the shine back a bit?


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## J-A-X (Feb 10, 2013)

The lighter colours will probably come back a bit when you get it in the tank under lights  don't panic yet !


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## Gruni (Feb 10, 2013)

Ther's no panic, it will be what it is as once the pondtite is done I'm not about to start with paint again... :lol:


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 10, 2013)

Looks good mate I found with mine I rubbed back the ponditie abit but its still shiny I don't wont to take it off completely also if you stand it up and hold a light on top it looks different brings out all the shadow looks really good


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## Gruni (Feb 11, 2013)

For Mitch's sake I revisited the 'fake ceiling', it was the VCR shelf and we put a front on it to close the area where the face of the device would be visible. It has in addition to the front there is still about 10mm to the roof of the cabinet but there is a lip which stops access for the snake to that so there is 95mm from the surface of the shelf to the roof, the shelf is 15mm from memory. I lift it in place at the back and rest it on two shelf supports while I feed the cables where they need to go then lift it up at the front and insert the other two supports and lower it back in place.


























Then as it was storming here I took the chance to take some snaps of the wall temporarily back in the enclosure, some with flash and some without. The ones without flash are slightly fuzzy.





















Then to see how the greenery would affect things I sat it kind of in place, the only thing not in the last pic is the astro turf.






So, two more coats of pondtite and a rub back to beat the shine a bit and it's more or less one except the fiddling with the plant bases, which I seem to be procrastinating on for some reason.


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## J-A-X (Feb 11, 2013)

Needs a vine


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## Gruni (Feb 11, 2013)

A friend is going to spotlight on Friday and is going to look if they have Ivy but I'm not sure yet if I want to add it afterall. I don't want it to get too congested in there and just make it to hard to get her out when I want her.


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## J-A-X (Feb 11, 2013)

Wrap it around the branch ! You'll like it 
you've got a lot going on down the bottom. IMHO I think it needs something a little higher too


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## Gruni (Feb 11, 2013)

Fair call, I hadn't thought of wrapping it around the stump. Kathy nodded knowingly though. :lol:


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## justin91 (Feb 11, 2013)

Looks good mate. I was going to try fake turf again for my spotteds jungle theme but I'm thinking maybe bark or kitty crumble this time. Something different. Been staring at fake turf for months now. It was convenient having a spare. Easy to clean so i dont know. I'll have to see what yours looks like with turf. Looks good so far mate.


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 11, 2013)

I like ya idea wit the plants gruni I'm gunna pintch that idea haha are u going to stuck them down or jst use the foam as a sort of anchor


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 11, 2013)

Looks awersome by the way mate did a good job how much does that light on top bring more colour out of that background


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## J-A-X (Feb 11, 2013)

I was wondering the same thing..... What does it look like with the fluoro off Gruni ?


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## Gruni (Feb 11, 2013)

I'll have a look tomorrow at it with the LED off but I looked at it like that as it's the lightsource for the display so it is what it will be...

As posted earlier Dutchy I need to redo the amount of foam on some of them to give them a broader base and I have some fishing sinkers to add weight to the bases, then the plan is to cover the foam with PVA and roll them in fish tank gravel. I also need to trim the wires/stalks which are sticking through the foam at the moment.

I like the no fuss clean with astroturf Justin and I have enough items in the enclosure to break up the amount of green turf you can see so I think it will still look great.


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## justin91 (Feb 12, 2013)

Gruni said:


> I'll have a look tomorrow at it with the LED off but I looked at it like that as it's the lightsource for the display so it is what it will be...
> 
> As posted earlier Dutchy I need to redo the amount of foam on some of them to give them a broader base and I have some fishing sinkers to add weight to the bases, then the plan is to cover the foam with PVA and roll them in fish tank gravel. I also need to trim the wires/stalks which are sticking through the foam at the moment.
> 
> I like the no fuss clean with astroturf Justin and I have enough items in the enclosure to break up the amount of green turf you can see so I think it will still look great.



I was wondering how you were going to do the plant bottoms, sounds like there gonna look great.

Ah ok, I'm 50-50 about getting the turf again. It is so easy to clean, hose it outside and its good to go again. I reckon yours will look awesome with turf just because of that one of a kind log you have. I wish I could find something like that, its perfect shape. Might have to go for a walk through the bush in the next few days.


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks Justin, I went to a picnic area on the river and it was just a piece of drift wood we found and like you said it just looked perfect for a future enclosure. I had it sitting ontop of the kennel for a good 6 months before I even got the cabinet.


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 12, 2013)

Gruni said:


> Ok so I've been online and got a few bits including a 'rock' hide and two thermostats. One like this which has a day/night feature which will run the heat lamp for day time heating.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That first thermostat is wat i was looking at for my enclosure let me know wat its like gruni. Also y did you get two thermostats y didn't you jst use the first one connect ya heat to the thermostat and your heat light to the timer ya jst have to figure out wat wattage light to use so it doesn't over heat


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## lizardjasper (Feb 12, 2013)

Gruni said:


> For Mitch's sake I revisited the 'fake ceiling', it was the VCR shelf and we put a front on it to close the area where the face of the device would be visible. It has in addition to the front there is still about 10mm to the roof of the cabinet but there is a lip which stops access for the snake to that so there is 95mm from the surface of the shelf to the roof, the shelf is 15mm from memory. I lift it in place at the back and rest it on two shelf supports while I feed the cables where they need to go then lift it up at the front and insert the other two supports and lower it back in place.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I use plaster of paris to make the plant bases heavy, and then paint them with non-toxic paint to match the background. Your enclosure is looking awesome!! I hate doing the wiring for the lights. Wish I lived closer to my family, I have an uncle who's an electrician.


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

I wasn't sure the best way to go so I am running the white thermo with the probe resting on the heat tile to regulate the heat chord 24/7 at 32* but the other one I plan on using the probe as an air temp at the top of the warm side at 30* and as it has a day/night feature to it I will let the lamp come on as often as needed during the day to keep the temps there, in winter I will probably reduce the air temp slightly. Because of the size of the enclosure I don't feel like trying to guess how long to have the ligt on for so for me 'if' I use the light timer it will be for display purposes of an evening although I tend to just turn the display light on when I actually want it, which isn't every night. The thermostats will be a bit of a learning curve for me as I have never had anything to do with them, but there's the theory anyway.


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

The only work I had to do Jasper was to solder the plug onto the adaptor for the LED light which hardly constitutes 'wiring' to my way of theinking. All the other stuff already had its leads attached and it was just a case of feeding stuff where I wanted it.


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## Gonemad (Feb 12, 2013)

It's looking great Gruni!
where the wood sides meet the background you could put a small, running vine may be ivy or something in between which would make the two combine without a stand out stop start line.


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

Discovered today that I have a snot load of editing to do, I renamed the folder on Photobucket where the pics are stored and it was enough to compromise all the early pics which I now have to go through and reinsert one at a time so lesson learned if you are hosting your pics don't change ANYTHING or your threads will be next to useless. This thread relies on the pics as a step by step how to do it for total beginners... GRRRRRRR!


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## J-A-X (Feb 12, 2013)

ROFL, you'll only do it once, I've done it ONCE. Now I upload from the PC !


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

Because I'm not a subscriber at this point I only have so much room for uploads straight to the sight where as I have OOOOODLES of room on photobucket. It's ok, now that I know it works like that I know not to edit the folders etc. At least the picture numbers will still match up so it should be fairly easy to do.


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

I just discovered that I can no longer edit the early posts and reinsert the images, IF that can't be rectified here is the link to the album with ALL 80+ pictures of the projects progress and most of them _were_ in here: Snake Enclosure Photos by Thorngrim69 | Photobucket 

Soooooooooo frustrated at this point as it was meant to be something a noob could look at from the first page and follow the steps for themselves. :cry:


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## J-A-X (Feb 12, 2013)

I've pm'd you Gruni with a suggestion, or alternatively you can start a fresh thread, just a straight how to (part 2) and we can throw a link to it from here ?
I'll keep it clean by moving posts back to this thread. And when your done I can lock it down so its strictly a how to: 

Thoughts ?


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

I pm'd you back with another suggestion...  

The option to reinvest it all into a more compact thread may yet be an option.


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## Gruni (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks to an epic effort by Mum all the pics are back in place and the thread is worth reading again... Phew! Thanks a heap Jax.


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## J-A-X (Feb 12, 2013)

Ok....... all done ! i fixed the mistakes i made Gruni. So hopefully its all as it should be.... I cant wait for this to be finished ! you're going to be my first inductee into our new forum section  

"noteworthy threads" 

Now where did i park my broomstick !!


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

I tried steel wooling the finish today... not so successful.  The texture of the wall worked like velcro so I gave it a miss. I fitted the background into the cabinet and screwed it inplace from behind. I also fed the thermostat down to the hetile quite easily although I am having some teething problems with my Jet001 themostat which Egernia is helping me sort out tomorrow, on that note though what is the advantage/disadvantage of a switching thermostat compared to a dimming one when running a heat lamp? 

The enclosure looks so much different just by adding the astroturf. I have placed the hides in and am happy with that side of things too and the plant bases are getting undercoated tomorrow and then I'll glue the various rocks and gravel on ready for for Skittles to move in next weekend.

The jumble of cables being fed into place.





Thermostat probs in place.





A couple of screws mounted the powerboard and some self adhesive velcro has mounted the rest and some zip ties to tidy up the lot.





With the wall inplace there is less room for the log but the overlap near the ledges will just work in Skittles's favour in the long run I think.


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## J-A-X (Feb 16, 2013)

Judging by the last pic, shine isnt going to be a major issue. I like what I see at the moment


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

They're good tease photos aren't they? Trying to save a bit for next weeks reveal... 

I'll sit down tonight and try to do a bit of a costing etc for the project too.


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 16, 2013)

Looks awersome gruni wats the story wit the thermostat is it hard to set?


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## sharky (Feb 16, 2013)

Wow! This is looking awesome Gruni! This thread has pretty much enlightened me with everything I need to know about converting cabinets  I can't wait to get started on mine 

(Love the fake wall! Looks fantastic!)


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## J-A-X (Feb 16, 2013)

Gruni said:


> They're good tease photos aren't they? Trying to save a bit for next weeks reveal...
> 
> I'll sit down tonight and try to do a bit of a costing etc for the project too.



Big thumbs up


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

One TV Cabinet (1360x1030x600) from Ebay $40
Toughened glass $160
Tracks $30
Sheet of 3mm MDF about $10
Stud adhesive and pondtite about $45
4 sample pots of British Paints $32
20kg bag of acrylic render $12
Jet001 thermostat $60
Jet200 thermostat $20
LED lighting kit from Jaycar $40
Halogen Downlight deleted stock sale $10 (normally about $30)
3 plants from K-mart $45
2 Ivy vines Spotlight $12
Rock Hide $25
Log Hide $10
Astroturf $29/m (I spent $45 but I have a heap left to make a second mat and some new mats for the old enclosure etc)
Pile of Styrofoam of varying densities courtesy of the Harvey Norman dumpster... FREE
Driftwood log... Free

Total cost for the enclosure approx $530 but as it is a bit here and a bit there over a month an a half it doesn't seem all that much. Also things like the render and paint I could do several enclosures with what I have left over. Often times people seem to not weigh up the cost of consumables like adhesive etc when costing their enclosures but I have tried to cover everything I spent. 

Also sometimes when people upsize they recycle their thermostats etc as the old enclosure doesn't get used anymore but I have plans for a new resident for the old setup but it will require an even bigger custom enclosure as it grows which may see me getting an old wardrobe for a future build. 8)

Making the false cieling, closing the holes in the cabinet, manufaturing the heat cage... 2hrs
Building the rock wall... 4hrs
Rendering with 2 coats... 2 1/2hrs
Painting the rock wall... 1hr (on a very warm quick drying day)
Each coat of Pondtite... 10mins
Fitting the tracks/doors... 1/2hr
Test fitting and sussing out how things would look and go together... LOST COUNT! :lol:


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

Dutchy88 said:


> Looks awersome gruni wats the story wit the thermostat is it hard to set?



Egernia is happy to help me with setting it, I'm a bit of a visual learner and there are no pics in the lists of instructions, but I think I may have to warranty it as the button that lets you reduce the temp won't work at the moment. Other than that it seems fine and as Egernia has pointed out elsewhere these are relatively new on the market and I just got unlucky but nothing that can't be sorted in good spirit.


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## J-A-X (Feb 16, 2013)

Nice summary 

You forgot to factor in the grazed knuckles, lost sleep and hair pulling


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## Skippii (Feb 16, 2013)

Gruni said:


> They're good tease photos aren't they? Trying to save a bit for next weeks reveal...
> 
> I'll sit down tonight and try to do a bit of a costing etc for the project too.



You big tease! haha I want to see it completed, can't wait for the big unveiling. I've been following this thread from the start, it's been a great learning experience and you've done a Fantastic job! (Yep, fantastic with a capital F)

I'd definitely be interested in another thread if/when you decide to convert a wardrobe 

x


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

Pffft... that's when I'm working on my motorbike or the car... countless flesh sacrifices on them! :shock:

This project was relativley painless and was really pretty straight forward as I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted it to look like before I even started. It just comes down to a bit of patience and common sense. 8)


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

Next on the list is a Diamond python Skippii and I need to work out if I can make an enclosure that will fit ontop of our 3 door buffet or whether I need something taller and will need to do a wardrobe size enclosure. If I do have to do the wardrobe I'm a bit scared to think of the cost for the glass for the doors!!!! :shock:


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## Skippii (Feb 16, 2013)

Yeah, I cringe at the thought of paying for glass doors to fit a wardrobe lol.. Just got to think of the finished product and how incredibly awesome it'll be I suppose 

I'd love a diamond, but right now there's just no more space in my room for large snake enclosures. Unless of course I convert my closety thing into an enclosure.. Problem then is, my clothes (and I do have a LOT of clothes) would be homeless.. Hell, I might as well just convert my room into a snake room, and I'll move out onto the lawn! haha maybe if we ever actually get the main house built and I have more space. Til then, my collection is at a stand-still (except for the shingleback I plan to get).

So.. What are the chances of getting any more pics of this enclosure of yours before next weekend?


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## Gruni (Feb 16, 2013)

Skippii said:


> So.. What are the chances of getting any more pics of this enclosure of yours before next weekend?



Of the enclosure... none. 

But...


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## Skippii (Feb 16, 2013)

Gruni said:


> Of the enclosure... none.
> 
> But...



Was worth a shot 
What is this "but" leading to? Oh the suspense!


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## Gruni (Feb 17, 2013)

Ok, had a great chat with Simon (Egernia from Reptiles Direct) and the Jet001 is going back and I'm upgrading to a dimming Jet005 instead. I hope I'm making the right choice, it should extend the life of the globe and I'm assuming that if I set the night temps low enough then the Lamp won't turn on at all during the night cycle. I had assumed that a day/night thermo would allow me to simply set a timer for a daytime temp setting and that if I left the night cycle empty it just wouldn't run but that isn't quite how they work.

For the moment to test the temp stability in the enclosure I have simply hooked the halogen up using a timer switch so that I can get some idea of how it will heat this size enclosure. I'm using a 50w globe and it partially overlaps onto the heatshelf but there is no other basking spot directly under the lamp in the upper section of the enclosure. The Jet200 seems to be working nicely on the heat tile so at least that is something.

Now to go out and keep working on the bases for the plants so they don't tip over and look a bit nicer too.


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## Gruni (Feb 17, 2013)

So I've hit a bit of a snag and after your thoughts guys. I worked on the new plant bases today. We undercoated them with the charcoal grey that I used on the wall and I stuck some cardboard underneath some of the flimsier foam and weighed them down with some paint pots. In the mean time I started trying to achieve the gravel/pebble finish on some of the thicker pieces. And this is where I hit the snag...

The PVA isn't gluggy enough to dip into the gravel and pick it up and the stud adhesive is thick enough but it dries white... 
Here are some pics of what I achieved, feel free to offer some pointers or suggestions of what to do o make this work.






















These are the various stones/gravel I have to work with...





Bit of an idea where it's headed...





Oh and Skippii this is the 'but' from last night altough I had hoped they would be showing off how successful it was not asking for help.


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## Skippii (Feb 17, 2013)

Argh, snags like this are the worst. 

Personally, i dont think the white with the little pebbles looks bad at all, at least in the pictures, but I know it's not the look you were after. Have you thought of maybe trying to thicken the PVA glue somehow? I've heard some people thicken it with sand. Just thickening it may not make the pebbles stick any better, but it's something I'd definitely try, at least with a small patch. Or maybe if they're compatible, could you mix some of the PVA and stud glue together to get something gluggier but less white once set?

x


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## J-A-X (Feb 17, 2013)

Two words:

Clear silicon  


I like where this it heading


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## Skippii (Feb 17, 2013)

baha of course.. Clear silicon. Where's my brain at tonight! Thankgod for Mum.

x


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## Gruni (Feb 17, 2013)

JaxRtfm said:


> Two words:
> 
> Clear silicon



Hmmm... It's a thought


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## thomasssss (Feb 17, 2013)

what about just using the same method as the rockwall to make bases that match the wall ? so a foam base like youve done then just rendered , painted and sealed


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## Gruni (Feb 17, 2013)

I thought about it Thomassss but... I don't want to. :lol:

I wanted something a little different. I am thinking of filling the gaps with the same colours as the background but without the render. I still want to use the stone/gravel, it's just an image I have in my head and can't quite let go of.


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 17, 2013)

Go wit mums advice gruni I got this selleys all clear from bunnings to seal my enclosure its waterproof and works on almost any surface and you can also paint it so you can mix paint in it and dip it in just a thought I think I can see wat your trying to do I reckon you should mix some wit a little bit of black and roll it in ya pebbles


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## J-A-X (Feb 17, 2013)

Check the silicon section at the hardware shop, you'll be amazed at the range of colours. 
I use black and brown quite often


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## RedFox (Feb 17, 2013)

Silicon could be a great solution, if you have some. They also come in lots of different colours. If you wanted a quick, cheap fix, add corn flour or custard powder (which contain corn flour) and water to the PVA. It will thicken it up a bit into a thin paste and the starch in it makes a decent glue itself. Then when you are finished sticking the rocks and pebbles on give it a quick coat of pond sealer (assuming you still have some left).


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## Gruni (Feb 18, 2013)

I have at least 1/2 a bucket/tub of the sealer still left so that isn't an issue. I'll have a look at that idea tonight if I get a chance Red otherwise I'll drop down and see what sort of silcon I can get. The problem with the silcon is, I would expect, that it would eat at any exposed foam as they are solvent based and not water.


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## J-A-X (Feb 18, 2013)

i use the selleys coloured silicon with no sign of the foam deteriorating, okay, apparantly its technically 'no more gaps' and not silicone :lol:


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## Gruni (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks for that Jax, it's been much too long a day for me to be stuffed trying it today but on the way home I picked up a tube of No More Gaps: Rich Earth. It's a reddish brown again so it should tie in a bit with the existing background and if I still have gaps I'll paint them with the coulours I used on the background.


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## J-A-X (Feb 18, 2013)

LOL, I glad I'm not the only one suffering "brain fade" 
What you have planned is exactly what I would do


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## Gruni (Feb 19, 2013)

I beat the brain fade this afternoon. Plan C came to me as I was about to cut the top off the tube of No More Gaps... I thought there has to be an easier way to attach the gravel to the bases and save the tube for the bigger stones and it dawned on me. I smeared some older pva I had in the shed over the flatter surfaces of the bases and then sat them in icecream containers. Then I poured the gravel over the top and let the baases sit deep in the gravel for an hour or two before shaking off the bulk of the loose stuff. I'll let that dry over night and then the Rich Earth coloured goo will close the gaps a bit with the small and medium sized stones.


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## J-A-X (Feb 19, 2013)

There's a bit of lateral thinking !


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## RedFox (Feb 19, 2013)

Well that was a simple fix.


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## Gonemad (Feb 19, 2013)

Gruni I also placed my plants in a piece of nice shaped wood by drilling holes then glueing them in place.


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## Gruni (Feb 19, 2013)

I might do that with a future build Gonemad, but for this one I'm just determined to get it finished as I want Skittles moved in on the weekend. 

When I thought of it, I though 'Duh!' why didn't I think of it before??? :facepalm: 

The build is so close to done I can small it and it's frustrating that PVA takes so long to dry... On an up side, I got word from Egernia that my new Jet005 thermostat will be on the way tomorrow so I may even have it in for Saturday yet. The halogen gets the enclosure up to a cosy 29* without any great issue and I currently have it on a timer where it's on for 1 1/2hrs and off for 1hr.


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## Gruni (Feb 22, 2013)

Well this is more or less my last post for this thread except to answer any last questions you guys have so I warn you I am so damn proud of this build that this post will be chronically _PIC HEAVY!_ I may add one or two pics later as Skittles hasn't modeled the log or bottom half of the enclosure but we'll see. The one addition I have to do is I have to get some more ivy as I want to hide the white thermo probe a bit and add some to the top of the log too.

No glass with flash...





No glass without flash...





With glass and no flash...





Package deal without flash...





Package deal with flash...





Now all the pics of Skittles exploring. I put her on the heat ledge and she went straight into the crevice and up onto the edge where she could sense the fresh air at the vent.








































Since I took the pics she has just curled up contently on the heat ledge. Hopefully later I'll get to watch her cruise around and really check out all the nooks and crannies. 

Thanks for all the support, advice and compliments guys, it's been a great experience and I'll definitely do another build for my next snake when the time comes but this is it for now. I hope you are all as impressed with the final product as I am. Oh, and a special thanks to Jax for all your help in and out of the thread.


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 22, 2013)

Looks awersome gruni super stoked for ya must feel really gratifying that something u make turned out so well


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## J-A-X (Feb 22, 2013)

AWESOME job Gruni, you are justifiably proud of you accomplishment  

We have all helped you in your journey (not just me) and sometime a well timed "good job" from some random stranger is enough to keep us enthused. 

So I have a question for you .....



What's next ROFL


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## Skippii (Feb 22, 2013)

Ahhh Gruni, wow! It came out uh-maze-ing! You must be so proud  
I'm possibly a little jealous.. lol

x


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## cathy1986 (Feb 22, 2013)

Looks awesome just hope there isnt a thread after this saying help my snake escaped lol! 

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2


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## Gruni (Feb 22, 2013)

Like I said Jax, I appreciate al the posts from other people as the project went along, but most of all I appreciate your work reinserting the pics, without which this thread would be UTERLY useless.

As for what's next... down the track I am hoping to add a Diamond (possibly a northern intergrade) to the family, as it out grows the 2ft tank Skittles has lived in I will need to consider a 4x2x4ft modification for the top of a buffet I have or possibly, if we have a new house by then and I have more room it may be a converted wardrobe... but that is a ways off and not even thinking about it right now. Now is for enjoying what has been completed! 8)


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## Gruni (Feb 22, 2013)

cathy1986 said:


> Looks awesome just hope there isn't a thread after this saying help my snake escaped lol!



I can't see it happening she is way to big for a single gap in the enclosure and the glass doors do not slide easily enough for even my daughter to accidentally open it.


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## justin91 (Feb 22, 2013)

Mate awesome job. Looks good. Makes me really excited about finishing mine now.


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## woody101 (Feb 23, 2013)

Bloody Fantastic Mate!!!! I love it


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## sharky (Feb 23, 2013)

Gruni that is fantastic! You must be over the moon to have made that with such an amazing result! I can tell skittles loves it as well!


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## Gruni (Feb 23, 2013)

It's funny, her last enclosure was only 1/6th the size of this one and Skittles looked like a huge carpet python in there when she moved around and covered her basking rock, now she looks almost like a tiny hatchling again.Kathy said it reminds her of when we moved the kids from their cots to their big beds and they looked so tiny. :lol: 

She curls up on the slate tile and takes up less than half of it and she gets in amongst the shadows at the back of the warm side and blends in so well you have trouble finding her at times. At this stage the slate tile is her prefered spot but she wasn't very active in her tank before we moved her either so as she gets hungrier she should start moving around the space more. As yet she hasn't really looked at the hides so I'm curious to see if she develops a preference betwen the log like one or the rock.


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## Rob8290 (Feb 23, 2013)

Fantastic job! You should consider doing it professionally  . May I ask where you got those great fake plants?


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## cathy1986 (Feb 23, 2013)

Gruni said:


> I can't see it happening she is way to big for a single gap in the enclosure and the glass doors do not slide easily enough for even my daughter to accidentally open it.



Thats good :-D

From Cathy


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## Gruni (Feb 23, 2013)

As I have said a before Rob, after a lot of searching I got the ivy from Spotlight ($6) and the grass, bromiliad and bamboo ($15 ea) from the homeware section of K-Mart and they were in pots that I either pulled the plants out of the foam or in some cases pulled out and broke up the foam to make the new bases out of.

Tonight was awesome we had friends over for dinner and after dessert we sat for nearly an hour watching her explore every inch of the new enclosure except the rock hide. She has taken a liking to the dark shadowy corners at the back of the setup when she isn't perched on the slate tile warming herself. It really is a centre piece to the room that is very eye catching and satisfying.


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## Porkbones (Feb 24, 2013)

Well have watched this thread from the start and have been waiting for the final product, and now finally !!!! It looks great. This has also helped me ( and a lot of others I bet ). I'm trying to convert a corner cabinet for my spotted (well i had planned to buy a yearling spotted but instead 2 weeks later i brought a hatchie, so tht now lives in a click clack.then a month after the hatchie I bought a 19 month old bredli so the cabinet will now be for that until he gets too big ) and this thread has a lot of tips & how to's which are really helpful so thanks a lot and once again great job


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## Stuart (Feb 24, 2013)

Looks good mate. All your hard work has paid off


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## Gruni (Feb 25, 2013)

Last couple of pics... I've been waiting for her to start really feeling at home in there and the other day she started to check out one of the new hides and this afternoon I came home to see that she thinks she's a tree python now. :lo:


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## Dutchy88 (Feb 25, 2013)

Nice gruni such a good set up ay


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## J-A-X (Feb 25, 2013)

Nice to see she appreciates all your hard work  
She's the only one who's opinion really matters and if she could I think she'd give it a two thumbs up !


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## Davesgonefishin (Feb 26, 2013)

One question & not just to you Gruni but to all that make enclosures - & yes I am guilty of it to. 
We make these awesome looking enclosures (& yes I think your's is really really good) with realistic back walls etc but then always leave timber side walls. I have never seen, in nature, a rock wall side up to a flat piece of polished timber. I mean, in fish tanks some people use those wrap around weed pictures so....

Now I'm just thinking out loud - I guess when I get around to building my own enclosure I may see if I can do some sort of side rock wall or picture with trees & bush that makes it look like an actual scene, maybe even with blue ceiling with fluffy white clouds.

Or if any one has pics of something like that so I can steal ideas...........


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## Gruni (Feb 26, 2013)

My glass tank which Skittles has been in for the past year has that picture background on three sides so I know what you mean but I think the enclosure would look too cramped if I made foam rock walls for the sides for a start. I have also made the enclosure in such a way that if I decided not to use it as a viv anymore I can remove all the modifications very easily give it a quick clean and use it as a regular piece of furniture again. My art skills are also such that any lanscape painting I put on the sides would look like crap and ruin the look of the build as a display feature in the house.

I did find that the ivy at the edges and the plants in the corners help to break that clash betwen the background and the plain walls and my wife chose a base colour that blends somewhat with the redish brown of the timber.

I just realised I hadn't done a compare and contrast.
So Skittles has gone from a rather cramped this...










To a spacious and interactive this...


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## cathy1986 (Feb 26, 2013)

Davesgonefishin said:


> One question & not just to you Gruni but to all that make enclosures - & yes I am guilty of it to.
> We make these awesome looking enclosures (& yes I think your's is really really good) with realistic back walls etc but then always leave timber side walls. I have never seen, in nature, a rock wall side up to a flat piece of polished timber. I mean, in fish tanks some people use those wrap around weed pictures so....
> 
> Now I'm just thinking out loud - I guess when I get around to building my own enclosure I may see if I can do some sort of side rock wall or picture with trees & bush that makes it look like an actual scene, maybe even with blue ceiling with fluffy white clouds.
> ...



Use mirrors looks awesome 

From Cathy


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## thomasssss (Feb 26, 2013)

Davesgonefishin said:


> One question & not just to you Gruni but to all that make enclosures - & yes I am guilty of it to.
> We make these awesome looking enclosures (& yes I think your's is really really good) with realistic back walls etc but then always leave timber side walls. I have never seen, in nature, a rock wall side up to a flat piece of polished timber. I mean, in fish tanks some people use those wrap around weed pictures so....
> 
> Now I'm just thinking out loud - I guess when I get around to building my own enclosure I may see if I can do some sort of side rock wall or picture with trees & bush that makes it look like an actual scene, maybe even with blue ceiling with fluffy white clouds.
> ...


I've done it , and honestly I personally don't think it makes much difference , It is a wooden box on the outside after all but if it's your preference and your up to the extra work then go for it 


Gruni , looking the goods mate finished up great , I started another enclosure today as works called off for the week , I wasn't going to do a background but now I'm thinking I just might give it another crack


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## justin91 (Feb 27, 2013)

Davesgonefishin said:


> One question & not just to you Gruni but to all that make enclosures - & yes I am guilty of it to.
> We make these awesome looking enclosures (& yes I think your's is really really good) with realistic back walls etc but then always leave timber side walls. I have never seen, in nature, a rock wall side up to a flat piece of polished timber. I mean, in fish tanks some people use those wrap around weed pictures so....
> 
> Now I'm just thinking out loud - I guess when I get around to building my own enclosure I may see if I can do some sort of side rock wall or picture with trees & bush that makes it look like an actual scene, maybe even with blue ceiling with fluffy white clouds.
> ...



I've kinda done it. My enclosure I've nearly finished is a corner TV unit, so it basically has 5 sides on the inside, I've done the 3 back ones with fake wall and the two side walls are only about 15cm wide which I couldn't make a rockwall because I had to insert vents and it would of been to complicated (for me) trying to build a wall around vents.


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## Gruni (Apr 10, 2013)

Now that Skittles is fully settled into the new enclosure I have seen the proof of the pudding. When I got her out of her old enclosure it was usually a battle to get her to go back into it. With this one I have had it a couple of times where the enclosure is partly open and I have stood near it while handling her and she has willingly headed back into the enclosure. She obviously feels very comfortable in the environment we have created for her. 8)

Her favourite spot tends to be sprawled out on the log as this is often where I find her of an afternoon and she will remain there for hours.


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## J-A-X (Apr 10, 2013)

Nice when they show their approval


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