# What i've been building...



## Pyror (Oct 24, 2004)

I have 98% finished building this 3 bank of enclosures, and i'm just soo happy with the way they're coming along that i thought i would share some piccies with you guys...

It's mostly made out of ply wood courtesy of Mr. Ply & Wood.
It took me about 2 days to build, and 3 weeks to paint (thats 6 coats of stain followed up by 2 coats of varnish).

All that's left now is to wire it up and get the glass cut.


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## africancichlidau (Oct 24, 2004)

*RE: What i*

Looks like a nice job to me Pyman, well done indeed


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## Sdaji (Oct 24, 2004)

*RE: What i*

Wow, so much classier than my melamine jobs! Stop putting me to shame!

Nice work, Pyror.


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## diamond_python (Oct 24, 2004)

*RE: What i*

Good work. Have you got the plans handy or did you build it as you went. I am about to buy some wood to start building some. Any suggestions???? Thanks


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## koreanmug (Oct 24, 2004)

*RE: What i*

Great work!! Pyror.. well done


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2004)

*RE: What i*

which wood do u think is best?


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## Pyror (Oct 24, 2004)

> which wood do u think is best?



This is my first attempt with ply. I found it great to work with and just as good to paint with. The problem with ply though, is for the good quality stuff it's pretty expensive.

Other alternatives that i considered include pine, but i couldn't find reasonably priced stuff that was wide enough to give me the depth that i wanted, and i didn't have the means to biscuit several pieces together. I have converted an open fish tank stand, that you can sorta see in the lower left of the first pic, into an enclosure using tongue and groove timber. This stuff is reasonably priced and easy to work with also.

Failing the above, a cost effective way of making decent enclosures is good old melamine or MDF, i just prefer the look of stained timber, atleast for show pieces.



> Have you got the plans handy or did you build it as you went



I drew up what i was going to build before starting. Each enclosure is 70cm long, 50 deep and 55 high. Between each there is a gap that can be seen in the pic below so that all electrical cables can be hidden, and i am also going to place some polystyrene foam insulation in there so that minimal heat is transferred from the top of one enclosure to the bottom of the one above it. Each enclosure has a top and bottom lip, on which the tracks for the glass are fastened with liquid nails, and i have also glued glass tracks to the sides to seal off the glass doors when they are closed, as we have a pretty crafty cat which i wouldn't trust as far as i can kick (which has proven to be a little bit further than i first judged that i could achieve  )

Other than that i guess it's all personal preference. 

If you wanna know anything else, i'm more than happy to answer questions, i can even take more detailed pics of certain things if it helps... 

I love making enclosures, i always figured whats the point in having sexy herps unless you have sexy enclosures to show 'em off in?


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