|
12-04-2008, 04:55 PM
|
||||
|
||||
Wood Type
Hi everyone,
I'm in the proccess of trying to persuade my parents to let me get a Bearded Dragon, I'm wanting to build my own vivarium, and just wondered what sort of wood people use? Normally I'd have thought something like MDF would have been alright, and I'd found some perfect sized stuff at Wickes (It's 4ft x 2ft and it's 3mm thick). However, one slight problem, if I were to do this, I would need to have 2 Exo-Terras on top, a 30 x 30 x 45 & a 45 x 45 x 60, bearing in mind these to Terrariums will always be occupied, I'm guessing that 3mm thick wood wouldn't be able to support the two terrariums over the long term? I'd also looked into Conti-Board, however, this does appear to be quite expensive for the right sized pieces. I just wondered, are there any other types of wood (Or any materials for that matter) that I could use that would make a good quality vivarium, while being able to support the two Terrariums that would be on top... Thanks, Tom
__________________
2.1.1 Crested Geckos 0.0.1 Bearded Dragon 
|
|
13-04-2008, 09:35 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
hiya mate, 3mm material in my opinion is nowhere near good enough. i would reccomend melamine (contiboard) think the stuff you get from wickes etc is 12 or 15mm? this would support your exo terra aslong as you had a decent thickness backing and a plinth at the top of the viv. melamine is also waterproof to some extend but being for beardies it wouldnt really be a problem. any more help etc jus ask
__________________
 1 Female BCC 
|
|
13-04-2008, 12:45 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
> I'm wanting to build my own vivarium, and just
> wondered what sort of wood people use? MDF doesn't work very well with vivs because it doesn't resist water. I suppose you could seal it with varnish of some kind but that introduces more problems. 3mm mdf won't last a month. Many vivs are made with contiboard. It's light(ish), strong, easy to work with, and waterproof except for the cut edges. Basically you have to seal all edges with aquarium sealant as you build the viv and then seal the joints of the finished product. It will work very well with BDs. A contiboard viv will be strong enough to support a couple of exo-terras, but may need a support in the middle depending on how long it is. (2-3 ft will be ok - 4-5ft might be ok depending on how it's built 6ft plus will definately need a support)
__________________
48,69,20,41,73,68,6d,41,73,68,6d,41,73,68 Snickers 
|
|
13-04-2008, 06:35 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Ah right, thanks for the replies.
Just had a thought that never entered my head. What about Plywood? Is that waterproof? Would that be alright to support the Exo-Terras as well? The stuff I've seen is 18mm Thanks, Tom
__________________
2.1.1 Crested Geckos 0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
Last edited by toontomh; 13-04-2008 at 06:52 PM.
|
|
13-04-2008, 08:53 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Plywood might be OK, but you really need to mount it on a frame of some kind. You cannot screw into the endgrain of ply like you can with contiboard or mdf. With a frame, a plywood viv would be stronger than an equivalent contiboard one. You will have to varnish and seal ply too, but it'll stand up to water damage a lot better than MDF
__________________
48,69,20,41,73,68,6d,41,73,68,6d,41,73,68 Snickers
|
|
13-04-2008, 09:08 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
dont mean to dissagree but you can screw into the face egde of ply as there is no 'end grain' each veneer is at 90o to each other... and if you buy WBP ply then it is waterproof due to the glue they use to bond the veneers but the top layer of wood will still absorb water just wont fall apart... so to avoid mould and bad smells i would still seal the ply. 18mm stuff will be strong to so shouldnt bow much at all with your exo terras on top
 if you need help with plans etc just pm me
__________________
1 Female BCC
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Linear Mode
