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My 4-stack cage project...in work

K

Kona's Daddy

New member
Hi, all.

Just started putting the stain on my latest project, and figured I'd kick back with a celebratory beer and share a few pictures. Still got a TON of work to do on it, but I started the build about 10 hours ago, and made more progress than I thought I would for the day. Worthy of a Sam Adams Irish Red, in my personal opinion.

The whole thing is made of 3/4" oak plywood. Each section is 12.5" tall x 14.5" deep x 34.5" wide.

Will have .25" plexiglass drop-down doors with locks and tabs. Storage space underneath, with access holes cut to fit cables for my power strip. Still gotta get my FlexWatt tape...but all other materials are in the garage, just BEGGING to be played with.

Take a gander, and please feel free to offer your opinions. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of my building projects.

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Destarte said:
It looks really darn good! What do you figure it cost overall? Including your FlexWatt?
Click to expand...

Thank you much!!! I'm kinda a big fan of how it's coming out. Finished the stain and poly coating over the past few days, and put the doors/hardware on today. Drilling all those holes in the acrylic was a test of the steady hand, for sure.

While it's airing out over the next two weeks, I'll be drilling holes for the Intellitemp heat pads (BAH told me that Flexwatt wasn't the best way to go for my particular setup...and after hearing his explanation, I agree). Will also be mounting the LED lights in each tank, throw down some acrylic flooring to lay the heat pads on, the lay in the pads and linolium (sp??) flooring. Once down, I'll silicone seal all the edges, then start field testing the heat and such. I figure in about three weeks or so, I can move my corns and BP into their new condo!!!

To answer your question...I did the quick math this evening. With all materials, inclusive of lights, heat, etc., etc....This project will have cost right around $600. Not bad, considering that custom furniture-grade enclosures run a few more pennies if purchased outright!!! :) ;)

Below are a few updated pics, as of this evening.

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Hillybean said:
That looks good..what cost the most?
Click to expand...

Thank you.

To be honest, it was the lighting that cost the most money. I went with 12" LED lights for each viv. The four, together, cost about $120. I didn't want any heat-generating bulbs in there...so LED lights were the way to go.

After that, both the wood and acrylic cost about the same. 95 bones for the glass, and 94 more for all the wood and trim molding.

Other than those 'big three,' it was just half a dozen trips to the hardware store for odds and ends here and there. The project is REALLY fun...and very satisfying.

I found a custom cage online awhile back that was somewhat similar...and the cost to buy it was about $1100...so I'm pretty jazzed on both the savings and satisfaction fronts.
 
Those are really pretty :D
I'm planning on building a smaller shelf like that (sort of) in the future for my hognose and baby corn.
 
Giving it some air and heat-testing....

So.......

Construction is all done. Now I'm in the process of letting it breathe for awhile, and testing out the heat and such. Relocated the new condo to a spot in the room that wasn't so close to an HVAC vent...and now the waiting begins.

My ball python will take the top floor, and my three corns will live below. Since the biggest one of the bunch requires higher heat and humidity settings than the rest of the crew, it made the most sense to keep her up top, and let her take advantage of the heat from the floors underneath (if that makes any sense). Everything has been stained, poly'd, silicone sealed, and so on and so forth. Lighting and wiring is done, and all four are run off of a thermostat. After a fair amount of time so far, the top floor is a perfect 90 degrees...and the floors below range from 81-85 degrees. Not too shabby, if I do say so, myself!!! :) :) Gonna let it sit for about 5 days, just to make sure the fumes from the stain and sealant are gone, and give me ample time to make temperature adjustments. Might have to vent them a bit more...but that's easy. Gotta get some more furniture and such in there...but that's just minor details, compared to putting this beast together!!!

I started on October 9th, and got to this point 6 days later. I figure that's pretty good...for a first-timer.

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wow! Very nice!

Just FYI - LED lights are available at IKEA - it's a pack with 4 10" or strips that all can connect to a main unit and you can control the color, of course I use red, but they run about $50 - I got my set of 4 on ebay cheaper than IKEA but either way, they are cheaper.

Your cage looks awesome, you can barely tell there is plexi on the front.
 
Wow, this just makes me miss living in a actual house. I use to be able to do projects like this...

Well, you did yours.. now you just need to take a trip to Indiana for six days and make mine :).

Very nice looking and awesome on the savings!
 
Thanks a ton for all the kind words. I appreciate it, for sure.

I'd be happy to swing by the midwest and build some more. Just so happens I have family in Indy...so I could could make it the "Kona's Daddy Road Show."

:)

I'm not at the point where I could feel comfortable in selling my projects just yet...but I have a feeling that I'm gonna get there someday soon. I can definitely come WAY under the price of some of the custom work I've seen online...since I don't have much in the way of overhead, and I LOVE doing this kind of stuff. It's like therapy.

For anyone that MAY be interested in having one made, feel free to drop me a line, and we'll talk. I forsee shipping being the biggest hassle of the whole project, but anything's possible, I suppose. ;)

Thanks again, ya'll. Nice to hear that it isn't the ugliest tank to have ever been built!!!!! :)
 
I agree with the shipping, I'm afraid to think of what that would cost! It might have to go via truck vs FedEx or UPS b/c it probably is pretty heavy. I'm getting 3 48x24x14 vivs and a 12" tall pedestal. The guy said they'd go truck b/c it would probably be cheaper but he's guessing at least $100-120. I'll find that out when they are finished. The vivs were a very good price though. THey are PVC so they are probably fairly lightweight.
 
The accent board on the top and bottom, whered you get them? I'm seriously considering building one shortly. Could you send some measurements and info as to why you didn't use flexwatt? I have quite a bit of questions. Please PM me!
 
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