New Enclosure

Saved up my money i should be starting this next week any suggestions for my enclosure is appreciated but here is my basic layout.....only thing i'm changing is instead of the humidifier i'm going with the exoterra monsoon rainfall auto mister.

i'm also going to be using a dimmer switch to regulate the temps.

Everything looks good, what type of wood are you using?

i was just going to probably use either mdf for the the exterior walls and 2x4 for a frame inside how about coating it with poly inside to try and keep humidity inside and give a basic waterproofing what is safe?

MDF isn't the best type of material to build with, it will swell up like a sponge. 3/4" plywood sealing with min wax polycrylic.

i figured mdf wouldn't be good that's why i wanted something to coat the inside to try and keep the water from absorbing into the wood i want a material that looks good on outside the boss(g/f) needs it to look pretty in our room any other sugestions beside plywood

Personally I wouldn't recommend wood having direct contact with water, let alone a standing body of water, no matter what the wood is coated with. You should redesign the enclosure to incorporate a removable plastic basin/shallow tote on the bottom with a decent filtration system, otherwise you're looking at cleaning it by hand very, very often. You should also consider using 3/4" birch ply instead of MDF. I really can't tell how you have the enclosure constructed by the plans you provided, but I'd recommend doing a bit more research--no offense intended, I just don't want to see you throwing money away.

also decided to go with glass instead of plexi glass..... but as for the direct water i was thinking about that i just liked the idea of just using a rubber stopper and drain like in a tub but maybe i'll just do the kitty litter tray instead as for filtration i don't mind cleaning it out every time he uses bathroom and change water daily i already do that.

Originally Posted by Vers

Personally I wouldn't recommend wood having direct contact with water, let alone a standing body of water, no matter what the wood is coated with. You should redesign the enclosure to incorporate a removable plastic basin/shallow tote on the bottom with a decent filtration system, otherwise you're looking at cleaning it by hand very, very often. You should also consider using 3/4" birch ply instead of MDF. I really can't tell how you have the enclosure constructed by the plans you provided, but I'd recommend doing a bit more research--no offense intended, I just don't want to see you throwing money away.

what exactly do you not understand about my design i can try to explain it a little better

[QUOTE=rward18;380742]Saved up my money i should be starting this next week any suggestions for my enclosure is appreciated but here is my basic layout.....only thing i'm changing is instead of the humidifier i'm going with the exoterra monsoon rainfall auto mister.


Hi,
you have a UVB bulb at the top seemingly on an angle, if it`s a MVB they need to be straight down, then another heat bulb opposite, and finally, you have a fluorescent tube lower down, what`s that for?