# New Ackie viv



## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

I'm finally starting work on my new ackie viv and as requested by Fizz, I'm putting it on here. The dimensions are 60 (L) X 24 (D) X 32.5 (H). The bare viv was supplied by Creative Vivariums in Hull at a cost of £180.00 including delivery to Leeds. Quality of the workmanship is very high and they are easy to deal with. They can be found on Facebook.

1. The starting point









2. I then constructed a reinforcing frame for the substrate, i used american oak due to its robustness as a material and because of its price. The frame is millimeter perfect.









3. The frame was then inserted into the viv and screwed to the outer box, the large hammer was used frequently to persuade the frame into place.









4. The pond liner was then pulled into place and the silicone allowed to dry overnight.









Thats about a quarter of the work done. In the next installment I will be reclaiming the resin back ground from my current viv and refitting as well as fitting the cork tube.


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## murrindindi2 (Oct 20, 2014)

Hi, how much depth of substrate will you be having, I ask because the bottom part with the pond liner doesn`t look very deep?


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

I will be having 6- 8 inch of substrate, don't see the point in any more, he's happy on that amount as it is. He prefers to climb or hide under the cork. This is a replacement viv as the current one is starting to blow out. The reinforcing frame is only 4 inch deep as the pressure is greatest at the bottom, the pond line goes up a lot further.

The current viv










The client


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

You could put a large, deep plastic tub filled with a damp substrate mix in there. In my experience, they will always use it. My females used them for sleeping in the burrows they made in them, when not using them for nesting.
If you want to make them look more natural. You can cover the whole thing (put a lid on first with hole just large enough for them to get in) in expanding foam/tile grout & cover with dry substrate mix. Made mine look a little like rocks & termite mounds. Monitors loved em.


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

I'm going to stick with the proven recipe he's currently on 8 inch of substrate and that's what he's going back on to. I'm also re-using the resin rock background. He loves the viv he's in at the moment so i'm just going to change the things he doesn't use and replace them with the stuff he does use. He is always going to have the substrate and I need it as its a bio-active enclosure.


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

Managed to get lots of work done today. Managed to remove the background panels from my old viv and put them in the new one. The panels were bought from Aqua-Maniac.









Next i siliconed the panels in place. I also installed the T5 module. I placed cut offs from some left over wiring to keep open the holes in the silicone- these will later be removed and the electricals will be fitted through these. The silicone i used was bought from ebay- its called HA6.









Whilst the silicone was drying i decided to start work on the cork tubes. After working out where the half tubes were going i then cut holes in 2 of them and inserted some smaller tubes to create branches, i then placed the artificial plants in drilled holes and secured them. I bought the large cork tubes from Amazon and the small ones from dartfrog. The artificial plants were bought from Ebay and Amazon.









In the next installment i will be creating acrylic inserts for the half tubes to prevent my lizard from crawling inside and fitting the cork tubes to the viv (if the silicone has dried by then!)


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

I used a jigsaw to cut the acrylic and then silicone to secure the pieces in place.









I then screwed the 4 half tubes to the vivarium.









I also managed to fit edges to the runners, these were screwed and siliconed in place. Because I did not have background pieces to secure the waterproof membrane on the front, i trimmed it and used a 5 foot long piece of acrylic which was screwed and siliconed in place creating a watertight barrier.









Tomorrow I intend to fit more plants and light fittings.


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

Today i managed to fit the basking light and the night time heat lamp









I also managed to fit the clips for the pipes on my fogging system.









Lastly i also fitted all the plants









Tomorrow i will be fitting all the UV light fittings, attaching the day/ night LED strip lights, taking the points off of the protruding screws at the rear and tidying up the back, ready to go in my room on Saturday.


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

UV light reflector now screwed on to the roof and the day and night LED strips siliconed to the roof, LED lights came from Reptiles ink which can be found on here.









Due to the strength of the screws i just decided to cap them.









The viv is nearly finished, i still need to do the following:-
1- Tidy up and loose silicone strands
2- Move the viv upstairs
3- Connect all lights to power sources
4- Fit the UVB bulb brackets
5- Put in substrate and interior decor
6- Fit glass
7- Put Ackie in new viv


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## indian cobra (Feb 1, 2014)

That looks simply superb.


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

The viv is in place, nearly done, just waiting on the UV tube and picking up the lizard.


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## TheSims2014 (May 17, 2014)

Viv looks good mate.

love what you have done with the cork tubs and plants. Can i ask why you blocked the cork tubs stopping your ackie to hide behind them?

Also what is the Purpose of the LED lighting strip?

Thanks

Neil


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## Thistles (Oct 17, 2014)

I love it! Your Ackie must be pleased ( or whatever lizards feel instead of gratitude lol) how long does it take for silicone to dry?


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

Slicone took 24 hrs to dry, but took a week for the viv to be smell free. As for the sealing off of the cork tubes, there are 3 reasons for this. Firstly with him not being tame yet, if I had to take him out, boarding, vets, etc he could hide in the cork tubes and id have to start stripping down the viv to get him. secondly the cork tubes are very narrow and don't want him to get stuck. Lastly the bottom of the cork tubes do not allow for an exit as they are deeply covered with substrate which means he could get stuck.
As for the lighting, I have 3 light sources, a spot light, a UV bulb and a day and night LED strips. All 3 light sources are on timers. firstly the spot lamp goes out, then 2 hrs later the UV goes out leaving just the day LED strip which dims over an hour, leaving just the blue night LED which dims over 3 hours until it goes out completely, which is important for the light cycle as all lizards need a bit of complete darkness, the light system replicates the natural light cycle as best as it can.


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## wagg (Feb 6, 2014)

Looks awsome mate : victory: how did yoy get your background. Did you make it or buy it from somewhere. Looks amazing. Thanks.


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

Thanks. The background came from Aqua-Maniac, although they only say aquariums, they will do backgrounds for vivariums as well if you email them. Just be aware that they are a bit pricey.


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## wagg (Feb 6, 2014)

Ye they are a bit pricey lol but they do look amzing. Fair play.


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## TrueBlue (Dec 15, 2011)

This is superb mate! looking around for inspiration for my ackie display and i would love something like this in my living room. well done


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