# Vivarium building!



## casperclone (Sep 17, 2007)

Hey, i thought this would be a good thread on how to construct a vivarium. If other people could post what tools they have used, wood they have used and what wood is suitable and the prices it might encourage other people to build them themselves and save some money.
Plus i may get an idea aswell lol


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

here ya go, this might be of use............. 

:: Ians Vivarium - Plans for building your own vivarium ::


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## Onlinebug (Feb 27, 2008)

As the guide says, Chipboard 


Lew.


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## StuW247 (Jun 14, 2008)

Well the Mrs and I have been looking into building a viv to fit in an alcove next to my comp, plans are drawn, just need the wood to start. Went to three hardware shops, and depending on you measurements all the different wood has different depths. The size that we had planned for was a 15mm depth which we thought would be a standard size in all of the wood, but guess what i was wrong MDF goes from a 12mm to a 18mm so that went out of the window. The wood may be cheaper but you have to take into consideration that the mdf needs to be sealed, painted then varnished. So i am building it out of conti board. But it is going to be £20 per sheet which is only 2400mm by 600mm by 15mm then edging strips $1.19 per 2.5m This was the cheapest price at wickes then it was b&q then homebase.


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## matt1977 (Jul 1, 2007)

I used conti board for my boas viv. It was the first thing ive ever really built and it went fine, I surprised my self lol. Im in the middle of attempting to build a double stacked viv for my retics im building this by building a frame out of 3x2 and im using the walls of the room as one end of the viv and allso the back will be the wall for the room. the end with out the wall is gonna have ply covering it and the floors and top are going to be somthing similar to marine ply.


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## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

contiboard is good for dry vivariums. Try local DIY shops who will cut to size, may deliver and will probably be cheaper than B+Q. At B+Q it comes it comes in widths up to 2ft and lengths up to 8ft. You could use hardboard or ply for the back, but it may be good to line it with vinyl tiles or similar. Seal everything with aquarium sealant. Predrill holes for all screws. One or two people on here sell air vents and glass runners.

It's much easier than it looks


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

Good plans those Ian!:whistling2::whistling2::lol2:


The reason I have used a letter for the thickness is precisely because of the apparently random nature of the thickness of conti in various places.

I have found that although Wickes is cheaper, the conti there is still 15mm and my local Wickes doesn't cut to size. Homebase is also 15mm. B&Q does 18mm Conti now, and in my experience it is in much better condition than that at either of the other two (less battered). I also find B&Q to have a greater range of sizes in each of the different colours. (others may well have different experiences)

I have always had great success with B&Q and they cut it accurately aswell - TOP TIP - get them to square off the end of each sheet before they cut the main pieces!


Good luck with the projects folks

Cheers

Andy


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## Pliskens_Chains (Jun 8, 2008)

eeji said:


> here ya go, this might be of use.............
> 
> :: Ians Vivarium - Plans for building your own vivarium ::


thats a good link thanks :no1:
have you got one that tells you how to build a viv stack too?


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

bothrops said:


> Good plans those Ian!:whistling2::whistling2::lol2:


.......a big thanks for letting me use them!  

...for a stack, build a few singles then join them using dowel pegs or screws - this way you can de-stack your stack if ever needed or add an extra level for when your collection grows


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

Wrote this a few years ago...May help!

Xyra's Aquariums, Reptiles, Mountain Biking, Offroading and Landrovering


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## owlbassboy (Jun 26, 2008)

StuW247 said:


> Well the Mrs and I have been looking into building a viv to fit in an alcove next to my comp, plans are drawn, just need the wood to start. Went to three hardware shops, and depending on you measurements all the different wood has different depths. The size that we had planned for was a 15mm depth which we thought would be a standard size in all of the wood, but guess what i was wrong MDF goes from a 12mm to a 18mm so that went out of the window. The wood may be cheaper but you have to take into consideration that the mdf needs to be sealed, painted then varnished. So i am building it out of conti board. But it is going to be £20 per sheet which is only 2400mm by 600mm by 15mm then edging strips $1.19 per 2.5m This was the cheapest price at wickes then it was b&q then homebase.


how much do they charge for cutting??


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## magneticblue (Jun 4, 2008)

I have just built my own viv, will post pics later. B&Q say the first 4 cuts are free and then any extras are 50p each. I needed about 6 or 7 cuts but they didn't charge me anything.


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## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

owlbassboy said:


> how much do they charge for cutting??


B+Q don't charge for the first 2 cuts per sheet. Then 50p per cut I think.


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## markandwend (Jan 28, 2007)

If anyone wants to know how to make vivs, any size or shape just ask me and i will help you out as much as i can.


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## trevor123 (Jun 13, 2008)

sorry to hijack thread but im currently designing my viv for 2 leo's. i've looked at the link and i dont really want screwheads on the faces of my viv, is there an alternative way of fastening all the pieces together, that wont look like a pin cushion?


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## markandwend (Jan 28, 2007)

trevor123 said:


> sorry to hijack thread but im currently designing my viv for 2 leo's. i've looked at the link and i dont really want screwheads on the faces of my viv, is there an alternative way of fastening all the pieces together, that wont look like a pin cushion?


I Biscuit all my joints, or you can dowel them.


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## gazali5 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Hiding Joints*



trevor123 said:


> sorry to hijack thread but im currently designing my viv for 2 leo's. i've looked at the link and i dont really want screwheads on the faces of my viv, is there an alternative way of fastening all the pieces together, that wont look like a pin cushion?


hi Trevor 
so my viv is double skinned we used brackets adn dowels to fix together and there is nothing on show we hid some of the joints not able to cover with a edging strip that looks like scales it looks really cool
hope this helps
:2thumb:


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## matty321 (Mar 14, 2009)

im using MDF for mine as i have some lying around but im scared of splitting it. i dont have much spare money for the viv itself so i cant buy different wood before any one suggests. i was thinking of using dowel then putting wood glue along the edge aswell as the dowels. any thoughts.

p.s the MDF is 1 inch thick.


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## tkapoutsis (Aug 11, 2008)

Hi Matty,

MDF is ok but i would try to line it after with some marine ply on the bottom.
seal it around the edges with aquarium sealer after to make sure water does not get through.

If MDF gets wet it swells and will distort the viv.

good luck mate.


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## waitingowl (Aug 17, 2009)

Best thing to do is predrill all holes and then seal it and seal it again with a safe varnish. Make sure you air it out for a few weeks afterwards tho


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## Lee56 (Aug 27, 2009)

ok i'm getting my tank in the next couple of days and will be making a back setting for a natural look and to house live plants. I will be taking pics and create a step by step guide and link it to this once finished


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