# Customising Your enclosures - Walkthrough



## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

Hey everyone, since having made my own (Already over a year ago) iv been asked throughout about how iv made the enclosures.
Heres a simple guide to how i made the enclosures.

*FINSHED PICS ARE AT BOTTOM**

You will need a couple of things to begin with.

 1x Empty and clean enclosure

1x Small modelling trowel with wide, flat edge.

1x Expanding foam spray canister

1x Black, non toxic sealant,
2x Brown non toxic sealant,
1x Sealant gun

Box of latex gloves

1x pot of substrate (be inventive as you will use this for the 'rock'/'embankment' effect on the walls. ) *a dusty strata is best as it sticks to the sealant best*
and decor, this is up to you.  


I always pre determine who will live in the finished enclosures, and best suite it to them, or their needs.

2 of mine were designed with centipedes in mind, Scolopendra subspinipes varieties.
2 arboreal style for Adult Cyriopagopus 'blue' arboreal tarantula

You will have to bare with me as i do not have pictures to show everything. 
I will do so next time, but its not that hard anyway.

Its not reallythe most efficient, or cost effective method for decorating your enclosure but its very impressive when done correct. I dont think mine are very good, nor inventive. I would love to see what other people can do.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

*Step 1

Req's

*Youl need your gloves on from this point. 
You will need an open space that can get messy, ideally youl be outside or something.
You will need to prep the sealantgun with the black sealant

*Method

*When your enclosure, whether used or new, is clean and empty youl need to use the sealant gun to spread ample amounts of black sealant over the sides you wish to decorate, this is to tidy the enclosure from when you look into it.. it looks 100x more professional compared to the messy expanding foam.

Personally i dont like this enclosure, i plan on remodelling.

(You will have to bare with this pic..its the only one i have of the side of the enclosure.. il update when i find a better)
You will need to be careful in your aplication as if you make a mess it can be time consuming to ammend, though its never hard.

Once you have spread a generous amount of the sealant over the desired walls, you need to spread it over with your fingers making sure to make it smooth and even finish. It will help to have a look from the outside of the tank occasionally to see missed patches.

Let this dry for a couple of days, THEN ammend your mistakes.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

*Step 2

Req's

*For this you will need to be in a ventilated area.
You will be using The expanding foam, wear gloves and i would strongly recommend old clothes too.
Prepared ideas and decor


*Method
*
This is where you will be using the expanding foam to build up the structure of the natural background, your enclosure should have the black sealnt tidied up by this point.
When applying the expanding foam, remember that it will expand to about 2.5x the original size.
You dont have to put loads, its down to what kind of design you are after.
The expanding foam is also quite heavy, if you put too much on, it will detach from the sides.
It also takes time to set as its very watery(excuse my sciency term, lol i cba to think) and gravity will pull it down.
You can count this by placing the side your working on flat on the ground, and only working on one side until its started to set.
Its at this point you can push in pieces of bark, or twigs and things, bare in mind the things you place in now will remain stuck in the foam upon completion. dont inhibit your movements in the enclosure.

This is a top down shot of the Step2 finished state.









When adding a bark retreat ensure the spider isnt at all touching the foam filler when its hiding by shaping and addding in a premade coated piece of card. You can see this on the pic below


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

*Step 3

Req's

*Gloves again, old clothes
Pre-prepared sealant gun with BROWN sealant
Pot of background strata
*Method

*Only once the expanding foam has dried solid can step3 be done.
For this you should work only one side of the enclosure at a time, but should ideally work all sides consecutively. I recommend this as the finished enclosure can show the areas that have been finished and dried at differnt times otherwise, and you can find trouble applying the sealant over the older finish.

Again, for this i use my gloved fingers to spread the sealant over all of the expanding foam opn the side your working, ensure every little hole and gap is sealed and water tight, its quite important as the expanding foam is probably toxic and when you spray the finished enclosure the water and enclosure could become contaminated.

Once you have spread a thinck and even layer of brown sealant over the side, you need to apply the soil, its quite important to start the application of strata from the bottom of the enclosure as you soon end up with large amounts of excess strata congregating in the bottom. You should always have the side your working on flat on the floor.
Once you have put excessive amounts of strata on the non-dried sealant covered side. You simply just press the strata into the sealant, ensure that firm pressure is applied to all area of the sealant because if the soil is loose on the walls, the strata doesnt stick on you end up with a crappy shiny sealant wall. It looks really bad
Once youv done this to all the sides, give it some time to dry.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

*Step 4

Req's

*Spider,
Decor
*
Method

*This is the finishing touches to the enclosure.
Simply add all the decorations, try to include waterbowl blahblah.

If youv done this and udnerstood, Congratulations! lol
Post your results! i wanna see some better ones!


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

So, heres the enclosures iv made, im sure most of you have seen them before, but it would be a pretty lousey guide without some pics showing you wath it is your doin, lol

Cyriopagopus 'Blue' AF1

















Cyriopagopus 'Blue' AF2


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

Scolopendra subspinipes 'Chinese Giant red'

















Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
(Though designed for Scolopendra sp. 'Tigerlegs' with different decor)

1month after









1year later


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

This is the C cyaneopubescens viv with a re-dress






This is just a decent labeling method i use for my exo terra vivs.
Nickname, Scientific name










My two cubic tanks can be used to represent a single enclave









Im sure noone would be arsed to read this far.. i dont blame them! but if you do, sorry if this is absolute crap,lol


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

very good guide. ive got a rather large exo terra just sitting there, i think ill try it : victory:


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## Moosey (Jan 7, 2008)

this thread would make a great sticky


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## Incubuss (Dec 19, 2006)

They look great, you should make them and sell them. I for one would be interested in a few.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

joe0709 said:


> very good guide. ive got a rather large exo terra just sitting there, i think ill try it : victory:


Word of advice, they are too big for this, it would cost as much as the tank again atleast for the equipment! lol

I have got some ideas for a mixtures of a lightweight mortar mix.. its ideal because it has nutrients that can be absorbed by lichens and mosses. Its porous enough for moss to grow on too, it would make a truely stunning enclosure with a micro-environment.
Also got ideas for making battlescene enclosures, and 'Hell' designs, lol.. will be funny to do.. when ever i start!


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

Incubuss said:


> They look great, you should make them and sell them. I for one would be interested in a few.


I have thought about that, i just dont think it would make profit, i think they would be a bit expensive for purpose, they look great but i think they would cost a fair bit. at a guess atleast £60 inc labour for a small viv.
Im wanting to see what comes of this mortar mixture, it would make the vivs much lighter, and cheaper. I would really consider making them for sale then.
These have only been used for a year so far, They are brilliant so far, except one of the cyrios decided to chew into the side, lol i have an open patch of foam in that tank now, lol. the spider is out of it too now.
I will probably post a guide to when you want to re-make em, its a bit tricky to do, but you can completely get the enclosure back to how it was previous too, even after its finished.
Thanks for your comments, but you really should have a go, and see what you come up with.


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

C_Strike said:


> Word of advice, they are too big for this, it would cost as much as the tank again atleast for the equipment! lol
> 
> I have got some ideas for a mixtures of a lightweight mortar mix.. its ideal because it has nutrients that can be absorbed by lichens and mosses. Its porous enough for moss to grow on too, it would make a truely stunning enclosure with a micro-environment.
> Also got ideas for making battlescene enclosures, and 'Hell' designs, lol.. will be funny to do.. when ever i start!


well i say large its around 45x45x45 cm 

that sounds awesome : victory: pics if you do :mf_dribble:


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## Moosey (Jan 7, 2008)

C_Strike said:


> I have thought about that, i just dont think it would make profit, i think they would be a bit expensive for purpose, they look great but i think they would cost a fair bit. at a guess *atleast £60 inc labour for a small viv.*
> Im wanting to see what comes of this mortar mixture, it would make the vivs much lighter, and cheaper. I would really consider making them for sale then.


i'd pay that : victory:


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## chrism (Jul 5, 2007)

Prob not allowed to do this, but...

Have an exo pre foamed for sale- £20.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/equipment-classifieds/112414-12x12x18-exoterra-20-a.html


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

chrism said:


> Prob not allowed to do this, but...
> 
> Have an exo pre foamed for sale- £20.
> 
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/equipment-classifieds/112414-12x12x18-exoterra-20-a.html


imo these are much better and you can have them how you like


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

I LOVE those!


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

Thats a nice tank, £20 is good too! Obviously much under costs
Im guessing you made it? looks really good: victory:


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## koganinja (Jun 11, 2006)

try and tidy the giude up m8 has i think you could have this stickyed very good and very nice


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## chrism (Jul 5, 2007)

joe0709 said:


> imo these are much better and you can have them how you like


Little bit harsh! Sorry i'm not perfect! :whistling2:


Yup, made it myself, do loads of foaming tank for my dart frogs etc.

Yer, made it myself. Only selling as am gettin new tanks custom built to match my racks- hate odd sized tanks compared to my others! Yup, anal I know!

Here a few of my other cr*p tanks!


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

chrism said:


> Little bit harsh! Sorry i'm not perfect! :whistling2:
> 
> 
> Yup, made it myself, do loads of foaming tank for my dart frogs etc.
> ...


didnt mean to sound harsh mate so sorry if i come acroos as sharp. all i was saying was that you could have this or you could have a crappy light weight poly background that will break away but with these you can have any design you like : victory:


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

oh im sorry mate i thought the link was to a foam background. i apologise and btw that is a nice tank : victory:


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

chrism said:


> Little bit harsh! Sorry i'm not perfect! :whistling2:
> 
> 
> Yup, made it myself, do loads of foaming tank for my dart frogs etc.
> ...


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## chrism (Jul 5, 2007)

Top tank was my 1st every attempt, hence why a mix of foam, and coco panels. Small 12x12x12 WAS for pygmy chams, now also for sale!

Have been playing with a new coco mix of late- equal mix of PVA, water, and soil / coco / bark. Works well, so much quicker / easier to do. Have to use a screw driver to make holes for broms etc, but all seem to root fine.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

you say PVA? i havent checked, but wouldnt that possibly contaminate the water in the tank when it gets wet?
How long did you keep them in there?
i suppose you didnt have any bad effects because of it, but thats why i also ask how long.
cheers
I gotta say, im far too lazy to use REAL living plants, lmao waaayyyy tooo lazy. It does look better too, obviously


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## chrism (Jul 5, 2007)

Lots of darters are now using the PVA mix, and it seems to be safe and hold up against the humidty of our tanks. Cant remember which brand, but on uk and usa dart forums there are loads of ppl using it.


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

I think they look great, and its nice to see poeple setting up realistic tanks. Awesome. 

If I had a camera on me, i'd show you my set ups - I tend to use less permanent means of set up. I'll post some soon, although I am downsizing my T's tank soon (mainly as it's glass and weighs a ton, and I move frequently - plastic it is, at least for now).


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## monitorfan666 (Feb 15, 2007)

all beautiful enclosures:no1:

really inspirational stuff

C_Strike could i bother you with asking for a few more pics of Rodneys enclosure??


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

When you mean "Expanding foam spray canister" what foam are we talking about exactly?


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

i used polyfilla expanding foam.


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

Ta, how much cost are we looking at for creating a single viv like this?

Pollyfill is about a fiver, can probally pick up a gun from my uncle.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

get the smaller sized can of filla, some cheap black sealant, and some non toxic brown. Err about 15 to 20 quid on top of the viv i would hazard


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## chrism (Jul 5, 2007)

Make sure it aquarium grade if using for amphibs, as the normal stuff leaches out toxins.
There's a seller on ebay that sells aquarium sealent in black, and clear for about £3.50 a tube.


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## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

Great guide mate! I'll be sure to try it!


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## Toeboe (Dec 28, 2006)

Wilco's sell a huge canister of Polycell expanding foam for £7.19, I got one last week.

Polycell Expanding Foam Polyfilla 825ml at Wilkinson Plus

Is the black silicone used to just put a mask on the glass, or are you using it to stick the background in place?


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