Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First, is it safe to use styrofoam in a cage? What about partially submerged in the water part of a semi aquatic tank?

Also, how much do you think it'll cost me to build a 4 foot tall tank with a 2 foot base? I guess thats 2'x2'x4'.

I figure it'll only be a few pieces of acrylic and some aquarium sealent. But heres the tricky part: I'd like the tank to be hinged in the middle, so I can tank the tank apart in 2 pieces for easy cleaning.

So is that hinge idea possible? And how much do you think it'll cost, roughly?
Thanks.
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1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Ornate Horned Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
1.0.0 Fire Salamander
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.2.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

>>First, is it safe to use styrofoam in a cage?

Yes, but you should seal it to prevent the animal from wearing it away. Some use tile grout and make a rock landscape with a foam interior.

Also I would avoid styrofoam for any project as its really expanded polystyrene go with extruded polystyrene, the pink and blue stuff. It is better insulating and doesn't fall apart.

>>What about partially submerged in the water part of a semi aquatic tank?

A lot of people use Great stuff a type of triple expanding foam in Dart frog tanks. Normally they coat the foam in silicone and put coco fiber in it to create a landscape. Although I have seen in left uncoated. Regardless I wouldn't leave foam exposed underwater either, primarily because it ugly.

>>Also, how much do you think it'll cost me to build a 4 foot tall tank with a 2 foot base? I guess thats 2'x2'x4'.

Wrong guy to answer that question, my new rack is actually the first cage I kept track of expenditures. Building cages is a hobby by itself, I do it so frequently that I have stuff laying around I can use in other projects. For example I built a Crested gecko rack for free due to the fact I had all the material on hand. No out of pocket cost.

>>I figure it'll only be a few pieces of acrylic and some aquarium sealent. But heres the tricky part: I'd like the tank to be hinged in the middle, so I can tank the tank apart in 2 pieces for easy cleaning.
>>
>>So is that hinge idea possible? And how much do you think it'll cost, roughly?

Honestly I have no idea what you are looking for since I can't picture your idea. I have no advice, sorry!

Good Luck
Jeremy

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"Also, how much do you think it'll cost me to build a 4 foot tall tank with a 2 foot base? I guess thats 2'x2'x4'.

I figure it'll only be a few pieces of acrylic and some aquarium sealent. But heres the tricky part: I'd like the tank to be hinged in the middle, so I can tank the tank apart in 2 pieces for easy cleaning."

Are you talking about hinging the aquarium above the water line in horizontal fashion? Or are you talking about hinging in the middle of the tank vertically where it would open up left and right?

You could hinge around above the water line with no problem. If you want to hinge going through the water, I'd say no.

Have you ever built a water sealed aquarium before? Those dimensions are nearly 120 US gallon tank.

Weight: 62.416 pounds per cubic foot at 32°F.
2*2*4=16
16*62.416=998.656

Weight: 61.998 pounds per cubic foot at 100°F.
2*2*4=16
16*61.998=991.968

Water Weight: 8.33 pounds/gallon, 0.036 pounds/cubic inch.
120*8.33=999.6

You get the point, heavy if you were to fill the full thing. You don't want to start filling your aquarium and have it bust under the weight of the water and fill the room in a flood. Just giving you something to think about

It doesn't need to be fully water-tight. It's for tree frogs. I want to make something that'll stand nicely in a corner. I figure about 4 feet tall. doesnt need to much floor room.

As far as the hinges I was talking about: I was curious whether theres a way to make the cage come apart in 2 pieces. For easy cleaning and decorating. And I figured I can make a top with some wood and chicken wire.
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0.1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Ornate Horned Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
1.0.0 Fire Salamander
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.2.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com

i think i understand what your vision is ...

what i would do is this ...
build a frame from something like 1x2s. the fram will consist of two boxes. the bottom half which will be the water containing part. attach plexi-glass(or real glass) walls to the inside bottom, and sides of the bottom box. silicone the corners and drill holes for a filter hose (if your going to use plexi glass and have an external filter). as for the top half, make walls on the inside out of wire mesh (not sure if you should use metal or plastic but i know crickets can chew through the plastic kind).
as far as attaching and detaching the two halves, this is what i would do ..
you can get these thigng, i cant remember what they are called, but you drill a hole and they have a threaded metal tube that inserts into the hole and has a flat part on one end with teeth that grip to the one side of the wood. using this will give you a threaded hole in the wood and then you can just use bolts (the kind you can tighten with your fingers with the two flaps) to hold it together. this will make it sturdy when attached and easy to take apart for cleaning.
the only thing i would be concerned about is that your flora inside isnt leaning on the sides of the top. maybe make like an moutain island or something.

depending on if you care about how it looks, you could also use a utility sink basin as the bottom part.
sorry this was so long and i didnt know all the part names but i tried.

>>It doesn't need to be fully water-tight. It's for tree frogs. I want to make something that'll stand nicely in a corner. I figure about 4 feet tall. doesnt need to much floor room.
>>
>>As far as the hinges I was talking about: I was curious whether theres a way to make the cage come apart in 2 pieces. For easy cleaning and decorating. And I figured I can make a top with some wood and chicken wire.
>>-----
>>0.1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
>>1.0.0 Pixie Frog
>>0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
>>0.0.1 Ornate Horned Frog
>>0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
>>0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
>>1.0.0 Fire Salamander
>>2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
>>0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
>>1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
>>1.2.0 African Giant Millipedes
>>2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
>>0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
>>1.0.0 Hamster!
>>1.0.0 Ugly Cat
>>1 Small freshwater aquarium
>>Grunngg@yahoo.com

Sorry about that, some reason I was thinking turtles which would require much more water. You still have to make sure that it is built so that it will hold together with how ever much water you plan on using. Be sure to post pictures when you are done. I have no clue what jayf is describing but good luck with your hinge.

sorry about the confusion ill try to clarify.
basically your building tow cages that connect. the two cages will be made using a frame design. the bottom cage will have walls of plexiglass and the top cage will have walls of wire mesh. the top of the plexiglass cage and the bottom of the wire mesh cage will have no wall as this is where they will connect.
the way the two cages connect is by bolts so that they are secure but easily detachable.
i hope that makes some kind of sense. i am sorry if it is still confusing.

>>Sorry about that, some reason I was thinking turtles which would require much more water. You still have to make sure that it is built so that it will hold together with how ever much water you plan on using. Be sure to post pictures when you are done. I have no clue what jayf is describing but good luck with your hinge.

It's alright, I don't either. Especially when I'm dead tired. I don't quite understand but I'm much more of a visual person so I'll wait for the pictures of it. Good luck

Yeah, I'm lost now. haha. I'm just curious how much itll cost to make a 4ft tall tank, 2ft long, 2ft wide. I'd like to also have a couple hinged doors on it, but i could just make do with wire mesh doors.
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0.1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Pixie Frog
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
0.0.1 Ornate Horned Frog
0.0.1 Firebelly Toad
0.0.1 Firebelly Newt
1.0.0 Fire Salamander
2.0.3 Florida Bark Scorpions
0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion
1.0.0 Flatrock Scorpion
1.2.0 African Giant Millipedes
2.0.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
0.0.1 Chilean Rosehair Tarantula
1.0.0 Hamster!
1.0.0 Ugly Cat
1 Small freshwater aquarium
Grunngg@yahoo.com