Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if anyone knew a place in SW florida that carries 3/4" xpvc. I've been making my racks out of melamine but god that stuff is heavy, and wanted to scrap all those racks and make some out of xpvc sheets. The only sign shop in town quoted me a price of $130 for a 4x8' sheet, that is way to expensive to rebuild 10 racks, lol. Any help will be appreciated.
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Josh Hutto
JKReptiles

2.3 het pied (RDR, alan bosch x 2, BHB x 2)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Gulf Coast)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel, Gulf Coast)
1.2 het citrus ghost(Gulf Coast line)
1.0 citrus ghost (Gulf Coast line)
0.1 graz pastel female
1.6 05 normal bp's
0.6 04 normal bp's
2.5 adult normal bp's (some need breeding to see if norm)
4 various corns
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrior
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat
1.1 bearded dragons

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrior as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

$130 for 3/4" expanded PVC is actually a pretty normal price. In fact it's pretty good based on the last time I checked.

You might want to try working with 1/4", possibly even 1/2".

I second that 1/4" or 1/2" will work in most applications (especially rack use)
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

will 1/4" work for a BP rack that has shelves that hold 3 of the 12 qt rubbermaids per shelf or will it sag too much? I know for the 41qt racks the braces will run across the length and there should be no sagging, but I am concerned with the hatchling rack.
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Josh Hutto
JKReptiles

2.3 het pied (RDR, alan bosch x 2, BHB x 2)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Gulf Coast)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel, Gulf Coast)
1.2 het citrus ghost(Gulf Coast line)
1.0 citrus ghost (Gulf Coast line)
0.1 graz pastel female
1.6 05 normal bp's
0.6 04 normal bp's
2.5 adult normal bp's (some need breeding to see if norm)
4 various corns
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrior
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat
1.1 bearded dragons

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrior as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

the experiences with 1/4" I have showed minimal sagging (but I use lidded racks over lidless) If you want to be assured of no to minimal sagging 1/2" would be a bit better choice to go with.

Another option would be to have a vertical center point to add more support and prevent sagging.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.

Josh,

I don't think 1/4" will work for that exact application. I have a couple of ideas, but first...

1) How large will each rack be?

2) What do you mean by bracing across the length? Do you mean you'll have a 41 qt. rack where the tubs will slide in length-wise?

3) What type of heating will you use?

4) How many racks will you be building?

>>I know for the 41qt racks the braces will run across the length and there should be no sagging, but I am concerned with the hatchling rack.

If you are to invest in quality materials to make your racks, i would not go with pvcx. Aven 1/2 pvcx will warp...so will 3/4 especially if the shelves are larger than 20 inches. If you want to go with thick plastic, Seabord(textured polyethylene) would be the best choice. 3/8 or 1/2 will be great and 100000 times sturdier and more resistant to scratches than pvcx...at almost the same price. PVCx can break easly on impact....when polyethylene is almsot unbreakable and also USDA and FDA approved. You can even get seabord lite on special order that is light than reg seabord and less expensive. You can use particule board screws or gypsum screws to assemble it and it will be solid has a rock.