Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this site in a search for a nice bottom for a monitor cage that i want to create. I thought the prices were pretty good. I know some of you use the galvanized troughs but i think these are cheaper. What do you guys think?

http://plastic-mart.com/class.php?cat=41
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Scott
"The most powerful person never has to use it"

Cheaper how? Quality? Price?

If quality, thats a problem.

If price, is the cost of it up front going to make a significant difference in the future? After all you are making a purchase for the future right? Perhaps a 20 or 25 year future?

Think about some other things then price, you will make a more informed decision.

Goodluck,
Mike.

I have made a cage from a rubbermaid trough like that, and it is working, but I had to make certain adjustments. These plastic troughs will warp when you fill them with dirt, so you must design a top to account for that or prevent it from happening.

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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

MAN I love that setup I have seen you post pics of that before and it is super clean....Great job.

After researching it a bit more the galvinized are a bit cheaper...was just throwing out another idea to see if it would work....I have no idea how much it will bend...or how long it will last compared to a galvinzed one....It seems like it would be comprable.
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Scott
"The most powerful person never has to use it"

Thanks, but really its like a 10 foot paint job. Up close you can see the flaws in it. But thanks again.
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

that's a sweet setup. Do you mind posting directions on how to do it?

Ok, I can give it a go. Just so you know if I were to go back to the same materials I would make some things different. That said here you go:
The entire top is welded together with some scraps I found laying around my buddies fab shop. The whole thing is really a chop shop job we did in a Sunday afternoon and is totally eyeballed. The frame is 3/4 inch steel square tubing, and we just rolled it into a circle to match the trough. But since the trough isn't perfectly round we had to cut smaller straight pieces of the square tubing and weld those in where the trough is flat and not round ie the front and back in those pictures. Then we made two of these pieces one would be the bottom and the other the top frame. The top has extra "bars" with tabs on them so I could just sit top panels "in the grove" and they would not move around and close the top off.
Next we cut out small square tabs to fit the bolt holes that are already formed on the inside of the trough, drilled holes in them and tack welded them to one of the bottom frame piece so they match up with the trough. Hence the top will only fit one way on there, and the trough top now goes on with just six bolts. So the way it looked at this point was a trough with a steel "circle" frame bolted to the top.
Then we just cut a few 18" square tube strait pieces and welded them a right angles (well sort of, this is where the eyeballing becomes apparent) so we could attach the top frame.
The sides are just some sheet metal I found in the yard, cut to size and tack welded on. The rest is just polycarbonate and some wood paneling on top. Some rust treatment and painted.
Here is a pic from the inside and you can see the frame and one of the bolts just above the date in the photo. You can also see my shotty caulking where there was a pretty big gap between pieces of sheet metal.
If you have any other questions just ask.

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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

you had to weld? Eek, I don't even know anyone with welding equipment...

I know the galvanized troughs are tried & true, but when something is that much more pleasing to look at, it's worth experimenting with.
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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Yeah that is why I went this way. I have steel trough setups too, but they are out of site! I tried everything I could think of but the wife just would not have a "pig" trough in her living room, so I had to go this way. I figured it was a good compromise!
Cheers,
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian