Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to try to build a new viv that will fit in a corner. Glass is expensive, so I want to try to use as little of it as possible while still having it look nice. I've seen people build them with 3 walls and the bottom made of plywood.

So my question is: Wouldn't the water from the extremely moist environment start to seep through the wood? How do you seal it? Anyone found any good websights that kind of walk you through it a little bit?

Also, one a somewhat unrelated note: What is the recomended temp for keeping Azureus normally and at breeding time?
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1.1.0 Sunburst Veileds (Oscar and Lizzie)
1.1.0 Azureus darts
2.3.0 Mantids
1.0.0 Albino Pacman (Grumpy)
2.0.0 White's Tree Frogs
0.2.0 Cats (Oreo and Doodle)

azureus will breed at room temp if they are ready

As to your question about using plywood you have a couple options or in most cases you will want to use a couple options to make sure you never have leaks. Most people use an nontoxic marine grade (two part) epoxy to paint the plywood. I also then use a pondliner for the entire inside just to be safe.

I still think glass isn't that expensive, but that is my opinion. It is somewhat cheaper to make something out of all glass than try and buy expensive epoxy. Hi quality pool paint is a good option, but very pricey.

I made my tank out of all glass, with front opening doors (with acrylic piano hinges), roughly a 40 gallon. The outer rims are masonite with white paint for aethetics, other than add extra support as the glass is only 1/8."

Go to www.dendroboard.com and check out the "parts" section. It is awesome. There are good people there, and they helped a LOT when I built my cage.

Silicone is pretty cheap, will it work to screw the plywood together good and then use a 100% silicone. I'd probably smear a thick coat on with a drywall spatula and let it cure. Would this work?
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1.1.0 Sunburst Veileds (Oscar and Lizzie)
1.1.0 Azureus darts
2.3.0 Mantids
1.0.0 Albino Pacman (Grumpy)
2.0.0 White's Tree Frogs
0.2.0 Cats (Oreo and Doodle)

I have not heard of anyone using silicone as the sealant. I'm not saying it won't work, but I would not use it in any area where there will be standing water.

Here is a link that I used for ideas when building my terrarium from scratch: http://www.garf.org/140.gallon.html .
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Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Marine grade epoxy paint is the way to go to make sure you don't have leak/rot problems, but you have to let the stuff cure for about 2-3 weeks to ensure the offgassing is done before adding frogs. I actually set mine up for about 2 months with plants after curing just as an added precaution.

You can get high quality epoxy paint for an inexpensive price here: BUDGETBOB.50MEGS.COM/ANY2004A/FORESALENOW.HTM . I have had good luck from him.

Azureus typically like temps between 68-78 F with 70-100% humidity, and they won't begin breeding until they are over 1 year old (typically).
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Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense