Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If anyone could help that would be great, I have used plastic ponds they are great for small gators but the big ones bite threw them, pond liners last about a day or two so that's out, the only luck Ive had is with rubber-maid tanks but I need bigger and different shapes. So my question is, how is rubber roofing liner work??

How big an animal are you keeping? Have you tried the giant waterland tub? They work well for animals up to around 4ft.
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

Rubber roofing (EPDM) is the same material that is sold for pond liners.

"If anyone could help that would be great, I have used plastic ponds they are great for small gators but the big ones bite threw them, pond liners last about a day or two so that's out, the only luck Ive had is with rubber-maid tanks but I need bigger and different shapes. So my question is, how is rubber roofing liner work??"

have you tried fiber-glass pools...?? dont know how expenssive are in US, but in Mexico are about $400.00 USD for a big one... about 13(L) x 8(W) x 5(D) ft... you can borrow it and just add a good enough filter...

really dont know, but I think it can work even with large crocs

cheers

Rick

The biggest as of now is 7' so unfortunately the waterland tubs cant be used. The pond liners are 20mil and rubber roofing is 60mil so its a little thicker but I dont know if its thick enough. Fiberglass ponds are pricey and hard to fined the exact shape (rectangle) and size Im looking for. Thank you for the suggestions

and what about a concrete pond..???

you can add everything coustum built... filter, drain, circulation, heating...

cheers

rick

That would great if it was outside but up here in the North East I need something I can do in doors and take down when we get our bigger place but hey if you think af anything els and find out about the roof liner pleas feel free to contact me Thank you for all your help.

When I was a kid, my uncle had a caiman enclosure set up that held a few caiman that were 5-6ft ... this enclosure was nothing pretty, it was just a basic box made out of plywood with a 2x4 frame. It was siliconed and water sealed with thomsons water sealer I believe, amazingly it worked quit well.

Thats might be something to look into

or same basic wood idea but after its built, lay a fiberglass coating inside.

I remember seeing some website online that showed how to build huge fish tanks ... they were 3 sides (back, righ and left) made out of wood and the front was thick plexi ... the builder siliconed, water sealed and then did a coating inside with some type of fiberglass or epoxy

There are ways to build something out of wood ... check into this
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Great Lakes Zoological

Monsterfishkeepers.com

Mr. F
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Real time Rogue, a captive Palp

"When I was a kid, my uncle had a caiman enclosure set up that held a few caiman that were 5-6ft ... this enclosure was nothing pretty, it was just a basic box made out of plywood with a 2x4 frame. It was siliconed and water sealed with thomsons water sealer I believe, amazingly it worked quit well.
Thats might be something to look into
or same basic wood idea but after its built, lay a fiberglass coating inside.
I remember seeing some website online that showed how to build huge fish tanks ... they were 3 sides (back, righ and left) made out of wood and the front was thick plexi ... the builder siliconed, water sealed and then did a coating inside with some type of fiberglass or epoxy

I´ve also seen enclosures mada of plywood an sealed with Rhino Lining.. also check this link
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1778730,1778730

also thik the plywood coated with fiberglass is a great idea

cheers

Rick

That is a great idea, rhino lining would probably be an excellent way to seal a plywood enclosure. You could get the companies that do spray in bed liners for trucks to cover it for you. Consider that idea stolen!
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

now you say it, for home built-in enclosures, maybe you can make them go to your home and spray all the surfaces you nead to seal... walls, sailing, concrete pond, floor... so you wont have any problem with leaks or wet walls...

must be expensive... but crocs are them selves a expensive hobby

cheers

Rick

I agree, this is a great idea!! They say average cost for rhino lining in truck bed is $350 and I think average truck bed is about 6ft x 4ft. I wonder if we could figure out a way to mix and spray our selfs?

Could do other exclosures as well, snakes, lizards, etc ..
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Great Lakes Zoological

looks amazing, sounds amazing and its cheap ... do you thinkit will really work??
durabak company

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Great Lakes Zoological

opps, its not that cheap at $89 per gallon .. I thought for a min it was $19 per gallon, if so I would have been making a bunch of enclosures, doing my basement and garage floors and maybe even my basement and garage walls, lol
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Great Lakes Zoological

No concerns of toxicity? As it scratches away with nails, and ingested by the croc as it floats in the water? What if it leeches a chemical when submerged for extended periods?

Don't get me wrong - I think spray in liners are great, I have it in my truck. But I believe there's a lot of tar, and it's not meant to be submerged, just repel water.

Mr. F
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Real time Rogue, a captive Palp

I have built one of these in the past, worked pretty well but was not without it's frustrations during construction. Was easily the best insulated enclosure I have ever used due to the properties of the wood itself.

Eventually I put a liner in mine as I didn't trust my construction to hold water indefinetly.
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CDieter
'Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.'

I use to work in auto body for 5 years and they did the bed liners thanks a lot that would be great if they still did it Thank you everyone

wellcome... post some pics when its done

best wishes

Rick

I just called my old work and they are getting back to me in a few with the price.

I called a couple of places that spray liners so far the price is from 400-500 not to bad, after the materials it will prob cost 700 or so still not to bad I can make a ramp and all. Thanks and Ill keep you updated.

I use the roll on Rhino Liner coatings in mine. Haven't had any problems, too date. It is extremely durable and doesn't cut or break up like you would think. No chemical residue or problems with it.

Thanks, roll on liner sounds good and sounds like something I could do my self and prob save some money and we know thats always a good thing.

Are you using the rolled on rhino on a wood pond cement pond or what? Is it "rhino" brand or is it called something else like "durabak"? Where did you buy it and cost?

I'm planning to do 2 new enclosures for 2010, probably start the first one once it warms up ... thinking I will do it out of wood and use the rhino or durabak .... ill probably build it, water seal it, silicone it and then rhino or durabak it if that would work, not sure if the rhino/durabak would bond well over the sealer & silicone though
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Great Lakes Zoological

Honestly I would stay clear of the wood setups. There is so much care to doing wood. however if you choose to please consider some advice.

when you set the board together use a rachetting clamp to hold them as tightly together as possible and then glue or screw them together with another board across the back. I was suggest you use a waterproof wood glue and screws. This will give you the best water proofing on bare wood. DO NOT use treated wood. Many brands use arsenic and other chemicals in the treating process. Arsenic is the blue color powder or crust that forms on treated wood. Once you have it together, the way you want, cut out you filter/heater line holes.

I would treat the would with a primer (like Kiltz). Roll on the liner and let it set. You'll find that stuff is strong and durable.

I've got some good size crocs and they have no trouble getting around on the stuff.

Thanks, I help my buddy at his zoo building every thing from anaconda cage to five foot snake cages, Im the guy he calls when he needs something like that, I was going to frame the whole thing with 2x4 and have them about 6'' apart for top support I was also going to use caulking on the edges and seal the whole thing with a urethane primer, I have had big water leaks in the past and I dont ever want that again.

my buddy who does construction gave me a idea last night ...

build a wood pond (box) out of plywood with 2x4 framing, water seal it, silicone the seams ... then staple a pond/roof liner over that, put a little silicone over the staples ... then tile over that using that mesh backed tile.

Might be to much I dont know ... maybe just the sealer over the wood, silicone the seams and then tile over that ... not using the pond/roof liner
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Great Lakes Zoological

seems like too much for me...

maybe just wood.. in that case I would go for fiberglass and rhyno.. or rhyno and fiberglass

Rick

Thanks for all the ideas, I just got a big rectangle fiberglass pond really good size but the dam thing has a small leak but one of my buddy's from my auto body days said he can do the whole underside of the pond with new fiberglass, Lets see if it will work, With my luck prob not but Ill keep my fingers crossed, Thanks again guys.

good look with that

post some pics when its done

best wishes

Rick