Reptile & Amphibian Forums

eventually thinking of building a indoor concrete pond for my caiman. My question is how think the concrete so don't leak and what do you coat with to stop it from making water acidic. I thought the stuff used in koi ponds but thought he would scratch through that?
-----
Tom
1.2.0 Leopard Gecko (dot, spot, casper)
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders (bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Painted Turtles (moe)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.1.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.1.2 Ferret (jordan RIP, Cosmo and Izzy)
0.0.1 White Tree Frog (dumpy jr.)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (ferdinan)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.3 Green Anoles
1.0.0 Bahama Anole
0.0.1 Giant Millipede
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
0.0.1 Emporor Scorpion
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
Lots Of Fish

Have been using the rhino line type coating now for a while and have had no problems what so ever. They can't scratch through it, see no trouble with the water, no leaks, and easily cleaned.
-----
2 A. Miss at 8'
5 A. Miss at 3'-5'
1 C. Nil at 9'
1 C. Croc at 6.5'
6 A. Miss/C. Croc 2'-3'
1 Naja kaouthia
1 A. c. contortrix
1 Ophiophagus hannah (but not much longer - gettin old and that snake is fast)

What do you build your ponds out of concrete? Wood? How hard is it to do looking on good ideas to build future cage.
-----
Tom
1.2.0 Leopard Gecko (dot, spot, casper)
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders (bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Painted Turtles (moe)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.1.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.1.2 Ferret (jordan RIP, Cosmo and Izzy)
0.0.1 White Tree Frog (dumpy jr.)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (ferdinan)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.3 Green Anoles
1.0.0 Bahama Anole
0.0.1 Giant Millipede
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
0.0.1 Emporor Scorpion
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
Lots Of Fish

I h ave used several coatings -- to water proof --- pool paint , sort of rubber like --

One thing is the concrete has to cure good before painting otherwise the paint doesnt seal.

THe best way I found is to get about a gallon of fiberglass resin and hardner and use this to paint with. It seals everything real good.

If you are casting in the ground always put a poly liner first than lay concrete. This really retards leaking and is the first line of deffense.

Best regards

Ed

It would be an indoor pond. How hard is the fiberglass to work with and what's a good way to make a mold?
-----
Tom
1.2.0 Leopard Gecko (dot, spot, casper)
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders (bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Painted Turtles (moe)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.1.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.1.2 Ferret (jordan RIP, Cosmo and Izzy)
0.0.1 White Tree Frog (dumpy jr.)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (ferdinan)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.3 Green Anoles
1.0.0 Bahama Anole
0.0.1 Giant Millipede
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
0.0.1 Emporor Scorpion
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
Lots Of Fish

Typically you make a wooden mold out of plywood and construct the fiberglass on the inside (just like a boat)-- You add the fabric and build layers. Always do the inside so you can shape easily. Wooden shell can be stablized with 2x4's for strenght . Other ways are you coat the galvanized wire with the fabric and resin . The wire is an internal support (like wire in a concrete slab or wall). It can be 90 degrees like a tank or you can slope to make a sloped pool. .

I would add a pipe for a drain ( there are what they call bung fittings that you can use.

This is real easy to water proof -- you just need to work with the fiberglass cloth and resin. Its messy to work with . Easy to fix when you screw up -- unlike concrete or carpentry.

Best regards

Ed

In my off-duty hours I build props for haunted attractions and the like. I have worked with fiberglass for years and to me is easy. Will it be for you? I can't say. What I did for my newest smaller indoor enclosures is start with a wood form. Make it the way you want it to lay out. I spray the inside with spray adhesive and then lay felt over it. This is on the inside and I don't spray the whole thing just points where the felt will pull away, like inside corners etc. I then coat it with fiberglass resin and let it set. This gives you a hard interior that is paintable. I then figure were I want the water level and coat that with rhyno liner. The rest of the interior I paint, usually with spray paint and use stencils for murals n such. I coat the pait several times with clear and let it set. I leave the area, where the window will go clear. I drill holes and then use a roto-zip to cut out the window opening. I like plxiglass for the windows, cheap to replace and pretty hard to break. The door I did the same with but frmaed them inside and out. I used latches upper and lower on the doors and put a lip on the inside to cover the seal. I have mine opening inward. something simple to do is adding a drain to the bottom. I cut the top of a 2 liter bottle off and gorilla glued it in place. When you need to drain, put some buckets down and unscrew the cap.
-----
2 A. Miss at 8'
5 A. Miss at 3'-5'
1 C. Nil at 9'
1 C. Croc at 6.5'
6 A. Miss/C. Croc 2'-3'
1 Naja kaouthia
1 A. c. contortrix
1 Ophiophagus hannah (but not much longer - gettin old and that snake is fast)

Sealing Pond

Do a Hyroseal first made up of a mix of s-type mortar(no sand)and Acryl-60. You can get acryl-60 at ACE Hardware(you will probably have to order it)$25.00 /gal. Mix the hydro seal to a milkshake like consistency with a drill mixer. Just take thinned acryl-60 1 to 1 with water and begin adding in s-type mortar until you get the thickness you want then brush or brush and roll the entire tank 2 times and let dry for 24 hrs.Then you can seal the tank with a universal Acrylic concrete sealer and conditioner. I get mine from Hugh's Supply Inc. It needs to be zylene based and aprox. 15 % solids. Mix the clear sealer with zylene 50/50 and spray, paint, or roll a light coat first over the whole tank and let dry for about 30 min and give it a good coat over the whole surface. It should last 5 yrs easy even in the sun.

Chris