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KC's DIY'd Vivarium.

C

cagedbirdsinging

Maya's Mama
Hey, guys!

I wanted to start a thread to put my DIY endeavors into a journal of sorts rather than making threads for each individual project seeing as how I have at least a dozen plans.

I'll start out with descriptions for now as hopefully construction will begin tomorrow, along with pictures.

First off, this will not be a vivarium build itself, even though that will likely occur in a few years. For now, I will be working with an existing aquarium and essentially DIY-ing everything that I can for it rather than going out and buying what I need when I can make it and customize it for myself.

(For those not following my posts, I do not have my snake yet and will not be getting one for several weeks, most likely. I am waiting to make sure that I am 100% prepared and that I find the perfect snake for me rather than running out to a pet store and grabbing the first one I find!)


Project List:

  • background
  • hides
  • dishes/bowls
  • driftwood arrangement/embellishment
  • floral arrangements

Supply List:

  • styrofoam sheets
  • unsanded tile grout
  • silicone and sealants
  • various clays
  • acrylic paints
  • non-wired artificial greenery

Let the games begin!
 
This has potential to be a great thread. I love the DIY stuff, at least reading and watching it... I'm not too handy at it myself unfortunately.

Definitely plan on following this thread though!
 
I'm with Nythain! I love being able to read about and see other peoples ideas and creativity!
I built my own faux rock wall background for my 90gal a few months ago....Quite the project but SO worth it! Good luck and looking forward to reading your progression threads :)
 
I'm glad to see so many other DIY fans! I really like doing things for myself and having unique items. Buying some supplies from a shelf (or ordering online, as I often do) that everyone else already has is a bit too impersonal of an experience for me.

The tank is cleaned and prepped for an initial fitting of the styrofoam background!
 
I am waiting to make sure that I am 100% prepared and that I find the perfect snake for me rather than running out to a pet store and grabbing the first one I find!
Click to expand...

That phrase alone will get you a discount from me. Looking forward to seeing your results :)
 
This weekend's project is beginning the construction of a built-in burrow. The idea came from a fish forum that I used to frequent. Another fish keeper has some of the same species as I do that enjoy hiding. She came up with an ingenious way to offer them a hiding spot that allows her to view them at the same time as keeping them feeling safe and hidden. I hope to replicate this in my vivarium, but I will remove it of course if it fails in one way or another.

The construction material will be primarily clay as a base. I have not yet decided if I want to finish it using the same foam and grout method that I will be using for my background, or just sealing EE onto the surface to make it blend in.

I'll take some pictures but probably won't post until it is finished and installed since I am having trouble explaining the concept!
 
Definitely waiting for pics. Though you should try to get at least a shot or two of it before it's in the viv, sometimes that makes it easier to see. Hope ya have fun with it, and can't wait till it's done!
 
Oh, there will definitely be pictures of the burrow before it's installed! I'll just probably wait until I get it installed and then post all of the pictures together.

The more I think about it, the more I move toward finishing the exterior in the foam/grout method to match the background and make it appear as though it's an extension of it. This will hopefully bring one of the back corners of the background forward to give it some more dimension.

I'm still struggling with the exact size. I want her to feel safe and secure as a hatchling, but I don't think she'll be upgraded in tank size for 2-3 years, so I don't want to have to rebuild this when she gets larger if I don't have to. I'm thinking that I can fill in any excess space with bedding and just remove as much as needed during cleanings as she gets larger.
 
I changed my mind and decided to post pictures of the first step of the built-in burrow. These crappy pictures are from my cell phone as I didn't want to get my nice camera covered in clay!


First, I patted out a disc of clay and formed it over a ball of aluminum foil.

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Then, I sawed the back of the burrow out with a plastic knife.

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I smoothed and shaped the back of the burrow so that it hopefully lays flat and secure against the side of the glass to serve as a viewing area.

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I flipped it around and began to scoop out the entrance of the burrow. After I got it to my liking, I smoothed it out like I did with the back.

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Finally, I smoothed the entire structure out. I didn't feel capable of sculpting the clay to look like rock-work and if I want it to blend in with the background, I'll just apply foam and grout over it before it's installed.

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Now, I wait for it to cure! Then, I'll take sandpaper to the whole thing and make sure there is nothing sharp inside that she might hurt herself on. I have some sealant that I will use to make it as resistant to water as I can so that it can be cleaned regularly and won't absorb any moisture that might cause damage to the structure.

After the background is built, I'll work on finishing the burrow to make it look like an extension. If that doesn't work out how I like, I'll seal some EE onto the outer surface and seal that so that bedding can just be scattered on the top of the burrow and blend in. We'll see!
 
Yeah, me and the wife had the same dilemma so we decided to hold off the full custom viv until little Plissken is a bit bigger. We're gonna do an Escape From L.A. post apocalyptic theme.
 
I have at least three months on my hands to keep myself busy while I wait for her, so I figured there's no harm in working on things even if they aren't used for very long!

That theme sounds awesome and I hope you do a build thread on it!
 
I am really thrilled with how well this clay is behaving so far!

It is an air-dry clay that I got on sale with the notion that if it didn't turn out, I'd just go back and get polymer clay like I had intended to anyway. I love working with clay and was going to have a kiln last year, but my computer died and that money went into a new one.

Anyway, I read reviews on the clay and they were definitely mixed. Some people loved it, others hated it. It honestly sounds as though the people giving negative reviews didn't follow the directions. I'm not experiencing any cracking so far and it is already firm enough to remove from the foil form so that it can start drying even faster.

The real test will come when I paint and seal it. Because of the nature of this clay, sealing it will be very important. Luckily I will have several weeks to test and monitor the piece in the vivarium before my baby girl arrives.
 
I've heard mixed reviews of most air dry clays. Standard stuff you probably read, biggest complaint being cracking during the drying process. But yeah, as long as it doesn't crack all you really need to do is slap a sealant on it and it should be good to go! Glad to hear it's working out in your favor.
 
Yes, same readings here. Very mixed reviews. So far I have precisely zero cracks, so I think I'm in the clear right now. As long as I can get it to the point where I can get it sealed and get the sealant dry, I can't imagine what would happen other than literally twisting it in half to break it.

I saw a video review of someone saying how easily it breaks, and they actually had to put quite a bit of force to get it to break! I think there's just too many variables, like what exactly it is you're making, the shapes and thicknesses, how you put it together... the list goes on.

We won't know until we know, but then at least I will be able to either recommend it to others or steer people away! That's part of the greatness of DIY. The other part is that it was a totally fun project and it isn't even done yet!

(Totally off the topic, but I already have a ton of ideas for your post-apoc theme. Can't wait until you are ready to do it so that I can flood you with comments.)
 
Being absolutely barren of any artistic talent, I will welcome any and all comments when that time comes. Luckily I have the wife, who's much more artsy than I. But we're both really open to ideas for themed ways to accomplish functions (hides, water, background, etc)... that's about the most difficult part of it all, at least for me.

Sorry to derail the topic a little.

We now return to our regularly scheduled Viv creation :)
 
In DIY news, my clay hide is still drying wonderfully with no cracks and no signs of fragility so far! I will continue to monitor it for about another week before making any definite decisions about the success of the project.

In non-DIY news, the very last of all of my supplies have arrived! As far as I've calculated, I now have everything I need for my baby girl except her food.

I'm still working on cleaning out the tank more thoroughly and fitting in the initial back slab of the background before I begin the undertaking of assembling the rockwork on the background. It will likely be done in many steps as time allows and to stretch the viv creation out as long as possibly while I wait for my baby to hatch!
 
Just wanted to say it's so awesome you're doing all of this *before* getting the snake. I had forgotten you don't even have your baby yet. It's not too often people go through the entire viv creation and setup process before getting the snake. It's great that you are, because you will be sure everything is proper and adequate for when your baby arrives.
 
I couldn't imagine doing it any other way, Nythain!

I want everything to be perfect before she gets here rather than scrambling and having the viv seem like an afterthought, if that makes sense. Plus, I want to be able to let her slither into her new home and let her be for a week without having to get in there and move or mess with anything.

I know that not everything will be perfect the first time I set it up, so I'll have plenty of time to mess around with it and get it to my liking before she gets here. I doubt she'd appreciate me getting into the viv constantly to rearrange things and add/move decor, etc.

Plus, it will be nice to look at in the living room rather than an empty tank on the shelf!
 
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