This all is helping me so much I thank you all for the amazing tips and design ideas
this is a very non detailed version of my plan, basically I will have plexiglass for the walls(bc I’m in Minnesota and it’s super dry) screen top.
I did quite a bit of research and found if I have some air flow it should be fine.
Let me know if any questions or concerns about my plan(preferably before I build it)
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Sizing:
I would cut that cage size in half, to start. 48inches deep is going to be a challenge to work with. It's really not necessary, and will cause difficulty in maintenance and such. I would cut that to 24inches deep. The rest of your dimensions are fine.
The issue is with a 48 deep, you know have a walk in, you are going to have to actually step into the cage to do maintenance, and its really just not ideal.
I love the 6ft height, I wish I would have built my viv to the ground, and not have a cubby for a misting setup that is no longer a thing. I have sense directly connected my mister to my RO system and now have an unused shelf below the cage. However I have plans to alter that, and use that bottom area, for another cage for another species soon.
Venting:
I'm with them, 100% you need venting. Not a ton, but you need it.
If you want a clean Front, with no vents to see even the ground plants, that can be done, but you still need vents. Even the Exoterra vent strips, such as GKs will bolster little airflow and very very high humidity. Which is why they suggested a fan (which one is still useful no matter what vent size.)
If your going to stick with your fully acrylic design (I wouldn't, more on that in a min) you can use the round 3 inch vents for soffits. Or you can procure rectangle ones.
If you do 24 inches deep, and your other dimensions the same. My ultimate vent suggestion is an easy one. Use Soffit vents, or registers with screen in them. This is something I wish I would have done differently in my build, I designed the vents, without looking at the venting options. Mine are 18 inch wide hole, that's slightly to big for a soffit, which forced me to make them out of screen frame. Soffits are designed 16 on center, for homes. Follow that guideline.
After that, I would suggest either between 4-6 inch tall vents. Put them, right at the top of the soil layer, on the sides. This will allow the vents to be hidden from the front viewing, and so your ground plants are in full view.
Material Choice:
Fully Acrylic is not going to work. Not within any reasonable price range especially. For something this large, you would need 1/2 inch acrylic all the way around, pricing in the thousands for materials. Its not an ideal situation, and you can use cheap bracing ideas to go other routes.
The first decision to make, is how you want to do the background do you just want to do the back or do you want to do the sides as well. Personally I like the 3 sided backgrounds, however just the back is a thing as well.
If you want to do just the back, and want Acrylic sides/Front. My suggestion would be a Plywood back, with a 1/2 frame. No sense in using expensive acrylic that isnt that rigid on the back, vs a cheaper ply that will be sealed anyway. I would build a 1/2 frame, in L shaped fashion (Can detail more if this is what you want) you will then be able to attach your acrylic side to this frame, and your door solution (more on this later)
Another option is Forex, this is using aluminum framing that holds the acrylic, the price is increased dramatically, however if metal is more your thing, I can explain the hows of it as well.
If you want a 3 sided background, you just saved alot of $$$ and added a ton of rigidity and simplicity. In this case, you will build your box from 1/2 - 3/4 in plywood. The next cage I build, will be this. You will use some 1x2s to add rigidity in certain areas, the doors will cost more than the entire cage
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Acrylic, and why I dont like it. Acrylic is not very rigid in large sections. A small piece of 24x24x1/4in acrylic is very rigid, a 24 x 6ft piece of acrylic is not. There is also the fact that it scratches STUPID EASY. Good Acrylic, the Acrylic your going to have to use, is going to cost the same amount as Tempered Glass, of the same thickness. I would use the glass, it weighs more, and can shatter (mostly the edges are weak) however it will not scratch.
Door Choice:
Now we have arrived at doors, there is going to be 2 choices of doors.
1 is to use hinged doors, you can craft these from 1x2s. and inset the glass/acrylic into it. The biggest downside to this is the huge chunk in the center thats not clear, though there is ways to not have that issue.
The second and my personal favorite is Sliding doors, these give you the ability to open the door less. My current viv has these, and I love being able to slightly open the door and put in Black Soldier flys, when they try to fly out, they hit the glass and realize the viv is home till they get eaten. There is some really nice fancy tracks out there that I can turn you on to. The downside is the gap, between the doors, and crickets may be able to squeeze though though they rarely try in my experience.
Misters:
Something I learned the hardway, in my build is misters only carry about 14-16 inches deep. Which means you will need misters on the front and back for a 24 deep, and you will need misters in the center for a 48 inch depth if your set on that.
With a wooden build, I am partial to mister bars. On the front and back, where you would have topside 1x2s, use 1x3s or 1x4s, and drill your mister holes into the wood instead of trying to mount through the screen. This is something to consider when building.
I have this solution in place for the front, but currently my back is through the screen. I aim to modify that, but its greatly difficult in a built/backgrounded vivarium. Your sizing, if 24 deep, I would do 4 in the front and 4 in the back.
I will leave it with that flood of Info for now, as its already alot. Lets get those thoughts and plans finalized, then once you get that all decided and budgeted, then we can start with the rest.
