Habitat 3.0 DIY build

ispeedonthe405

ispeedonthe405

Established Member
I'm using this shelf unit as a frame. The interior space ends up being 24x60x60.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Salsbury...le-Wire-Shelving-in-Black-9654M-BLK/204304423

Real plants and branches, fake trunks made of PVC pipe, Great Stuff pond/aquarium foam, paint, and luck. I added luck because no one has ever accused me of being an artist.

Features include a 300W inline water heater for the rain, and built in sensors for temp and humidity attached to a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, which also controls the timing and outlet switching for water, lights, etc. This part at least is within my range; the trees may be ugly but the life support computer will rock.

Lights are a 48" double T5 I recently got from LYR. They were out of the quad so I rolled the dice and bought the double. The UVB is an Arcadia 12%. With my SolarMeter I found that I could get single digit penetration to the bottom while keeping the basking altitude at ~45. That's with screen in place. The 6500k is quite bright as well, so it seems the double-bulb unit will work out just fine.

Some pics of the work in progress:

raw1

raw1

raw2

raw2

raw3

raw3

Big fluffy pothos. Pothi?
View media item 42125
misc

misc

 
I was just thinking about doing something exactly like this for a free range. I'll be interested in how it turns out.
 
I think it's finally starting to look like a thing, rather than a bunch of stuff.

Trees step 2

Trees step 2


The 2' tree in front will have a feeder cup in the top rather than a plant. I have another 2' piece and I'm thinking of doing a fallen log planter to fill out the right side.

I used "Great Stuff" spray foam to try to break up all that cylindrical shape. Once it cures, the next step is to go over it all with this stuff:
http://www.smooth-on.com/Epoxy-Putty-Free-F/c1390_1435/index.html
 
Not painted yet but I think we're getting somewhere. This is the 2' tree that will have a feeder cup in the top instead of a plant.

tree

tree

tree

tree


The brown stuff is a semi-rigid epoxy that you work like a putty or dough, then it cures to a nice strong plastic with a little flex to it. Makes the branches nice and grippy. Bonus: the base color is a nice, barky brown.
 
After staring at it for a couple hours there's been a slight change in plan. I'm going to take a foot off the bottom, all around the back and sides, and screen that with a simple frame. For no particular reason, I have some 1" PVC bar stock lying around. I also have some UV-resistant clear sealer that's meant to be safe for pet houses and food containers, to protect the PVC. The bar stock is dark grey; I think it will look cool on the textured black walls and fitted with shiny aluminum screen.
 
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I've been stalled for a bit. In retrospect, using a shelf unit as the frame was a terrible idea. For a free range it would be fine, but as the frame isn't square in any sense it's been madness trying to make an enclosure with it.

Still proceeding however. I hope to have it done enough by the end of the weekend for the occupant to move in.
 
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