Introducing the Slimeline Drainage System

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Very cool... Neat design. How is it coming with these? Were you able to batch some to save on materials yet... I am curious to what what they end up going for.
 
Thank you again everyone. This thread went on the wayside some time back, so I haven't kept up.

I can make these custom to order to any size. I never really got enough interest to pursue anything with them, but I'd be happy to clump a few people together who would like to purchase them and cut down on the costs. I think 4 24"x 24"'s would suffice to cover the cost of the materials to make it worthwhile. It's the only way I can bring the price down on them. Plexiglass is crazy expensive.

My only other concern is shipping. I have a 24" x 24" I can take to UPS for shipping quotes and I'll be happy to sell it to anyone. Price is $65.00, but I imagine shipping will be costly. Let me check and I'll post an accurate quote.

BTW, I'm still using the single and the double I made for myself and I love them. No clogging and their still working great! The second duo I built, I applied a heavy coat of Rain X and the water runs off faster than you can shake a stick at.


Dan
 
Water collection Pan

Very clean and nice design. I worked with acrylics for a while, and found there are wholesale suppliers that will sell you a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of the in-stock 3mm (I think)for about $100.00, and cut it to your specs. The vendors I used charged $65.00 to cut one sheet or 10 sheets, so the more you cut at once, the cheaper the net cost.
I think you could definately sell a pack of these, and if the acrylic peices come precut, working with jigs to hold the pieces for assembly, I would guess you can get your hours way down. Hope this helps.

CHEERS!!!
 
I've been looking for something just like this

I've not yet gotten a setup or the cham but am still researching the whole thing. But I've always been fascinated by chameleons.

One thing that has bothered me in designing an good enclosure system is the drainage issue. With all the talk about misting and cham hydration, it would seem that the enclosure generates a fair amount of water, and a lot of it would end up on the floor. If you cage is in a room with hardwood floors or carpeting, that not so good. From reading many posts I've concluded that most people deal with it by putting down paper towels on a regular basis. This system seems so much better.

But I'm not quite clear on how all the water at the bottom of the cage gets thru to your drainage unit and not elsewhere. Does it depend on a heavy plant in the middle to warp the PVC bottom so all the water drains to the center? Do you drill holes in the center of the floor?

I haven't yet purchase a cage, but plan to get one that is 2x2x4. I'm wondering, does the solid floor of the standard all screen cage normally have holes for drainage, or if not, do you have to drill them yourself for it to work with your system.

When I'm ready to set up,I'd definitely be interested is such a drainage unit. I'd think a lot of other folks would to.
 
I've not yet gotten a setup or the cham but am still researching the whole thing. But I've always been fascinated by chameleons.

One thing that has bothered me in designing an good enclosure system is the drainage issue. With all the talk about misting and cham hydration, it would seem that the enclosure generates a fair amount of water, and a lot of it would end up on the floor. If you cage is in a room with hardwood floors or carpeting, that not so good. From reading many posts I've concluded that most people deal with it by putting down paper towels on a regular basis. This system seems so much better.

But I'm not quite clear on how all the water at the bottom of the cage gets thru to your drainage unit and not elsewhere. Does it depend on a heavy plant in the middle to warp the PVC bottom so all the water drains to the center? Do you drill holes in the center of the floor?

I haven't yet purchase a cage, but plan to get one that is 2x2x4. I'm wondering, does the solid floor of the standard all screen cage normally have holes for drainage, or if not, do you have to drill them yourself for it to work with your system.

When I'm ready to set up,I'd definitely be interested is such a drainage unit. I'd think a lot of other folks would to.

Thank you! Yes indeed, you nailed it. A large plant in the center warps the bottom PVC floor so that all the water runs to the center and then through holes "you would have to drill" and then into the tray below. The PVC flooring is very easy to drill, it's fairly soft.

I started out by loading my cages with tons of potted plants on the bottom. From swords to orchids. This made cleaning a chore, you had to remove them all to get to the point where you could wipe the floor down. So I opted for one large plant in the center surrounded by vines and hanging plants. Keeps the bottom of the cage very easy to get to.

Flip up the bottom door and wipe clean .. presto - quick clean. So this design followed up behind this train of thought and just made everything simpler. If I can assist you with a tray at a later time, just let me know. I'd be happy to help.
 
Slimeline drainage unit

Are you sure you didn't mean "slimline" drainage unit. Hopefully, there's not a lot of slime developing in the unit.

I'm frankly surprised that none of the folks who make these all-screen enclosures haven't come up with a drainage system like yours. It's a natural complement to the enclosure and I'm sure would sell well. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them copies your idea. It's a good one.
 
Thanks .. and yes, it was a total mistype on my part and I've just had to sit back and chuckle about it .. seems there's no way of editing it. Myself and Dave Weldon have talked to a few companies to try and get them mass produced.

Dave spoke to Zoo-Med I believe and was told the mold would be in the thousands, but I'm confident it would pay for itself in the long run.

I've asked a Lexan Shop locally about forming some trays for me.. but again it's a matter of having molds made and the initial costs involved in that. Perhaps sometime soon, someone will crack this nut once and for all.
 
Well my birthday is in April, I will see if my husband will spring for 12 of them is zip is 59501 what would shipping cost?? Have to wait for hubby in a good mood:)
 
Well done. I think its sleek and provides ease of use. I think that if you buy the plexi in bulk from wholesale sources you can drop the price down to make it a nice side business. Right now I just have my cages on risers (few inches off of the floor) so I can slide a metal pan in and out easily to dump.
 
Great idea! I'd love to get one of these, depending on shipping cost.

Too bad you can't use Transparent Aluminum *wink*
 
Pretty sweet! I like how it looks with your setup kinda looks tinted where you can't even tell there is something under the cage.
 
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