Building a Rack

[herpmajor]

I am building a rack for my adult ballpythons and I had a few questions. Should I use the 11" heat tape and is one foot of it enough for each tub? The store around where I live do not carry melamine any more so is MDF ok? And what is a good thermostat or rehostat that is not to expensive?

[littleindiangirl]

I personally would NOT use MDF with the humidity balls require, it would disinegrate! I would just get some plywood and sand it down and paint it.

[Argentra]

Yep, get some exterior use, high grade plywood at about 1/2"min to 3/4" thickness. MUCH better, cheaper, lighter... Sand it well and use a few coats of water based polyurethane and a latex base paint and you're good to go.

On my rack, I added plastic sheeting under each shelf as an added moisture barrier. Works excellently so far.

[Mochelem]

I agree some 5/8 plywood either painted or with 4-5 coats of polyurethane. If your using 41 qt tubs then 11 inch heat tape is good. A good thermostat is either the johnson controlls or a ranco. But for a little bit more you can buy a herpstat and its a lot nicer.

[JayBP]

Would one HAVE to use polyurethane?

[dmaricle]

i used mdf on mine and its doing fine so far and i use a johnson controls thermostat and i love it oh and im using 3 inch flex watt on the whole rack and works well now that i got the temps dialed in.

[zoiexpieds]

I built mine out of melamine board with 11" flexwatt and it's been good for well over a year. No cracking, splitting, or wear of any kind.

[Argentra]

Would one HAVE to use polyurethane?

No, you don't HAVE to use it. But at least one coat is recommended even under a moisture resistant paint. To protect the shelves of my rack, which are plywood, I used plastic sheeting on the bottom of each as well as a single coat of poly, then painted the remaining exposed wood with Rust-Oleum latex based paint. So far so good.

And, between MDF and Melamine I would go with melamine. It's sturdier and slightly more resistant to moisture, tho just as heavy.

[RichardA]

You could build a lid on rack and use what ever you want with no paint. (except cedar of course)