My New Boaphile Setup - With Review

[dakski]

I recently set up my 5 tank "apartment" complex for my reptiles. I got the setup from Jeff Ronne at Boaphile Plastics.

I could not be happier!

First, the tanks are all of great build quality and they came with everything working spot on, save for a fluorescent fixture that was presumably damaged during shipping or shorted out. Either way, a minor issue and Jeff already has a new light fixture in the mail after calling him today about it.

Secondly, they maintain temps and humidity phenomenally!

I would recommend his tanks to anyone! Best setup I have ever had.

I wanted to address two issues that I have read on this, and other forums, about Boaphile Plastics and Jeff, and then I will give a detailed description of the setup.

I have read that Jeff is unresponsive to emails and that it takes a while to get the tanks.

Boaphileplastics.com requests that people call instead of emailing. I probably called Jeff 25X between designing, ordering, and setting up the tanks. The few times he did not pick up, he called back in short order. He never complained about my 100's of questions and answered everything completely and politely.

He told me it would be 5-6 weeks or so to get the tanks; they are custom made to order. It took about 6 weeks, but he called me to tell me he was running the tanks (heat panels, flex watt heat strips, etc) in his shop to get the chemical smell out. Usually you have to do that because of the sealant on the radiant heat panels especially. I had told Jeff the setup was going in a poorly vented basement and I had a kidney transplant and was sensitive to some things. He decided to run them instead of me having to do it when the tanks came. When they came, they were ready to rock and roll.

Bottom line regarding Jeff and Boaphile plastics is that I had zero issues with him/them. He communicated when I asked, sent receipts for payment and tracking for shipping etc.

On to the setup:

The footprint of all 5 tanks is 6 feet X 2 feet. The top tank, for my Blue Tongue Skink, Frank, is 17.5 inches high (to accommodate basking and UVB lighting). All the others are 11.5 inches high.

The tanks stack and rest on a 11.5 inch high pedestal (two 3X2 pedestals actually). The total height is 6'3", or there about.

All tanks have radiant heat panels and 2X flex watt heat (on the bottom) on the left side and 1.5X flex watt heat on the right side.

I am having no issue maintaining proper temps and humidity.

I asked for 2 sides to have vents for Frank the BTS cage and for my leopard geckos (3 females) which I am keeping open so it stays pretty dry in there. I asked for 1 side to have vents for my corn snake (Figment), my BCI (Behira), and my BP (Shayna). However, being winter, I am keeping those vents closed for now.

I am running 4 redundant/dual thermostats provided by Boaphile.

The top four tanks, BTS, BP, BCI, and Geckos, all have one thermostat maintaining about 80 degrees on the right side via the 1.5X UT heating elements.

The geckos, the BP, and BCI (middle 3 tanks) use one thermostat to maintain about 90 degrees on the left side via 2X UT heating elements and RHP. The temps in the middle of these tanks (where there is no heating element) is about 79-81.

Frank has a fluorescent UVB and basking bulb on the left side and one UVB on the right side. His temps are about 95 average on the left side.

Finally, Figment, the Hypo-Lavender corn, has one thermostat on the left side of his enclosure that powers all 3 heating elements in his tank. It maintains about 86 on the left side and about 78 on the right side with an temp in the middle of about 76.

Cost:

First, the cost was 100% worth it. It wasn't cheap, but after everything was said it done, it cost the same as my 3 molded tanks (one 5X2' and two 4X2') after I installed RHP, UTH's, thermostats, etc. shipped.

Here, Boaphile did everything for me, and neatly and efficiently I might add. The integration of lighting and heating is awesome. As I have said, the tanks maintain temps, in a finished basement with average winter temps of 69 degrees, perfectly. I also love having the redundant thermostats. Gives me a lot of comfort.

I imagine this post will be around for a while and do not want to give exact costs. Boaphile's costs may change, or, more importantly, your setup will differ. If you really want to know, you can either price things out on his page, or PM me.

Bottom Line/Rating:

5/5 stars.



Pictures (please excuse the wire mess - I will be addressing it ASAP).

[Sauzo]

Looks nice. My biggest complaint with Boaphiles and why i went with AP over them is for the bang for the back, AP wins hands down. The only downside i see to AP is you have to seal them but for the price, it's a small thing to have to do. And i have heard they do leak after a few years. I am beginning to doubt it as i tried to reseal my older AP cages and trying to get the Lexel to break seal was like trying to tear down a concrete wall with your hands. That stuff is epic lol. You almost have to use Goof Off or mineral spirits to remove it haha.

I do like that you can bolt other cages to them to make bigger cages which almost had me sold. But after i priced an equivalent size and height Boaphile with shelf, black coated locks (as i heard the uncoated ones rust) and lighting, it was almost double the cost. Plus after having Constrictor NW cages, i have learned acrylic doors are a bad idea as they fog, warp and scratch over time from use and humidity and heat. I also love how AP routes channels into the bottom of the cage to fit t-stat probes. Makes stacking them easy.

But hey, everyone has their favorites. Like i said, the stack looks nice. Also keep us updated on how they are after about a year. i was told by multiple people that Jeff uses a more porous PVC which soaks up snake piss and stains the floor and smells after a year or so. i would be curious if he has changed the PVC at all as this was a few years ago when i was shopping between AP, Boaphile and Constrictor NW.

Haha and thats A LOT of spaghetti to deal with.

[dakski]

I am not a good DIY guy, so re-sealing tanks does not sound fun to me! I would probably end up with some escapees. Also, worth the cost to me to have everything all inclusive and included. And to have someone to call if I have a problem, etc.

I will definitely update over time.

Regarding the material for the tanks. I know Jeff switched to something different a couple of years ago. It's more lightweight. The two tanks (each are 3X2') that bolt together to make the 6X2' I could lift with one hand. I think each 6' setup weighs less than 40 pounds.

Also, since my tanks are two 3X2's put together, maybe the doors won't warp as much? They seem pretty thick. Also, if that happens, they bolt off pretty easy and I could replace.

Either way, here's hoping for no warped doors and sweet smelling reptile tanks!

[vikingr]

Very nice dakski!

I also support Boaphile and was more than pleased with my recent PVC cage, took 8-weeks. I didn't find Jeff the easiest to converse with but I'm not either... He did pick up the phone almost every time I called and he answered all my questions. Most importantly, his product is awesome, very light and well constructed cages, no assembly required.

My reason for Boaphile over AP was the EZ access drop down acrylic door and venting, that's just my preference for handling, feeding, and maintenance. Yeah they'll scratch easier than glass but they are super thick and strong, absolutely no worries about warping - and they will not haze over time if you use microfiber cloths instead of paper towels for cleaning, & decent plastic cleaner, etc.). My only peeves: I hate that the Black hinges are an upgrade, they really should be standard; and the fluorescent light blows, I tossed mine and upgraded to an LED strip.

I also read a review from way back on cleaning and the porosity of their PVC but don't agree, the PVC is smooth and slick like glass and cleaning waste comes right off, no odor to speak of albeit I've only had the cage 5-months.

[dakski]

One more picture for scale.

[Godzilla78]

Excellent!

[dakski]

I've had the Boaphle tank setup for over 9 months now.

I wanted to update and explain some changes.

The tanks, heating elements, thermostats, etc. are holding up great and working as they should.

-Temp and humidity hold great.

-NO bowing in doors or sagging at all. I have 5 6X2' tanks stacked and have one, soon to be two, tanks split into two, for a total of 7 tanks.

-I use printless newspaper as substrate and clean if there is waste quickly with F10SC and I also use healthy habitat after wiping up the F10SC and it keeps the tanks smelling fresh. Healthy Habitat Link: http://www.reptilebasics.com/healthy-habitat-gallon. I've heard people complain that the tanks can smell, but I don't see, or rather, smell that at all. I have health issues and a very good sense of smell. Bad smells = nausea. Not sure if it's the new type of plastic Jeff is using, or those people do not keep their tanks clean. Either way, it's non-issue for me.

-I've spilled water bowls, had urine/waste against the creases, etc. and there is zero leakage.

-All thermostats continue to work as they should.

-The tanks hold humidity so well, that when it gets humid in the reptile room, like it did this summer, I actually opened the side vents for Shayna (BP) to drop humidity because it was too humid in there (over 70%). Even when it's 20% in that room in the winter, the tanks maintain over 50% easy and I only spray Behira's tank (BCI) 1X every two days or so with warm water to keep her humidity well in the 60's.

Since I bought the tanks, one of three female Leopard Geckos, Cleo, became aggressive towards the other two (they've only lived together for almost 5 years and since they were babies). I called Jeff and he sent, no charge, dividers for that tank, and I bought another RHP with mount from him. The 6X2' is now two 3X2's with Carra and Kayla on the left side and Cleo on the other side with the new RHP. It was the cool side and had heat tape already. The tanks are large and in the winter in the 6X2's I set the heat tape on the cool side to 78F. I never runs in the summer and rarely in the winter, but good thing I planned ahead.

Once Solana (baby corn snake) is big enough, I will split Figment's 6X2' (huge for a corn) into two 3X2's. I already have the dividers and RHP and mount (courtesy of Jeff) and will do the same thing as I did for the Geckos' with Figment on one side and Solana on the other.

In summary, my 5 tanks are now becoming 7 tanks, and I couldn't be happier. The tanks grew with me as my collection grew and changes had to be made. Jeff has been helpful every step of the way and I am incredibly happy with my purchase.

If anything changes, I will post, but if not, assume things continue to go very well.

[Dxw425]

Awesome set up! Boaphiles are great! I have 321D i got secondhand practically brand new as well as a 421D i ordered from Jeff himself. The only downsides i have seen so far is in the second hand cage, the plexiglass has warped. It was perfectly straight when i got it, and the guy said he'd had it for a year and a half and had only used it for a year. Its not very bad though, you only notice it if you from a side view. The other thing is the boaphiles stain. My retic has made his boaphile look well used and its pretty new. Lastly they're high quality and have the price tag to go with it.

I got an APT8 to try most recently, and i think ill be making the switch. on a scale of 1-10 id give Boaphile 9.5 and AP 9.9

[dakski]

As you can see from the pictures above, I had wires everywhere, and running across the floor as well! It was bonkers.

My buddy who's in IT came over tonight and we did some cable management. We ran the thermostat power cables through the ceiling and organized the thermostats so they are no longer all tangled and they are mounted to the wall.

See below for what it looks like now. Huge improvement.

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[dakski]

Well, if this isn't enough of an endorsement, I don't know what is.

I have 3 more Boaphiles on order and they will be a second tower with a 1.5' stand at the base and be "kitty cornered" in the reptile area opposite the current 5/7 tank tower.

1 - 4X2X1.5' Arboreal ((with 2 PVC pipes (2 1/2" diameter) running across the tank at different heights and depths)) for Yafe the carpet python.

1 - 4X2X1' for Feliz the Venezuelan True Red Tail/"Dwarf" BCC

1 - 4X2X1' for Figment the Adult Corn Snake who will move out of the 5 tank tower and his 3X2X1' so Carra (Leopard Gecko) can move into it. Currently Carra and Kayla (both female Leopard Geckos) are living together, but I have the space and I am making this additional tower anyway. They do "okay" together, but I get the distinct impression they will thrive on their own, just like Cleo (leopard gecko) is and they are after removing her as well.

As usual, it was a pleasure working with Jeff. He does not make a 4X2X1.5' arboreal (3X2X1.5, I believe, is his biggest size), but happily "custom" made one for me for a very nominal fee.

I called him, we went over specks, he emailed me a PayPal invoice with the itemized list of discussed features, I sent him payment, and he got to work. Couldn't have been easier.

Additionally, I ordered one tank, and then, a month later, the other two. Jeff, without asking, gave me a discount as if I had ordered all at once. Not necessary, but much appreciated.