Building Bioactive, DIY vs. Animal Plastics

[BP_Mama]

Hello!

I'm finally in a rental home with a garage and some space to build, so it's time to research and plan! While my herps are all happy where they are at, it is my dream to get everyone in large bioactive vivariums eventually. I have researched pre-built options in depth and if I go that route I will be working with Animal Plastics to get PVC with glass doors built to meet my needs. Not here for other company recommendations at this time.

What I want to discuss is if I could build it better and cheaper. Saving money is a great thing but often a taboo topic in animal keeping so I want to clarify. I do not mean smaller, shorter, colder, weaker, or temporary. I don't even mean dirt cheap. This transition will be tens of thousands and happen very gradually either way.

When reading online, there is a lot to sift through. Most of what I see seems to boil down to: It is not a matter of IF a wooden vivarium will fail, warp, crack, or rot but WHEN. If that is the truth of it, they aren't for me. I am looking to build something that will outlive me if I am going to be building it myself.

The reason I am so confused by this, is that I see people building wooden AQUARIUMS and I am not understanding how humidity can be more destructive than actual gallons of water. I suspect the heat is a factor, but the science is beyond me or a quick Google search so I am here hoping for an expert.

I am unsure of the price difference, so maybe this is all for nothing but hey discussion can be fun too. The following have been my materials theories that might work, and I am hoping someone here can discuss and maybe show something similar they have had running for years now. Ideally 10+ as there is really no debate on wooden vivariums lasting 1-2 years.

1. A wooden vivarium lined with pond seal paint, with fiberglass patches/fabric reinforcing the seams and corners.

This seems to be commonly done for aquariums, but I am unsure how the heating may affect this method.

2. A wooden vivarium lined with thin PVC and silicone at the seams and corners.

A lot of PVC hate I see is for builds using very thin PVC. Most recommend a half inch, which I cannot source for the life of me anywhere near me without paying more than I would for pre-builts of the same thickness. The thinner PVC in theory would still hold humidity just as well with the wood frame outside insulating and doing the work to hold heat in, right? Or am I way off base there?

3. Wooden vivarium sealed with some type of paintable epoxy, possibly with fiberglass mesh to reinforce seams and corners.

I have very limited experience with epoxy, so this is something I have seen people recommend but never actual evidence of it working or failing. I have no experience with the heat tolerance, fume production, or age resistance of epoxy.


For size, species, etc. I am looking for effectively an overkill build that could work for anything with minor modifications (more or less vents, equipment etc.) My goal is a relatively uniform base design that I can scale up or down as needed with the strength to withstand temps from temperate to arid, humidities from 0-100%, soil weights at any size, etc. Something I can scale from a 12"x12"x12" for small plants to a 10'x10'x10' if I so chose (no herps that big yet, but a girl can dream). If it can't do it all for years on end, it just isn't worth the investment of my time, personally. Not knocking it for others, just outlining what I would view as worth doing DIY vs. Paying a professional.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

[Lord Sorril]

What I want to discuss is if I could build it better and cheaper.

That Depends: What is your skill set? What are your tools?

I never tested it...but, I toyed with the idea of using very thin pvc sheets and affixing them inside a waterproofed wooden framework (for structural integrity) and sealing the internal edges and fastener holes with epoxy.
Cumulative weight of stacking these enclosures was my projected issue-so I scrapped the idea.

[Homebody]

I'm a DIY fan. I built my enclosure and I love it. It's fun, but it's not cost effective. Not on a small scale. There is too much trial and error; too much waste. If you're building ten enclosures, though, it may be. By the tenth enclosure, you should be pretty damn efficient.

[Malum Argenteum]

"Most recommend a half inch, which I cannot source for the life of me anywhere near me without paying more than I would for pre-builts of the same thickness."

Bingo. I use AP enclosures (little ones, 4 feet long) and I can't replicate those for the price they charge, and since I don't have CNC equipment mine wouldn't be nearly as well built. Even a decent saw doesn't leave quite as nice an edge as the AP panels (I use a cabinet saw). I would spend days to get a lower quality enclosure for more money and a workshop full of PVC dust. I do build my own PVC racks, mostly because I use non-mainstream tub sizes.

I have not purchased PVC sheet since the before days, but I was paying $110 for a full sheet of 12mm. Looks like 1/2" plywood is about $75 currently; after all the coating needed (waterproof inside, finish outside), I don't see the cost savings. I haven't run numbers, though.

"A wooden vivarium lined with thin PVC and silicone at the seams and corners." Silicone doesn't reliably bond to PVC, and working with that thin sheet can be challenging -- you'd have to use mechanical fasteners to attach it to the wood, and then ideally a solvent weld at the joints. Lining rabbeted joints with Lexel can work for a non-structural seal on 1/2" sheets, but I don't think anything but a butt joint would be possible on ~ 1/8" PVC sheet.

[Starscream]

I'm nearly done building my second enclosure and for the size I want and the lead times for AP enclosures (I don't know if they're better now, only when I was building the first one they were not great), it was vastly cheaper to build my own.

The first one was a 6x2x3 for the ball python, and the second one is a 6x2x4 for my Japanese ratsnake. It's very pricey to source enclosures that size from AP. Now that I have these two, I really like the aesthetic of the stained wood, so all my bigger enclosures will likely be made of wood so they match.

I can definitely see building something smaller not having that great of a sticker price, though.