# 48x18x48 custom build DIY



## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Hi,

After so much time without making any custom vivariums, I finally decided to make one. 

I ordered the glass on monday and I will be receiving it on friday. I can't wait to start building it. I have many ideas on my lighting, ventilation, misting but I still have to work on it so I get the perfect setup.

I will be posting pictures of the build on the whole process, from siliconing the glass to a full planted vivarium. It will be a 4 foot long, 1.5 wide and 4 feet tall vivarium. It will house my cobalts, rodyll's and fantastica caynarachi. Many people don't mix species but I do and have had success breeding them.

I have seen beautiful builds on this forum that will inspire me for sure. 

Rani


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## nschmitz06 (Feb 20, 2011)

I am excited to see this. I will eventually build my own massive "Utopia" tank from scratch and to see more ways on how to do it gets my brain thumping.


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

nschmitz06,

Many people here have great designs. HX's technique for rock walls and naturalistic logs are really stunning.

Raf too has made a superb big setup with many lianas.

I received the glass today. I will be starting the construction tomorrow and I will upload pictures every step of the way.

You should start your project, we'll get inspiration from one another. I have built many custom backgrounds for my collection and everytime you make one, you step up your level!


Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

*Glass parts*

Nothing great to see.

This is just the glass that I ordered.

I took it 6mm thick because 4mm glass was too wobbly at this size. Can<t wait to put it together tomorrow.

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Here are the pictures of a couple of stuff I picked up from Home Depot. 

What do you think of the cement and acrylic i bough. Maybe HX could tell me if they are ok tu use since I am trying out his technique.

The rest, like GS and silicone are of normal use for covering backgrounds.

I will keep you posted

Rani

PS: the frog isn't for glueing, just for fun baby pic!!


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

*Prepping and siliconing*

Here is the "putting the glass together" part


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## Hoodsquirrel (Jul 28, 2011)

Wow that's gonna be a huge tank! :O


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## HX (Jun 4, 2007)

A nice project you've got there. Good luck and looking forward to your progress!



dendrorani said:


> Maybe HX could tell me if they are ok tu use since I am trying out his technique.


Can't say I can be of much assistance, here. I haven't used any of the stuff you're using.

But in general, I would feel safe to use pretty much all of it.
When shaping the insulation materials you have, don't burn them.
Quikrete cement is just portland with a catalyst and sand. Catalysts are usually safe after curing.
The acryl polymers or "resins", as they have named them, seem to be ok. They almost always are.
Colors might be the only concern, here. But the manufacturer seems to be confident to relate the colors to "fish pond projects", so I guess they have studied the contents.


Again, good luck with your project.


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## GRIMM (Jan 18, 2010)

Im liking all of the recent large builds that have started. Gonna be sweet!


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

*Re: Prepping and siliconing*

I'm in for the ride! 

*Subscribed*


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks everybody,

I am so busy with work that I haven't started the nex step.

Next up is: 
-the false bottom
-ventilation system
-custom background

For ventilation I have a lot of ideas but I don't know which to use.
GRIMM, I really like your vent system. How is it going ? Do you like it? pro's and con's.
Anybody could give me an idea since I can pretty much do anything I want in this custom setup.

For the vent bars, I will be going to a big plexi shop. 

Now here is my idea. I will be putting a vent on top of the bottom front panel that you see in the pictures(It will be under the sliding doors). It will be 2 inches high and 48 inches long. I will carve out slots in the plexi and cover them with fine mesh. My sliding doors will then sit on the vent.

For the top of the vivarium, I will be using the same size vent but this time placed horizontally(obviously).

This will enable me to have a good flow of air on the front glass.

Any input on this? please share

I will keep you posted.

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

*waterfall section styrofoam*

Here are the rocks that will be used for the waterfall section.

A big root system will start from the top of the viv to the bottom. The roots will go everywhere on the waterfall just like HX s technique.

Here are the pics before cement.

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

*ugliest simulation but you get the idea*

here is the idea


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Can you use IMG pic code so the pics will display large?
Upload them to a pic share site and copy the link url and do this
[*IMG] link url here [/IM*G]
Just remove the *
Or just copy and paste the IMG code
It is such a pain to sit here and click each attachment lol
I'd appreciate it....I think many of us would 
/subscribed


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## Venomos (Jun 26, 2009)

Cant wait to see more!!
Looks great!!!!

Subscribed!


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Sorry didn't know you couldn't see the thumbnail pics since I can see them.

Maybe it's your ie version?

I will try to do it here.

Here are the pics of the fake rocks used for the waterfall with two layers of cement. There is also a picture of the styrofoam used for the butress tree.

Enjoy,

Rani


image upload


post image wordpress


png upload


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## BethInAK (Jul 12, 2011)

the rocks ROCK.

I'm about to start on some rocks and I'm going for natural JUST LIKE THOSE. Of course I'm talentless and overly ambitious, so mine won't look anything like those.


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

The rocks look great! Much better than any of my attempts at carving foam.

Do you have a means by which to test the pH of the water that will be soaking your rocks? 

I've very interested in seeing how long it will take for the pH to become stabilized since you are using a portland cement product as the layup material. I'm very close to perfecting a cement product that will cure to neutral in <7 days of soaking. Any data from other people using portland cement products in this hobby would be a great help to use for comparison purposes.


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

hey guys, thanks for the compliments

For the ph to become neutral it will probably take 2-3 weeks soaking.
It is the first time though that i use portland cement so I am not 100% sure. Still, the ph monitor from my reef might just be usefull.

I am really liking the look of it but i just need one or two more layers with a black coloring to it.

I started carving the tree. Man oh man I hope it's going to look good because I feel I havent gotten enough depth to play with. I will post pictures tomorrow.

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

BethInAK said:


> the rocks ROCK.
> 
> I'm about to start on some rocks and I'm going for natural JUST LIKE THOSE. Of course I'm talentless and overly ambitious, so mine won't look anything like those.


Don't be scared to make some nice deep grooves. Do it one step at a time. First glue as many odd shaped styrofoam blocks one on top of the other. Then use a pointy head tool such as a steak knife and don't be scared to eat out the styro!

Good luck

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

*Here is the tree making*

I find it turned out ok. I am not totally satisfied with the look but still it looks good. It took a lot of time for thinking how to carve out the styro.

Finally came out with this.


image host

Then I put some GS on it

post image wordpress
Then I carved the foam and did the first coating of cement with a brown colorant and a dap of black color to make a dark browm

wordpress image hosting

What do you think?


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## Hennessy (Feb 4, 2011)

Awesome work! Seems like things are coming together nicely. Any updates? And photos!


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Hey henessey,

I haven't posted for a while. I am still waiting for cement to harden under water.
I am still looking for ropes and tubes to use for the background. I will post pictures soon with my updates.

Not many people were replying so I didn't find it necessary to write every second I did something.

Hope you guys are anxious to see the result. It's about sharing in the end...

Rani


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

dendrorani said:


> Sorry didn't know you couldn't see the thumbnail pics since I can see them.
> 
> Maybe it's your ie version?
> 
> ...


Meh I don't use IE....can't stand it.
If I was using a comp I would use nothing but Chrome by Google
I use the stock browser on my Android phone 
Using IMG codes just makes the pics big and bold so we can see details and not have to click the thumbnails to see the image larger.

Looking good so far.
How do you plan on reducing the pH of all the concrete?
The pH levels are gonna be high and you're gonna need to do a vinegar soak or spray to neutralize the pH.


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## Hennessy (Feb 4, 2011)

First let me say what i forgot to in the previous post....good work on the buttresses for the tree! I have found that is one of the hardest parts to make look natural when doing custom work. So after the tree and rocks are neutral and ready, What do you plan on doing for the rest of the background? And as far as the ventilation, in addition to the vent design you had, I would put in a few fans to get some air flow going through the tank. I get mine from local computer parts stores. But I've heard that radioshack usually has good clearance stuff. Also what size are you planning to make the vent holes and what type of mesh will you use? I would recommend using a non-metal bug mesh. I had a problem with fruit flies escaping into the living room when i used regular screening. Needless to say my better half wasnt to happy with me on that one. haha Sorry for the long post but I'm feeling frisky today. haha


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

I do TONS of reading since I'm trying to learn how to make a viv myself. I don't normally post on peoples build threads because I feel that it makes the threads harder to read through... I forgot that sometimes it's nice for the poster to get that positive feedback!

I've really been enjoying your post, and I'm jealous of your buttress/tree making skills. It looks awesome, especially the holes in it. I know those are probably going to be filled but it reminds me of the "fern gully" tree. Don't rush anything for our sakes but please post whenever you have updates!


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Thank you all for the compliments.

Neutralizing the PH is not a problem. I have been soaking and changing water daily. I will test it with a saltwater PH machine.
Yes indeed the holes of the tree will be filled with plants. I am not totally satisfied though with the buttress but we will see how it turns out.

I am gathering stuff to make the background with silicone and substrate technique. On the left side there will be the waterfall with roots coming down on it from the background. On the right side there will be the butress tree. For the rest of the background it will be fake roots and branch system.

My false bottom is cut and awaiting being wrapped by geotextile. 

I wanted to do a little river/lake but I find it will take too much space for my ground specie ie Cobalts.

I will keep you posted guys.

Oh, I forgot about the ventilation system. The mesh will be a special one with holes smaller than regular screening. I will add computer fans on top and turn then on rarely during the day. The misting system will probably be a mistking system. And finally the lighting will be amazing. It will be composed with 5x HO T5's with two 15W LED directional system for the height isssue with plants....

Rani


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Any updates?


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## mickipedic (May 20, 2010)

Awesome work so far! Subscribing.

Wish I had that much space to work with.


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## dendrothusiast (Sep 16, 2010)

how's this project coming along?


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## MzFroggie (Mar 22, 2008)

Bump. Update please!

Sent from my PC36100 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Well, well, well. I am so happy to be back on the forum. 
I have been busy over the top of my head AND we had a big drain problem at home....so construction work had to be done and as you may have guessed, everything got postponed. 
Lost a few frogs here and there, frogs stopped reproducing etc. as I had little to no access to my frog room for 2 month.
Let me tell you, I had to do a whole lot of efforts to bring my collection back to a stable state.
So, yesterday, with a bit of motivation from my friend, I managed to work a bit on this project.

A lot of things have changed.... no more big tree on the right side. 
I decided to go with something a bit different, a bit more jungleish!
So, made a few lianas, a few changes and voila, got my final background done.

I will now be working on the water return line, waterfall tubing, ventilation and lighting...

For now I took a quick picture of the setup. Pepsi can for size reference!

Hope you like it.

Oh almost forgot about something!!! My front rail and ventilation is in the making. It will be really well done and that is because, thankfully I have a great brother who will be machining the plexi railing!!!

I will be writing about the progress... Hopefully you will still be interested in sharing things about this project. Sorry for letting you guys down, 
I long Dendroboard... Everybody on this forum made me better in the hobby!

Regards,

Rani


hosting images


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## raymondsmindjob (Feb 4, 2011)

Background is looking pretty sweet. What materals did you use to make it, and how long did it take to do a project of that size?


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

The background was made using GS foam and peat moss. The lianas were made out of automatic garden watering system tubing. And all the little roots/tiny lianas are made from garden elastic wire used to tie plants...

If you skip the part were no work has been done on the tank, it took me to get to this step approx...

I will break it down in steps...
1 Day for putting the glass together
1 Day for siliconing the glass for better foam adherence
1 Day for glueing the fake rocks to background
1 Day for shooting the foam
3 Days for coating with peat moss (1 big + touchups)
+ drilling glass, testing water, bathing fake rocks for PH...

I would say it takes about 2-3 weeks to get to this step.
I still have many things to work on so this should add another 2 weeks.

And a project like this costs a lot...
For glass, silicone tubes, foam, peat, lianas, false bottom about 600$
Mistking system cost me 100$, lighting system from LYR about 300$ minimum (still chatting with Todd for optimal output). 
Plants needed are no less than 300$ to set it up plenty not empty.
And this is without frogs....
But since all the frogs will be coming from my own breeding colonies.... 0$

In final I would say a project like this size will take 1-1.5 month and cost 1300$ + ?$ for frogs...

In hopes it gives a good idea on how much time and money it takes...

Still....truly worth it....

Rani


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## Vivexx (Nov 28, 2007)

I like the Pepsi can, gives it more contrast lol... looks awesome man keep up the good work


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

Are the small vines fake or real? If they are fake, great job, did you use peat and rope?


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

The small vines are made with a sort of wire used for holding plants. It is very easy to work with and has the perfect size for small realistic vines.
I will post a picture of what it is.

Rani


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

Thanks Rani, I have made several attempts to make vines with rope of various sizes, silicone and eco earth, not happy with any of them.


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## Profe (Jun 24, 2012)

dendrorani said:


> My front rail and ventilation is in the making. It will be really well done and that is because, thankfully I have a great brother who will be machining the plexi railing!!!


Care to elaborate on the design? As you may have seen, I'm working on my own custom railing: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/84261-custom-aluminum-slidding-door-track.html

I though about making it out of black plexi, but I wanted to be able to use silicone to adhere it to the glass and plexi doesn't bond well to silicone. As the post indicates, I was going to make it out of aluminum, but anodizing was going to be expensive and also I found out bleach will destroy anodized finishes. So now, I'm going with machine grade ABS. That's what most aquarium frames are made of, so I know it'll bond well with silicone.


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## cobraden (Mar 6, 2007)

This is turning out great! I am keeping my eye on this build.


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Here is what I used for the small vines. You can get them in many different sizes. The big ones are made out of automatic lawn misting system tubing.


upload pictures

free image hosting

Not to do the same mistake, I would coat the tiny vines first and then rap them around like I wanted to. It helps to avoid trying to find all the missing spots inside the tank.

For my railing, my brother has drawn me what it is going to look like on his 3D software. I will ask him to save me a picture of it so I can clearly show you how it will be done.

I was hoping to finish the project sooner but I was doing many things in between...

Like this...
A new tank with a waterfall system.


upload picture

I will keep you guys updated...


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## Giga (Mar 31, 2011)

great project!


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## ivers (Sep 9, 2011)

Beau projet, tu vien de quelle region de MTL?


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Je viens de Laval. ton nom?


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Hi people,

I was at the stage of trying out the waterfall system. Unfortunately, water splashes everywhere and it is not working well. I am so dissapointed. BUT, to go on with the project, I ripped the waterfall and rearranged it properly believing this time will be the good one. And I did, changed the rock places and positions. Yesterday I carved out 3 new rocks that will complete the "new" waterfall.

Here is what I tried but it didn't "flow" nicely.

This is the underside which shows one line going up for waterfall and one for bringing water back to my bucket. The second pic is inside the viv.

img upload

photo hosting

This is the waterfall ripped...

upload images

This is the new look of the rock construction

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I was coating the new rock now... so in a few days i will show the new waterfall setup when I integrate it in my background.

Rani


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## tnwalkers (Jul 15, 2012)

looking good Rani! what ya gonna keep in there?


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Still don't know all the species that i will be putting but... I will go with a tinct maybe cobalts or alanis. And for the upper part of the viv I will be putting either vent blackwater or variabilis southerns...

I have had no problem mixing those species in the past...

I will keep you updated...


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Ok, so I have finished setting up the waterfall system, the draining system, put some plants and pu a temporary light fixture.

The picture is not so great but it is just a little picture to show you the progress...

Let me know what you think.

temp img uploader


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

The current frog list that could go in there is

Epipedobates tricolor
Tinctorius Alanis or Cobalt
Imitator Tarapoto
R. Blackwater or R.Variabilis
Glass frogs(when my friend will have bred them)

Little fishies for pond area

I will keep you updated...

As for the lighting system, I am currently working on it. I will be building my own Cree Led system with a 6 imput 0-10V that my brother did.

Still lots of plants missing...it s normal i havent started the system so I will be misting by hand for now... 

Still have to work on the Mistking system and piping.

Just to make sure the silicone has cured properly, I will still wait another week before filling the tank with water and starting the waterfall.

I will keep you posted.

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

a bit more plants...




upload photo


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## thercman (Feb 18, 2010)

Looks great!


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks,

Finally I went with 4t% HO setup. Put two 6400k tubes and two 2700K tubes.
I am waiting for my glass drill bit so i can install my mistking system.

I am continually adding moss spots to the waterfall. In a month or so it should be pretty well developped.

Rani


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Hehe looks like im the only one interested in my post! haha

In any case, just want to let you know that more plants will be filling the upper part of the viv...

Rani


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

dendrorani said:


> Hehe looks like im the only one interested in my post! haha
> 
> In any case, just want to let you know that more plants will be filling the upper part of the viv...
> 
> Rani


Not true... there are people who look but don't comment. That doesn't mean we're not interested.


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

As promised here is the update....

I have machined the railing system. I still have to do the ventilation within the plexi. I should be done with that in a few days.

The holes for the mistking system have been made so I will be working on the piping now.

The next most important aspect of the project will be cooling down a bit the whole system. 4x T5 HO are very heat productive. So my strategy will consist in placing fans on the side of my lighting fixture. I will also be putting fans for inside tank ventilation...

Any questions feel free to post and any comments that would help me or other hobbysts are more than welcome.

Rani


picture hosting


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Here is you notice the plexi is wavy. It is not due to bad machining by the cnc. What happened is that I tried to make a clear finish on the front side of the plexi with a torch. And because I did after the machining process, the plexi was too thin and wobbled. I immediately stopped using the torch but was left with a little wave. You barely see it in person and don t forget that when the doors are in place you won t see it


free image hosting


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Your tank looks fantastic!


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## dendrorani (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks for the comment!

Unfortunately something I was aware of happened. When the top glass wasn t drilled for the misting heads and without having put any fans to cool down the glass, the top glass was very hot almost untouchable but nothing happened.

Then, I drilled two wholes for the misting nozzles about an inch from the end of the glass. For now everything seems fine.

Then, before I installed both fans to cool down the glass and light fixture, I decided (bad decision) to turn on the lights just to "see" how everything looked. When I went to work on the fans, I came back to a "nice BIG shattered glass"...

The problem is, when you drill glass, you create an entry point for tension in the glass to dissipate under a huge temperature diffirence. And matter of fact it did start from the drilled whole all the way following the hot region of the glass.

I will post pictures of it soon...

Problem is: Do I replace the top glass or not. I think it would be better and nicer. Or I dont because the day that the fans stop working for any reason whatsoever, the new glass will shatter again...

PS: Tested the misting system. Everything seems fine except I am loosing too much pressure with a 6 feet high tubing! The mist is not as powerfull as it should be. I will probably set the tank and the misting pump higher and see the difference...

I will keep you posted.

Rani


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