# 4'X4'X2' Mesh/plexi Setup



## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

So this client comes to me at a reptile show and wants me to design for her a setup similar to this:










But in a MESH cage like this:











She wanted it the same size as my house centerpiece 4x4x2, above, but in a mesh cage she got custom made from screencages. So yeaaaaa....

Never backing down from something just plain ridiculous, I decided WTF, why not.










So I built out of foam an independent structure that the mesh cage then dropped over. This thing was covered in grout then sealed multiple times with epoxy. There was a watersection in the bottom that fed into a canister filter running the waterfall going down the back. This was for her Panther Chameleon. It cost her a pretty penny for the setup and the lights, let alone the animal, but she didn't want to spend the extra 100 for a mister system. *sigh*

So go figure her animal makes it for a year and eventually gets dehydrated and croaks. Big surprise. Chameleon - mister system = dead critter. Its basic math. Especially out here in San Antonio where it got the hottest on record this summer and her AC, which dries out the air, was on full blast. BUT never mind all that....

So I get a call, she doesn't want the setup anymore and now I got to come and pick it up. Ok fine. So I do and it looks like this. Minus the screen top. Yea, it looks terrible. Zero preventative maintenance. Uggggg.










So I got this thing sitting in my garage taken up space and so about 2-3 hundred worth of plexi, plants, mosses from Seattle WA, 250watts worth of lighting, I now have this in my garage. Still not sure WHAT the heck I’m going to DO with it, but its here. Because I JUST can't have all the parts to make something and NOT make it! I mean really. Its like an OCD thing. 










































































So now I guess I'm looking to sell it, but in this town/economy, I might as well just plan on keeping for a while if I want to at least see what I put into it.


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## Occidentalis (Jul 11, 2009)

Great looking tank.

Love the PVC canopy, would you mind posting a picture of just it?


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

Great use of an old background! What kind of longer strip lights are those I see on it?


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## Geckoguy (Dec 10, 2008)

That looks great; nice restore.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

great job with it, so its the whole thinkg mesh or just te front? and what is going in there?


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

The pvc mess on top is just something the lights can sit on top of so they don't bow in the mesh/plexi on top. I don't have any pics of just that but basically I just made such that the weight of the lights bears down equally on the four corners.

The 48" strip lights are just Walmart basic t8/t12 light fixture. I'm using two daylight t8's, a t12 actinic, and a t12 5.0 UVB.

The entire thing was mesh, but I took out the mesh on the front, leaving the metal frame to screw the plexi onto to give it some rigidity, so it hopefully won't bend on me.

The top/sides are still mesh, but I put on the inside of the mesh plexi as well. I figure it will be a heck of a lot easier to re-mesh if I need to the front pannels which are smaller, than the side ones. Since I'm still not sure whats going in it or where its going I thought it better to leave the mesh intact.


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