[DougP]

There has been some talk lately of doing a cylinder build. It sounded like some fun so here we go. I started off with a 3/32" x 24" x 48" sheet of Lexan.

3/32" X 24" X 48" Clear Makrolon Tuffak Lexan Polycarbonate AM

I marked both ends with the same layout points and then drilled a bunch of holes. With Lexan this thick it took a little help to get it rolled up and the bolts in place but you get the idea. I then covered the exposed bolts with pond foam to protect them from water and the future frogs residents from the bolts.

This tank is going to be a horizontal so I fabricated a couple of ends out of 1/2" OSB. The cylinder has a diameter of about 15" so I made the ends 18" square. Its hard to tell from the picture but each end is 2 pcs. I routed out one pc so that it just fit over the end of the cylinder. Once the ends were made they got 2 coats of Drylock.

This one shows on end glued on with the screens in place. The holes will be used for an internal air circulation system that I will outline later. The big square hole will be the door, so you will access the tank from the end.

One of the things that drew me to doing the build this way is the fact that I should be able to stack the tanks. You heard me a frog room with no bakers racks.

If the gorilla glue will hurry up and dry I might get a little more done tonight. I know I won't get anything done next week. My son has a soccer game every night but Wednesday.

Feedback is welcomed.
Doug

 

[mokeys0]

can't wait to see where this thing goes.

 

[Azurel]

Great idea.....Can't wait to see this advance.

 

[DougP]

I made some progress last night after the computer was turned off. I will try and grab a picture or two and get them posted later today.
Doug

 

[slipperheads]

Pretty good idea, I like the idea of the door on the side. I would have cut a square of lexan at the top and installed hinge and knob on it to make my door.

 

[Azurel]

Pretty good idea, I like the idea of the door on the side. I would have cut a square of lexan at the top and installed hinge and knob on it to make my door.

That was my first thought.....The door on the side will keep the tube itself clean looking....Might have to try this out myself this summer.

 

[DougP]

Pretty good idea, I like the idea of the door on the side. I would have cut a square of lexan at the top and installed hinge and knob on it to make my door.

That was my first thought.....The door on the side will keep the tube itself clean looking....Might have to try this out myself this summer.

I didn't want to put anything in the viewing area at all. That's why I went for the door on the end. Also the tube is very strong and cutting a hole big enough to be called a door would weaken it significantly.

One of the goals with this test build is to see if I can make a cool Viv that is stack-able. Three stacked on top of each other will be just under six foot tall. Lighting will be an issue but not a big one.

Given the dimensions it has more floor space than a 20 gallon tank. 24x12 for a 20 gallon and 24x15 for the cylinder.
Doug

 

[Scott Richardson]

There is a place in england that sells cast acrylic tubes 30" in diameter

I found it when the topic of cylinders came up some time back.

 

[Scott Richardson]

You have a roughly 14" diameter?

 

[DougP]

You have a roughly 14" diameter?

It's right at 15".


Here are a couple of updated pics.

I think everything is good so far. I will start adding substrate and structure this weekend. I hope to have it frog ready in about 2 weeks. I could do it faster but there really isn't a need so...


And no that is not a bad paint job with the black. I used a metallic spray paint and the metallic particles soaked in a different way that the black. In person the lighter areas are a gold color.

Doug