Stacked CrossFire Enclosures

Ok, these terrariums aren't for my leos, but I'm going to build them one similar to this hopefully next summer/fall, but I thought I'd share with you what these two look like.

Late this summer my dad and I built a stacked CrossFire Enclosure for my
Bearded Dragons and Cane Toads. The total cost was about $2,300 CDN and
was made out of top quality materials.


Supplies were bought from Home Depot, Home Hardware, and Superior
Coatings (specialty store that sells paints, sealers, etc...)


Tanks are made out of a combination of woods, Birch Plywood, Douglas
Fir, Pine and there was accidentally 2 sheets of Oak Plywood in the
stack of Birch Ply, so the Toady tank has some oak in there too. We
didn't realize that until after the pieces were cut.


The inside of the tanks were sealed with a product called "Enviro
Epoxy". This product can get wet or hot and it won't affect the look or
create fumes. It's almost odorless when first painted onto the tank
too. This product wasn't cheap, but I feel it was well worth the
investment, and I plan on using it again for future projects. I used
the Beige color for the inside of the tanks, it wasn't my first choice,
but I just love how it came out once it was finished. We used 3-4 coats
on all the sides, and this product takes about 24 hours to dry.

Enviro Epoxy

The stain was by MinWax, and it's "Early American" color.

The outside was a fast drying satin finish sealer by Mixwax as well.


I have T4 Bulbs for viewing lights in the tank. They are actually
supposed to be for under kitchen cupboard lights. They are all
daisy-chained together, and it looks really neat.


The heat lamp in my dragons tank is by Exoterra, it holds a 160watt
MVB. My dad is an electrician, and everything is wired to the tank and
everything has it's own switches.

There are also fans on both tanks.


The Dragons Tank is 72" Long x 36" Wide x 48" High = 540 gallons. A
nice upgrade from their previous 75 gallon aquarium. 2 dragons live in
this tank.

This tank comes apart in 3 pieces, top half, bottom half and the front "face" piece of the tank.


The Toady's Tank is 72" Long x 36" Wide x 24" High = 270 gallons.
There is currently 2 cane toads in there, but I have 3 more that will be
added once they are done quarantine and have put on some more weight.


Here are the build pictures:





Empty unstained plywood box.



Toady Tank, unassembled and fist coat of stain



Both tanks, first coat of stain

Front View of Toady Tank




Toady Tank with Lights attached and fan bits




Fan and Switches getting attached




Inside of Dragon Tank.



Puppies Approve the Tank design. These are my moms two Miniature
Schnauzers that she rescued this summer. They are 8 years old. The
puppy inside the tank is named "Adolf" and the puppy on the floor is
called "Trevor". The tanks were brought inside to apply the sealant on
the outside of the tank.

Kitty Approved! This is my cat Sparta, he was inspecting the work that was done on the tanks after we brought them home



We got the glass cut and glued in place at a glass cutter shop called
"Floyd's Glass" in my town. They did an awesome job! I've started
going there for all my glass needs. They do everything there, even
custom stained glass pieces and classes.




This is the tanks! There is still some decorating that needs to be done though


I really had fun doing this build, it was a great father-daughter project. I hope we can do another one next year My parents are great, and I couldn't have done it without their help.

New Cacti for the Dragons!




Some new cacti for their tank. I got 5 new ones at one of the local
garden centers, and spent about $120 on them. Not too bad, since they
are all a really good size!




"Waffles" checking out the new cactus




"Pancake" on top of the biggest cactus. Pancake didn't come down for 3 days!




Pancake says this is the best spot in the house!



Pancake is getting ready for bed!



This is a new YouTube video of our dragons eating Dubia Roaches:

https://youtu.be/vNrHcD0ODbw

The "Reptile Carpet" I bought at a fabric store called "Fabricland". They sell felt that is made out of the same thing that the reptile carpet is at the pet shop, it's just much cheaper, comes in bigger widths and assorted colours.

My toady tank is mostly decorated, I just need some more plants and hides in it. I made my own leaf litter for the bottom of their tank. I collected Oak leaves, Maple Leaves and grape vine leaves. I let them dry, and some I pressed to dry. Then I baked them in the oven at 250F for 20 minutes, just in case there were any nasties on them.

My bearded dragon tank, I also plan on making them a basking platform, some of the DIY fake rock type stuff with the foam and grout.

those are beautiful vivs. Great work on them.

wow!!
sooo amazing
very very impressive

What stunning setups!!! Your dad is very talented and you are so lucky to have him. Really beautiful and expertly crafted. Congrats!!!

Beautiful!! Your beardies look like they're in heaven!

Gorgeous tanks! They look amazing! Holy smokes!!!! And expensive! Geez louise!