# 22 enclosure Unit. Full plans inside!



## Jackson (Oct 26, 2005)

Here is my 22-enclosure unit I am planning on building. I have all designs and costs worked out, just need to confirm with my parents that I can build it to place in my room.

Here is the quick diagram I done on Paint, my paintshop-pro skills are rubbish so I decided to stick to what I know  







Dimensions

The overall size of the unit will be 28” wide x 18” High x 6” deep and will sit on the wall using shelving brackets.

The 4 enclosures on the bottom are 6” wide x 8” High x 6” deep. These will be used for large adult mantids or oothecae hatching and nymph raising.

The middle row consists of 6 enclosures measuring 4” wide x 5” high x 5” deep. These will be suitable for adult mantids of the smaller species such as flower mantids or large mantid species from L3 and up.

The top row has 12 enclosures that are 2” wide x 5” high x 4” deep. These are ideal for hatchling mantids that are at L3 and need to be separated.

Construction

The majority of this enclosure will be made out of wood. Due to the high humidity levels I may need for certain species of mantis I will be using Marine plywood which will also be coated in either varnish or fence paint. By doing this it should make the enclosure 100% resistant to the effects of high humidity such as warping and rotting.

Due to the thin width of the plywood I will be unable to use construction blocks to attach the corners together. Instead I will be using strips of wood down each corner so I can either screw or nail into it.

The front of the tank will have a 1-2” lip form the bottom of the enclosure. This is so that when I open the door, substrate or livefood will not fall out. The door will be made of a sheet of acrylic I will cut into the correct shapes and sizes. The acrylic will then slide up on plastic runners that most vivariums have. Each enclosure will be an inch further back than the last as they go up. This is so when the door slides up, it won’t catch on the row of tanks above.

Ventilation and Heating

Ventilation is my main concern with this tank. Housing so many mantids close together may cause airborne parasites to spread among them. The whole unit will sit 1-2” away from the wall to allow airflow along the back. Half to ¾ of the back wall of each enclosure will consist of fly screen/mesh that will be small enough to keep mantids and crickets in. For tanks containing nymphs I may put a layer of muslin over the fly screen to stop nymphs of fruit flies from getting out. Venus flytraps may also be on guard too  

Heating may not be an option for this unit. Due to all the marine fish tanks and vivariums in my room it rarely falls below 25oC in the winter without the radiator being on! If heating is required I may use heating strips placed along the back of each row…but I am open to suggestions!

I may play around with the idea of lighting all the tanks. This will probably consist of 3 24” T8 florescent bulbs at the back of each row (Not inside the tanks, but against the wall). The light will shine through the fly screen. All of my mantids have always had light on them so I wish to continue this trend.

Cost

This may seem like an extremely expensive project but after shopping around on the web here are the prices I’ve come up with.

Acrylic - £6.10 for 60x60cm (2 or 3 needed)

Plastic runners - £3.12 each @ 120 cm long. 6 will be needed = £18.72

Fly screen – 1.2m wide @ £3.05 per metre

Marine ply – 4’x4’ = £7.28 + VAT

Wood for joists - £5 maximum

Fixings, Varnish ect. - £5 to 10

Total cost: £60-70

If you have any comment/suggestions please let me know.


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## Ian (Oct 26, 2005)

wehey, looks fantastic jackson. Keep us updated with your progress  

Cheers,

Ian


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## Sheldon Johnson (Oct 26, 2005)

Wouldn't it cost less to buy a similar nubmer of stackable tanks? Also if you are going to do this, use netting where possible as its cheaper + good ventilation.


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## Jwonni (Oct 26, 2005)

well i'll read all that later when i get time

But i was thinking of having a small cabinet made perfect for certain tanks but gotta decide how my collection will spread first


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## Jackson (Oct 26, 2005)

> Wouldn't it cost less to buy a similar nubmer of stackable tanks? Also if you are going to do this, use netting where possible as its cheaper + good ventilation.


It would cost less but my parents dont really want me to have 25 multi-coloured geos in my room. And personally i'd rather have a nice looking set up in stained wood.

Sure i could just buy 22 empty cricket boxes but wheres the fun in that  

Oh and yeah im using as much netting as possible along the backs of the tanks. May even add some computer fans to help along the way.


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## Sheldon Johnson (Oct 26, 2005)

you could paint the lids of the "geos"...


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## Jackson (Oct 26, 2005)

:roll: i could...but i'd rather do this. Its more of a project to keep me busy. Dont you like the design?


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## ellroy (Oct 26, 2005)

Looks good, I would just make sure the varnish or stain is not toxic to the mantis,

good luck with it anyway,

Alan


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## Geckospot (Oct 26, 2005)

Be careful. Treated wood has arsenic and many other caustic chemicals in it. You'd be better off with untreated wood coated with marine epoxy varnish. It would also be a heck of a lot cheaper.

www.Geckospot.com


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## Jackson (Oct 26, 2005)

Spoke to another wood merchants explaining the job and they said i should go for "Far-eastern plywood" as its about as durable as marine ply without the price tag.

Will probbably use some wood stain and leave it to dry/ventilate for a week or two


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## Chris Dickie (Oct 26, 2005)

as I said on livefood forum


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## Johnald Chaffinch (Oct 26, 2005)

wow this'll be great, good luck with it!


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## Samzo (Oct 26, 2005)

Nice one looks good, sjow us photos of progress


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## Ian (Oct 26, 2005)

As I said jackson...mass prodcue these, would be one of the better products for whitminster to sell  

Cheers,

Ian


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