MantisGirl13
Well-known member
That's an awesome aquarium!
- MantisGirl13
- MantisGirl13
Ohaple's Vivarium Setups
- Thread starter ohaple
- Start date
Help Support Mantidforum:
Thanks. It will hopefully look even better once the plants grow in. The little bits of green in the front left should eventually be a carpet. And the moss in the "tree" should fill out to look more like a canopy.
Teamonger
Well-known member
I'm a bit late to the party but I am so jealous of your glowforge. Its a dream of mine to get one but it´s likely going to be a few years as a bigger house is far more important (so i can fill it with insects!). There is a FabLab here that has all the fun protoyping tools that you can pay to use but its only open one day a week and is a hassle to get to.
Your terrariums are so well designed, pretty AND functional! I have only managed functional with the few I created using a 3D printer we had at my previous workplace. I have been using and cleaning those few for almost 2 years now however so they have withstood the test of time. The one try I made using a laser cutter was with wood due to price and did not go the best
Since the topic has been brought up I would like to mention my favorite 3D modeling program
https://www.tinkercad.com/
its not the the best tool for sure but its online, simple, and has a reasonable learning curve unlike many 3D programs. I have used it to design furniture, simple greenhouses, mantis cages, and objects to 3D print. If you want to get your feet wet with 3D modeling is a good alternative to googlesketchup.
Your terrariums are so well designed, pretty AND functional! I have only managed functional with the few I created using a 3D printer we had at my previous workplace. I have been using and cleaning those few for almost 2 years now however so they have withstood the test of time. The one try I made using a laser cutter was with wood due to price and did not go the best
Since the topic has been brought up I would like to mention my favorite 3D modeling program
https://www.tinkercad.com/
its not the the best tool for sure but its online, simple, and has a reasonable learning curve unlike many 3D programs. I have used it to design furniture, simple greenhouses, mantis cages, and objects to 3D print. If you want to get your feet wet with 3D modeling is a good alternative to googlesketchup.
hysteresis
Well-known member
Id like to try. I am fluent in Solidworks Professional. I should be able to design anything. 
Last edited by a moderator:
Glowforge is a mixed bag. While I really like using it, it was overhyped and the company is terribly managed. Dan Shapiro, the CEO, is far more interested in success at any price rather than being honest with customers. We ordered September of 2016 when the website said "deliveries beginning December 2016." We didn't receive our unit for nearly two years. He would push the delivery dates by six months each time, claiming unexpected problems. Come to find out, they hadn't even contracted with a manufacturer at the point they had delayed and lied to customers twice. I feel bad for the engineers because they made a really nice project, it was just tainted by the management.I'm a bit late to the party but I am so jealous of your glowforge. Its a dream of mine to get one but it´s likely going to be a few years as a bigger house is far more important (so i can fill it with insects!). There is a FabLab here that has all the fun protoyping tools that you can pay to use but its only open one day a week and is a hassle to get to.
Your terrariums are so well designed, pretty AND functional! I have only managed functional with the few I created using a 3D printer we had at my previous workplace. I have been using and cleaning those few for almost 2 years now however so they have withstood the test of time. The one try I made using a laser cutter was with wood due to price and did not go the best
Since the topic has been brought up I would like to mention my favorite 3D modeling program
https://www.tinkercad.com/
its not the the best tool for sure but its online, simple, and has a reasonable learning curve unlike many 3D programs. I have used it to design furniture, simple greenhouses, mantis cages, and objects to 3D print. If you want to get your feet wet with 3D modeling is a good alternative to googlesketchup.
Now that we have our unit, it is missing many of the software features promised in the original advertising, but does everything we need it to do. It is reasonably fast and quiet for hobby use. You will need to vent it outside, and I would not count on the air filter they are working on ever working as advertised. The software is pretty nice to deal with, but the camera alignment has a lot of issues.
Thanks for the compliments, the CNC and laser cutter make this sort of project rather fun.
Last edited by a moderator:
Teamonger
Well-known member
@ohaple I believe it, I have been watching Glowforge since it first kickstarted and the delays have been unreasonable. I did a bunch of googling on alternatives and the Muse seems to be the top contender in the sameish price range/niche. I believe the biggest pro vs the Glowforge is that it does not require internet access to work which is a rather terrifying requirement of the Glowforge given how chaotic the company is.
https://fslaser.com/muse
https://fslaser.com/muse
When all was said and done, I still think the glowforge (especially at the early order price) is the best value for an all in one solution. The software does a good job and we are able to go from idea to product with almost no prototyping or messed up cuts. The choice chamber I built last week was about 4 hours from conception, design, cutting, and assembling. We like our machine and the build quality and the software. Muse is about 2-3x the price of the Glowforge we got since we got the early pricing. I am sure muse is great too, but have no experience with it.
nice aquarium and mantids set ups, i also own a small aquarium and i really like to create a nice natural looking environment for both aquariums and vivariums.
But for vivariums i struggle to find good plants, where do you buy yours ?
But for vivariums i struggle to find good plants, where do you buy yours ?
I bought all of my aquarium plants at the local fish store. Always be careful of introducing pests though. I buy tissue cultures when I can.
For terrariums I have always bought my plants from josh's frogs since it has had the selection I wanted and I can usually also combine shipping with feeders.
