Tarantula enclosure + PC case

[EulersK]

I believe that it's time to merge my two hobbies.

Concept:
Create a computer case that doubly serves as a tarantula enclosure. The entire concept must work well as both a tarantula enclosure and a computer case - neither can take precedence. The case would need to have very few, if any, moving parts (i.e. fans). Note that it's not so much the danger of the fans that is the issue, as the components will be kept separate from the tarantula. Rather, the vibration may cause undue stress to the tarantula.

The below video shows the concept, but in a ham-fisted way. I'm not looking to just stick a computer case into a tarantula enclosure. No, the case will house both the spider and the computer components.

Execution:
Quick rundown on the major components of a computer.
CPU: Very small, but will require a very large heat sink to accomodate the fanless build.
GPU: Looks like a brick with a fan on it. The fan will be removed entirely and replaced with a water-cooled system. The GPU will generate about 30C, and not much more. This will be used either as a hide or mounted to the side to provide heat. More on that later.
Power supply: No way around the fan on this one. This is another cube, and will be housed in the attic of the build.
Radiator: Attached to the GPU via a pair of tubes. Will be housed in the attic as well.
Motherboard: Where everything attaches to. This will serve as the back wall.
Hard drive: Where everything is physically stored in the computer. I will be using SSD's, as they have no moving parts... specifically, 5 SSD's. More on that later.

The bottom of the CPU heat sink will serve as part of the ceiling of the enclosure, and the ceiling will be made of acrylic with a hole cut for the heat sink. This will provide a minimal amount of residual heat to the enclosure.

The GPU will be connected to the motherboard by a PCIe cable, allowing me to place the GPU anywhere I please. If this is a casual computer for YouTube, Facebook, email, and Arachnoboards, the GPU will never get above a comfortable 35C. If this is the case, the GPU can be enclosed in a acrylic box and used as a hide for the spider. If the computer will be used for gaming, the GPU will reach temperatures upwards of 55+C during gaming - far too hot for any tarantula. If that is the plan, then the GPU will be mounted to the side of the inner enclosure. Given that I want the GPU to be the hide, I will likely just use this as a casual computer.

The power supply will be housed in the attic. Nothing fancy here.

The radiator will be housed adjacent to the CPU heat sink to aid in dissipating the heat.

The radiator and power supply will be across the enclosure from each other, creating a one-directional airflow across the CPU heat sink. Here's the fun part: holes will be drilled into the ceiling to allow for proper ventilation.

The 5 SSD's will be arranged into a topless cube, wired, and then enclosed in more acrylic. This will be the water dish, and there will be bonus points for having a matching removable inner lining for easier cleaning.

Species considerations:
The species must be a desert dweller due to the heat and utter lack of humidity. We will also want the species to be quite docile and calm due to the nature of the build. Finally, absolutely no urticating hairs. The air of the enclosure will be shared with the air of the CPU, meaning that air will circulate into the room. No urticating hairs, at least none that are significantly harmful. A way around this would be to use high-quality filters on all fans, but I still don't want to risk it.



So, what are your thoughts? Ideas on a species? To those experienced in building computers, any other ideas of how to implement components? I'm posting this here because I want feedback! I'm planning on building this sometime in 2016-2017, so this will be happening fairly soon.

The entire idea will be similar to this:

 

[viper69]

Interesting idea, an issue will be just how much heat transfer will occur from the comp components to the Ts living space. You'll have to test it and spot check the temps at various locations in you rig. You'll need liquid cooled without question as you mentioned. I woudn't circulate urticating setae, ever.

As for your species consideration, as I'm sure you know, what you describe doesn't exist. That is there's no guarantee the "docile" species you get will be docile. Only E sp Red/Yellow is almost a guarantee on disposition, though Radium has a nasty one hah. The only other species I can think of is not docile and but doesn't have urticating setae, another dwarf too.

 

[EulersK]

Right, I'm trying to stay away from dwarf species for the simple fact that this enclosure will almost be large enough for a rosie, let alone a dwarf. Maybe a H. sp. Columbia Large? Or whatever the devil they're called. But then my worry is it squeezing through the gap for the heat sink, as I initially planned on having an A. chalcodes or GBB in it, before I considered the urticating hair.

A way around all of this is to simply do the fishtank idea in which I basically put an enclosed computer into an enclosure, but where's the fun in that?

 

[viper69]

I owned a AF H sp Colubmia Large, they are dwarfs w/out a doubt. Also, mine was very flicky too, and skittish. If you were going to go that route for a T, get the Brazilian Rainbow Dwarf (Oligoxystre diamantinensis).

I forget its new classification, it's a mini GBB w/out the setae!

 

[Sam_Peanuts]

The pump in a watercooling loop is a pretty big source of vibration. If you plan on only doing light gaming at the most, you can get a fanless GPU(I wouldn't use it directly as a hide though).

You'll have to make sure there's no sharp edges where she has access to since it can be dangerous for her and there's no shortage of that inside a computer case, my fingers know this well.

Another concern would be to make sure she can't touch the back of any card or board since she could potentially electrocute herself. That could also happen if she tries to bite some components in the front(which would at the very least be pretty bad for the computer), but I don't know if that's likely or not to happen. They do like to sometimes destroy wood and they've been know to break off acrylic pieces to get out of somewhere so it's not a zero possibility.

Personally, I wouldn't risk having any electronic components she can directly touch, but that's up to you.

The computer probably won't appreciate poop so any kind of arboreal is out of the question because they throw it everywhere. I'm assuming you don't want a fossorial species since you won't see much of them so what's the point of doing all this if you won't see her and NW species are a no-no because of the urticating hair.
I'd probably go with a M. balfouri since it's like a calm OBT in my experience and I see mine fairly often not that she's at least 3".

 

[viper69]

Yes Sam is right. I wouldn't have the T roaming across computer parts either. Was that your intent???

 

[Jaxxfunk]

It's an original idea, I just don't understand why you'd do it. I think there's a reason your probably the first person to do this. There are just too many complicating factors to consider. Heat transfer, vibrations, temperature fluctuations between 'PC on' and 'PC off', rehousing complications, computer maintenance problems...

Bad idea in my humble opinion

 

[matypants]

If this isn't done like the fish tank idea, meaning an enclosure inside a computer case, then the probability of an escape or the death of a T is likely to be very high. That alone would stop me.

 

[assidreemz]

dude... wat????

 

[EulersK]

I believe that some of you are misunderstanding. I of course won't have an exposed motherboard (or any other component). Tarantula aside, the substrate would cause endless problems. No, acrylic is the key word here. Just about everything will be enclosed in it. In practice, this will be similar to the fish tank video in that the fish have no direct access to any components. The main difference here is that the components will be removed from the motherboard (where they are usually attached) and incorporated into the enclosure itself. Any of these components will be encased in acrylic, as I said in the initial instructions. It certainly wouldn't be as crude as putting some substrate and a tarantula inside a computer case as some of you think I would do. Good god, people, give me a little credit here.

Sam, on the other hand, has a very valid point when talking about the block on the GPU causing vibration. I thought of this, and haven't come up with a solid work around. I've tried fanless GPU's in the past, and I have always despised them. They simply generate too much heat for what I'm trying to do - a YouTube video would fry the spider. A way around this would be to mount a large CPU cooler on the GPU, but then I have a massive brick hanging out in the enclosure, which isn't much of an option as the T would then have access to sharp metal edges of the heat sink.

In a recent testing phase, though, I found a major snag. I took a fanless micropc and placed it in an enclosure along with a house spider. That spider was so attracted to the computer that I never once saw it roam the enclosure, despite the fact that it was a wolf spider. Something about the electricity is attracting it, which isn't something I can avoid like the fans. So this project may be dead before it started, unfortunately.

 

[Starantula]

You'd have to have ridiculously efficient cooling. Heat and acrylic don't mix, eventually it distorts and could cause things to fall apart. Personally, I wouldn't risk the life of a T, but as long as you can guarantee its safety I see it as an interesting and original idea. Something is keep a keen eye on.

 

[viper69]

There's a species of ant found in Texas, I believe it's an invasive species, that is attracted to all things electronic, TV, PCs, etc etc.

 

[Belegnole]

Ok,

I know how this can be done, but I don't know if it should be. Temps alone inside the case would stop me. The fluctuation in temp between running and not, would be unhealthy as well. If you made a faux computer using a case and some lights it might be just as nice.

 

[Haksilence]

Any competitive computer rig is going to throw way to much heat to house tarantulas near it much less in it. My desktop which has 12 high volume fans and a 200$ heat sink on the CPU and even independently cooled RAM, under any kind of use maintains temperatures of well about 100 degrees. The average temp and the huge temp change will be too dangerous to a cold blooded creature such as a t