Acrylic enclosure doors bowing???

[CoSpiderGuy]

I made a bunch of different enclosures and enclosure doors out of 1/8 acrylic. I'm going to go with 3/16 next time. All are fine but one, a 10 gal turned tall, I divided it into two seperet 5 gallons (H. lividum on top and my rose on bottom) for some reason the front bowed inward. Is it from moisture, heat, sunlight, etc??? Anyone have a similar issue? I don't use any artificial heat source and just a fluorescent fixture to light the room. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Even the thicker acrylic will warp. I thought I could get away with using thicker acrylic & cutting it to fit tanks exactly, but I think the moisture/gravity/heat makes it flex. Not so bad if it's just a small gap for large critters. I've started reinforcing the corners or ends or in some cases just turning the lids every so often. If I were to make more, I'd probably put locking hasps that covered the entire short ends of the lids to keep them flush with tank rims they sit on. Even worse on arboreal tanks since typically the lid is stuck in place by the hinges and can't easily be swapped out.

Hopefully a DIY genius stops in with some advice.

 

[billopelma]

I think the stuff's just a bit hygroscopic (absorbs water), so the side exposed to the higher moisture level will expand more than the drier side and cause it to bow out. Very similar effect to what you'll see (temporarily) if it was heated quickly only on one side. Only seems to be an issue when the spans go 6" or more and gets exponentially worse as it gets bigger.
I've been making lids/doors on the larger enclosures that I plan on being fairly wet so they can be reversed/flipped whenever I see signs of bowing and they can be kept fairly flat with regular rotation.
Not sure but I've heard using the more pricey cell cast acrylic as opposed to the extruded type is supposed to be an improvement but I scrounge a lot of my materials so don't always know which I have.

Bill

 

[zonbonzovi]

Only seems to be an issue when the spans go 6" or more and gets exponentially worse as it gets bigger.

Thanks, Bill. The lightbulb went on when I saw this. Rather than cutting one solid piece, individual sections under 6" could be attached to one another via heavy duty packing tape/velcro to minimize gaps, effectively giving them a bit of room to shift. I may test this out with something that I'm not terribly worried about escaping.

 

[gmrpnk21]

Use cell cast acrylic! It is a little more expensive than extruded, but will handle humidity with no problems. How many 2" vents would you guys use for a ten gallon terrarium?

 

[CoSpiderGuy]

I don't do vents, I just drill alot of holes with my dremil.


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[gmrpnk21]

I did that with my first one, but it wasn't clean looking enough to calm my ocd lol. The vents look really good and save a ton of drilling!

 

[CoSpiderGuy]

I use a templet I made. I was going to get some vents, but I thought it would be hard to drill a 2" hole.


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[InvertFix]

I use a templet I made. I was going to get some vents, but I thought it would be hard to drill a 2" hole.


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How funny I found you on here through this post. But if you wanted when I go up to plasticare next week you could go with me if you want. I'm out on a hunt for some grade A shtoof.

 

[CoSpiderGuy]

Sounds good. I'm going to try and find the number. I have the number from another place too. That way we know if they have the 3/16" and know a price. Ttyl.


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[InvertFix]

They have the number on the website. Plasticareinc.com

 

[BQC123]

It does seem to be humidity related, and depends on your acrylic. The more ventilation I have, the less warping. Even 5/16 has warped for me.

 

[Kungfujoe]

i will have to agree, I work with acrylic salt water tanks for work and i have had a tank for 3 years with no bowing. The heat in the tanks usually runs 78-80 degrees and they are exposed to uva and uvb radiation from metal halides and certain LEDs with lower frequencies of light.

Use cell cast acrylic! It is a little more expensive than extruded, but will handle humidity with no problems. How many 2" vents would you guys use for a ten gallon terrarium?

 

[gmrpnk21]

I purchased some 1/4" thick cell cast acrylic from delviesplastic.com. They cut to the dimensions you specify, and if you order like 8, you end up spending about $12 a lid after shipping! I have three sitting over humid enclosures atm, with no bowing.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Dart froggers typically cut their doors out of plain old fashioned glass. For ventilation, they leave a small screened in rectangular area near the top of the enclosure. That's how the arboreal conversion kits are designed.