Enough ventilation?

[quirinus]

Hi, i tried to build a diy glass enclosure (12x8x8inches) which looks much better than plastic KKs and is even cheaper but has same size. it is a glass aquarium with self made acrylic top lid.
my concern is ventilation, it got 250 holes with 3mm diameter, in total ~17cm² ventilation area (2,6 square inches). but it has only top ventilation and much less then a ugly KK-top has.
i plan to put in my Davus pentaloris.



first question: do you think it will be enough ventilation for species kept dry like D. pentaloris?
second: do you think it would work for moisture dependent species?

i'd like to chance all my KKs to this kind of enclosure.

thanks!

 

[moricollins]

That's a nice looking build, good job.
It should be enough ventilation, most of the top is ventilation because of all the holes
Side to side ventilation is ideal, you could achieve this by drilling a hole in each side of the glass (you need a glass cutting drill bit), and then covering the hole with screen (or not if you're using a small bit)

 

[quirinus]

thank you!
it looks like a lot of holes but they are tiny.. KKs have much more open space, that's why i wondered.
i looked up glass drills, they aren't as expensive as i thought. is it really that easy to drill through glass? i am sceptical
what do you exactly mean by screen? dictionary offers like 50 possible translations

 

[moricollins]

It takes some practice to drill holes in glass. I've done about 15 holes with my drill bit, and I'm not terribly skilled at repair/building things

By screen I mean window screen/mesh

 

[quirinus]

ah ok, thanks again!
i am going to try the glass drill.. if it works, i could build the top lid of glass too.

 

[moricollins]

ah ok, thanks again!
i am going to try the glass drill.. if it works, i could build the top lid of glass too.

That's probably a good idea, acrylic tends to warp over time, in my experience

 

[Dorifto]

Nice enclosure!!

If you want more ventilation, you can drill the glass, but with a lot of care and cooling it.

You can drill a hole in each side with a round glass drill bit, and then install some stainless steel mesh air vents with silicone.

For the top I'd use an aluminiun drilled mesh for ventilation and a glass held with some hinges.

Drill bit that I stated are this:


And the vent holes:

 

[viper69]

first question: do you think it will be enough ventilation for species kept dry like D. pentaloris?
second: do you think it would work for moisture dependent species?

Nice DIY! 1- Yes 2. MAYBE depends on how moist you are able to keep it.

 

[quirinus]

Nice enclosure!!

If you want more ventilation, you can drill the glass, but with a lot of care and cooling it.

You can drill a hole in each side with a round glass drill bit, and then install some stainless steel mesh air vents with silicone.

For the top I'd use an aluminiun drilled mesh for ventilation and a glass held with some hinges.

Drill bit that I stated are this:
View attachment 345495

And the vent holes:

View attachment 345496

this is really nice input, thanks a lot. just need to find where to buy those air vents.

Nice DIY! 1- Yes 2. MAYBE depends on how moist you are able to keep it.

thanks! i will test it with dry setups first.

 

[Dorifto]

Internet hahahahaha

 

[quirinus]

Internet hahahahaha

what's that?

already ordered..

 

[moricollins]

what's that?

already ordered..

I think Dorifto means where he bought the vents

 

[quirinus]

i know. it was a stupid question to ask where to get them. i thought these vents are something special but they are used for wardrobes and closets and stuff and thus are not hard to get.

i already rehoused my d pentaloris, it is looking so nice, can't stop to stare in there.

 

[Dorifto]

i know. it was a stupid question to ask where to get them. i thought these vents are something special but they are used for wardrobes and closets and stuff and thus are not hard to get.

i already rehoused my d pentaloris, it is looking so nice, can't stop to stare in there.

View attachment 345759
View attachment 345758

You can found them in diy stores, amazon or google-ing round metal vents. They are tons of types with different hole sizes etc. I preffer the stainless steel ones, with round holes, they don't rust and look great. Plastic ones are cheaper but too flimsy too... and the T can easily break the vent holes.

 

[quirinus]

i finally got the time to implement your inputs.
this is my second prototype:



it is not beautiful or symmetric but it will do its job.
next one will be fine with all my new experience. you definitely need a pattern for drilling glas
no more plastic KKs soon, only nice glass eclosures.

thanks for the ideas and for encouraging me to do this!

 

[moricollins]

i finally got the time to implement your inputs.
this is my second prototype:

View attachment 348023 View attachment 348024

it is not beautiful or symmetric but it will do its job.
next one will be fine with all my new experience. you definitely need a pattern for drilling glas
no more plastic KKs soon, only nice glass eclosures.

thanks for the ideas and for encouraging me to do this!

A template for drilling glass is very important. I made one for my glass drill bit so that I can get the drilling started much easier

 

[quirinus]

A template for drilling glass is very important. I made one for my glass drill bit so that I can get the drilling started much easier

Yes I will do that too. So template is the right word, not pattern. Now I need a 35mm wood drill as well