My Wall-Mounted Rack System

Neon Aurora

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1,376
Location
New Mexico
Hey, guys! I just wanted to show you how my project is going so far. I'm not done yet. I still need heat tape and to set up the tubs and stuff. I know it looks a little weird with just the one shelf, but I only need three tubs right now. I'll add more shelves as I get more geckos.

I used hard oak for the shelves and painted them with Shellac wood sealant.

What do you guys think so far?

vdz5w.jpg
 

Dinosaur!

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908
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Las vegas, Nevada
thats a neat idea! I kind of like it better then the racks i have right now! how much did that cost to make? (it doesnt have to be exact, just an estimate :) )
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
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1,376
Location
New Mexico
It was a little under 100. The wood was about 30, the metal 50, and the shellac 15. It was really easy, though. I literally bought the materials today and it was done a few hours later. And whenever I need more space, I just mount some more shelves. Luckily, they even mounted perfectly on top of each other so the top shelf could still act as a lid with no worry of them getting out. And its super space efficient because I have about 3 feet of space below those shelves to put an incubator or something.
 

Neon Aurora

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1,376
Location
New Mexico
Haha, glad to hear it! I debated for a long time how I wanted to build a rack and ran through a lot of ideas. Eventually I decided on this one because I can just imagine walls full of geckos. And I thought it would be cheaper than building an actual shelf, but maybe not. Also, it's easier to move if I ever need to.
 

Dinosaur!

New Member
Messages
908
Location
Las vegas, Nevada
i made my current rack out of a shelf that we got for free when my gandfather passed away, but your idea does seem much more space efficient! :D

this is mine a few months ago (add another shelf, ten hatchling tubs, and an incubator for a current image ;) )

L1nURJ7.jpg
 

Neon Aurora

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1,376
Location
New Mexico
Nice! I like how it's adjustable. That's one reason I didn't want to just straight up build a full shelving unit. Being able to change the height is useful in case you ever change tub size or something. Do you use heat tape? I'm really confused as to how it works. Can you enlighten me on how to set it up?
 

Dinosaur!

New Member
Messages
908
Location
Las vegas, Nevada
yes i do. what you need to do is get as many feet of heat tape as you will need for your shelves. once you recieve it, you need to attach a wire to it. ill tell you the way i do it in just a minute, but i'm going to go take pictures really quick so it is easier to explain!

ill be back!
 

Dinosaur!

New Member
Messages
908
Location
Las vegas, Nevada
Okay, here is a list of things you will need:
-desired length of heat tape
-sauldering iron
-razor blade/small, very sharp knife
- a wire split in two at the bottom, and an outlet plug at the top
-electrical tape
-a themostat
- a thermometer

sauldering the heattape i the most reliable way to conduct the electricity.

8EXAuHP.jpg


as shown by the black arrow, there is a strip of metal running down the tape. at the very end (where you should have cut it to size along the marks every six inches and avoiding the black stripes. ) This is where you should attatch the wires. take the razor blade and scrape the plastic off of the SILVER part, avoiding damage to the black stripes.

Take one of the wire ends (note the blue arrow pointing to the wires) and strip the rubber off, exposing the wires underneath. Saulder these small wires to one of the exposed silver heat tape strips. repeat on the other side.

when you are done sauldering, you need to seal off the electricity with electrical tape. Be sure to tape over all exposed metal, and at least an inch in both ways from the sauldering point. (note the red arrow showing the saulering point covered in tape. You must seal off both ends, or you risk a short, and possibly a fire.

(this is the other end that was not sauldered. be sure to seal that too!)

TusTeYZ.jpg


(note that the tape on the sides are not neccasary, thats just how i got it to stick to the wood :) )

after you tape it, you should plug it into your thermostat and adjust the temperature, and make sure that it is heating.

l978rA4.jpg


When you are ready to put your geckos on it, tape the heat tape down with elctrical tape in the desired spot and moniter the temps closely. When your'e done it should look something like this:

pPQ4D48.jpg


just keep monitering daily for hot spots and etc., but this is what works very reliably for me :) I hope this helps clear things up a little!

h36od5Q.jpg
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
Ohh, thank you for those pictures, they're very helpful. Now I understand how to set it up. I have two more questions, though. The site I bought my heat tape from emphasized that there needs to be an air gap between the tubs and the heat tape. It doesn't look like you have something like that. Is this really necessary or is the little space under the tub enough of an air gap? Also, I was wondering about your thermostat. Does that one have a probe to lay on the heat tape in case something gets messed up? I've been using this one Zoo Med 500R thermostat with probe for my incubator and it seems to work pretty well, but I was curious to see if you liked the one you have.

Thanks, DrCarrotTail! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Very excited!
 

Dinosaur!

New Member
Messages
908
Location
Las vegas, Nevada
My tubs do touch the heat tape with no issues so far :) as for the probe, i just use the one that is attached to the thermostat. And i really do like my thermostat. Ive had it since december, and has been working for me since :) I'm glad that i could help clarify a little bit for you though!
 

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