Door Hinge Positioning in Vert Tank

Airedale · #1 09-01-2011, 06:07 PM

I'm not sure of where I should place the hinge on my vertical tank door. If i put the hinge on the bottom, the door will fold down easily, but if a latch fails, it could fall and the hinge would be ruined, the door could break, and the geckos would escape. On the side, idk how well it would work. And on top of the door, the door would constantly pulldown on the hinge, but will close on it's own. I'm just not sure of what would work best

Ozymandias · #2 09-01-2011, 06:54 PM

mine are actually attached to the sides, have you decided on what material youre going to build the door out of?

Airedale · #3 09-01-2011, 07:04 PM

I am thinking of using a glass panel for the bottom, and then acrylic or plexiglas as the door, since that will weigh less

Ozymandias · #4 09-01-2011, 07:13 PM

since you are going for plexy for the door then get some plexy/acrylic hinges (like these) so you can use a plexiglass glue, the plexiglass glue creates a chemical weld that is really strong.

daggekko · #5 09-01-2011, 07:32 PM

Yes silicone does not work well at all on plexi or acrylic(TRUST ME ON THIS the silicone will peel right off). I have my hinges on the bottoms of the doors for my 10 and 20 gallon verts. I like it that way. When I go into the enclosure I can rest the door on my chest or leg and I figure(Have not/will not try) if the door swings up it will just be a pain in the *** to get into the enclosure while trying to hold the door up.

daggekko · #6 09-01-2011, 07:34 PM

Oh yeah and in the case of my baby grow up enclosures, I open the door up all the way and let it just hang. The hinge has enough space where the glass pieces don't pinch or touch so it works very well! And my bigger ones(the 20 Longs) are kindof placed weirdly so that there is another enclosure close enough to hold the doors up while I do my thing

Airedale · #7 09-01-2011, 07:48 PM

And if I used a glass door? Would there be any difference?

daggekko · #8 09-01-2011, 08:56 PM

Glass breaks easier, is heavier, and is sharp as hell. Silicone does stick very well to it. I silicone metal hinges to my glass doors and I haven't had one come loose yet.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #9 09-01-2011, 09:43 PM

This is why I frame a lot of my conversions out in wood. It allows you a lot more freedom of how to do the doors and you're not depending on a blob of silicone to hold your stuff together. You can actually use screws. It also adds a lot of strength to the front of the tank.

daggekko · #10 09-01-2011, 10:30 PM

Riverside Reptiles, do you mind posting some photos of your conversions?