Hi y’all, so I’m working on building an 8’x4’ indoor enclosure for my Russian and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how I should do the general lighting. I’ve got heat and UV figured out, but I’d like to have additional lighting as well. At first I thought about affixing LED light strips around the perimeter of the inside of the lid I’m building, but I don’t think that’ll be enough light. Then I thought about tube lights, but because I have to have the lid (cats), I feel like no matter what I do it’ll be a pain to open the lid however many times a day. Does anyone have any ideas?
Lighting design for indoor enclosure
- Thread starter Xyelem
- Start date
Hello!
Can you fix the LED tubes with reflectors to a frame supporting the lids? Either on perimeter or to a central frame plank (if you have lids like 2x2 or 4x2).
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
When picking out LEDs for ambient lighting, the 5000-6500K color range is recommended. A bulb will work too in this use case. I just have a regular floor lamp with a LED bulb on a 12 hour timer to provide ambient lighting.
Yeah, so this is the actual enclosure. It’s an open bottomed raised garden bed. I slapped some stain/seal on a 4x8 piece of plywood and I’m going to screw the bed to the plywood and then caulk the edges together. To make it actually waterproof, I’m adding a pond liner to the bottom; the other stuff is really just to support the pond liner/ are just in case the pond liner were to tear or something. This is what I’m thinking for a lid. So what I’ve done so far is built the frame by cutting the ends of 4 pieces of 8’/4’, 3 1/2”x 3/4” wooden boards at 45 degree angles so they fit together + cut 2 pieces of wood for the support in the middle. I’ll be constructing 2 frames. On one frame, I’ll stretch hardware cloth and staple it down. Then I’ll take the second frame and glue it to the first and then clamp them together. I’ll finish off by using my brad nail gun to further secure the 2 frames. I’ll sand and stain and seal. Then I’ll attach it to the enclosure with gold hinges and add a couple of soft opening hinges on the inside so it doesn’t like slam shut. On the front, I’ll cut off the edges of the frame so they sit flush with the raised bed and then I’ll be able to add little latches so the lid stays securely closed. I’ll add a handle to the front and that’s pretty much it. I just wanted it to be really strong in case my cats jump on the lid.
Attachments
As a side note, I found these under cabinet lights and thought I might be able to attach them to the interior lip of the lid and up the center of the lid, but idk
Attachments
Hi again! So I’m making the frame in one piece. This is my basic layout and this is the actual enclosure. It’s an 8’x4’x2’, open bottomed, raised garden bed. On the bottom I slapped some stain and sealant on an 8’x4’ piece of veneered plywood and popped the raised garden bed on top. I then screwed the garden bed to the plywood and am currently working on caulking the bed to the board. To make it actually waterproof I’ve decided to just bite the bullet and go with a pond liner. It’s the easiest and most practical and, ultimately, probably the most hygienic. I just did the sealant and caulk and stuff on the plywood in case the liner tears or something and to give the liner some support. For the lid, I’m cutting the ends of 4 pieces of 8’/4’ (respectively), 3 1/2”x 3/4” wooden boards at 45 degree angles so they fit together + cutting 2 pieces of wood for the support in the middle. I’ll be constructing 2 frames. On one frame, I’ll stretch hardware cloth and staple it down. Then I’ll take the second frame and glue it to the first and then clamp them together. I’ll finish off by using my brad nail gun to further secure the 2 frames. I’ll sand and stain and seal. Then I’ll attach it to the enclosure with gold hinges and add a couple of soft opening hinges on the inside so it doesn’t slam shut. On the front, I’ll cut off the edges of the frame so they sit flush with the raised bed and then I’ll be able to add little gold latches so the lid stays securely closed. I’ll add a gold handle to the front and that’s pretty much it. I need it to be strong because my cats DO NOT respect me and WILL jump on the lid. I found these under counter lights that I might be able to add to the perimeter of the interior lip of the frame + up the center, but I just feel like tube lights are a huge pain unless I can find an apparatus that they hang from and that allows me raise and lower them when I need to get into the tank. Idk man, I feel like I’m making this too complicated, but I’m also kind of a perfectionist (to my extreme detriment sometimes, lol).
Well, nothing is wrong with making an enclosure you'll be proud of 
Perhaps a sloped roof will be easier to use (yet harder to make). Something like this (look from the side): Γ\, with Γ-shaped part 1-1.5 ft. wide and sloped lid taking the rest.
Perhaps a sloped roof will be easier to use (yet harder to make). Something like this (look from the side): Γ\, with Γ-shaped part 1-1.5 ft. wide and sloped lid taking the rest.
It looks like the height is about 24"?
I was thinking of putting something to span across the top, under the lid to create a spot to attach lights. similar to how the cross braces are. if you used the top brace for a light support, you'd might be able to get away with only adding 1 on each side. To that end, I think putting 1/4" x3" bolts through the wall where you'd want the support and then sliding a piece of pipe over the ends of the bolts.
heres a quick mock up:
I was thinking of putting something to span across the top, under the lid to create a spot to attach lights. similar to how the cross braces are. if you used the top brace for a light support, you'd might be able to get away with only adding 1 on each side. To that end, I think putting 1/4" x3" bolts through the wall where you'd want the support and then sliding a piece of pipe over the ends of the bolts.
heres a quick mock up:
