Closed Chamber Mold?

BowDownBowser

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So I have a glass terrarium that is currently housing my hatchling Sulcata. I created a closed chamber by making a plywood overhead with the lighting build in and insulated with aluminum foil. The humidity is around 80% at all times and the temperature never gets below 80 degrees. My concern is that the plywood will start to mold with the high humidity. There are a few small unintentional gaps that allow slight air circulation and causes me to have to mist daily. Does anyone else have a similar set up? If so how do you prevent mold or is it not even a problem? Is it possible that since the high heat originates near the top that it would prevent the growth of mold? I use coco coir as a substrate so the only mold I can think of would just be from getting the wood moist.
 

Redstrike

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I use CHE's that dry out the top sections of the wood and I put a pond liner on all the wood, so I can simply clean off any mold/mildew. It's costly but worth the $$$.

See my signature below for the setup I ran in the past and what I'm currently using.
 

AZtortMom

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I have a similar setup. We built a plywood enclosure too, but we sealed it with a nontoxic deck sealant so it wouldn't mold. I don't think the CHE's are going to keep it from molding, we provide the perfect environment for mold.
 

Dizisdalife

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AZtortMom said:
I have a similar setup. We built a plywood enclosure too, but we sealed it with a nontoxic deck sealant so it wouldn't mold. I don't think the CHE's are going to keep it from molding, we provide the perfect environment for mold.
Which brand or type of sealant did you use? I am in search of a sealant that I can use, but not sure which one to choose.
 

AZtortMom

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ImageUploadedByTortForum1392094598.754943.jpg we bought this at Home Depot. It was the only stuff we found that was safe for animals too. We used 3-4 coats.
 
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AZtortMom

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This stuff has been working good. We also used fiberglass and epoxy resin in the corners and bottom so it would not leak. It was definetly built to aquaruim quality.

We have been running that closed chamber for about 1 month now. The enclosure itself has been mold free. I did have some mold from the substrate, but I think there was some contamination in it.
 

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