Habitat - Indoor :: new rubbermaid bin setup

[marisa]

Well, maybe you'll be lucky. I used heavy towels and wood between the containers and in time the inner one still leaked. (It also looks like there isn't that much water in the container, which would lessen the amount of weight it has to bear; that's also why there is no bowing of the sides.)

[pavelgype]

swlin,

I was just wondering what kind of heater you have in the rubbermaid
and how much wear and tear does the heater do to it?

Thanks,
pavelgype

[swlin]

pavelgype, I use Marineland stealth submersible heater. I didn't think it's gonna do any wear or tear to the rubbermaid. Anyone know?

[queenjane]

Oh my gosh, yours bows out on the sides too?!?

I just set mine up today (same two 50 gallon Rubbermaids only in blue) and I am scared poopless that they're going to rip and explode in my apartment.

Any troubles so far??

Should I fill the thing with sand on the bottom?

[queenjane]

So I tried this yesterday and it resulted in the biggest disaster and largest waste of money of my life.

$40 for two 50 gallon rubbermaids just like these on the page...
$34 for a new filter...

And the Rubbermaids bowed so badly that I thought they were going to crack and flood my apartment (I live on the third floor, and that would be horrendous.)

So I've had to drain the water out down to twenty and now I'm trying to get this guy of Craigslist to sell me a 30 gallon for $70-100.

Don't EVER go with the Rubbermaid thing-- it's a ridiculous waste of money.

[queenjane]

Well, I just got Tank out of *her* (I've determined "he" is a "she") Rubbermaid bin...

She hated it. Hated, hated, hated it.

She was in a 50 gal bin for a week and a half, never basked, surfaced only to breathe, wouldn't eat, and did nothing but slept.

I put her in a new 30 gallon aquarium and twenty minutes later she was swimming everywhere, poking around, playing in the filter bubbles, trying to climb onto her floating lilly pad, going on the basking area, watching me, diving, splashing...

It was like she was depressed and felt gross in the bin. Maybe her circadian rhythms were off because it was so dark inside down at the bottom. I don't know.

But after the experience of water almost overflowing, making two huge messes in my apartment, not being able to filter the water, worrying that the bins would burst, and dealing with a depressed and unhappy turtle...

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY advise against Rubbermaid bins. In the longrun, you will save more money if you just go to Craigslist and find someone selling a tank in your price range. I got a 30 gallon for $50,and there are some that go for even cheaper. When you figure that the bins are $40, you've already paid half the cost of an aquarium. You can even find some with stands and added accessories! Its way more cost-effective, safe, and better for your turtle than a bin.

[Rubicon]

So if I double stack bins I should put something inside the bottom of the first bin? Maybe a towel or two?

[queenjane]

I reccommend not doing it at all, ever.

It was a disaster, and I wanted to die after setting it up that way.

Tank hated it. She acted "depressed" and got an eye infection. She wouldn't bask or surface and acted that way for a week after I took her out of it.

It was basically a GIANT FREAKING MESS, and the things threaten to break and spill water all over the place because they bow out of shape.

Don't do it.