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We recently moved from Pittsburgh, PA to Daytona Beach, FL and finally had the available money to do a decent upgrade for our turtles. We got a 55 gallon from petco during their $1 per gallon sale. I decided that I would attempt to build my own stand/above tank basking area. It's not finished as of yet but I'll post some progress pics.

The first two are just of the completed frame



Now with the top and shelves added...



And the beginning of the above tank basking area



and last but certainly not least...my little helper for the past 2 days, the newest addition to our family, Coney with the new filter


hopefully by tomorrow I will be able to get the sides and front skinned and the doors on so i can stain the satnd. I have the plexiglass for the basking area but i'm putting off cutting it until i have to...

Let me know what you think

That looks really good.

Nice work so far! I can't wait to see the finished setup. Seems like cats are popular helpers

Great work! And your cat is also great - tabbies rule!

Wow, that looks beautiful. I can't wait to see the finished product! I'm sure your turt will greatly appreciate the upgrade.

Looks great!

Today I was able to get it mostly finished. The only thing left to do is doors and stain it. But the basking area still needs finished too. I have to put on the plexiglass and find a suitable aquarium backing or something to use as the floor and ramp. Let me know what you think...













now we're off to South Carolina for the weekend....should be nice

I Love Coney's eyes

Looks like you did a great job. One thing though, I don't know if you were planning on keeping the whole setup there, or if it was just a temporary placement, but you should consider moving the tank away from that sliding glass door. Sunlight from the windows can mess up the temperatures in the tank and will speed up algae growth. Just a thought. Looks great though!

Beautiful wood work! That stand is very sturdy, should be able to withstand an earthquake. Can't wait to see the finished product. I wonder if our cats are part of the same turtle habitat construction union.

Here is the finished stand before stain. stain and polyurethane will go on tomorrow. I hope to have the whole thing set up by the end of the week.

That looks really good
i cant wait to do something like that my self

That's so beautiful. I love to work with wood. Be sure and let us see it after you get the stain on.

That's absolutely beautiful. I love the hinges you chose.

The stand is stained. All thats left to do is wait for it to dry then get the turtles into their new home. I am attempting to find a basking area floor similar to the one Breigh has on hers, however I have been rather unsuccessful. If anyone has any other ideas about what I could use or where to find a foam background like hers please let me know.


Thanks