Christmas present for son & Jimi
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:13 amI got a used 55 gal from a Craig's list posting, gave it a HUGE cleaning, painted the stand, got a new filter, some plants, a bubbler that looks like a waterfall and built a above tank basking area. Then I had to turn it over to my 14 yr old & Jimi (2" map - about 3-4 mos old) for Christmas.
The top support broke during the cleaning (I'm such a clutz!) but I cut a metal-framed reptile cover I had laying around in 1/2, glued a piece of wood to the back of the tank edge so the lid is VERY snug. There's no give & it does a good job of supporting the tank sides. The basking area will have to be updated as Jimi grows (for more overlap on the sides), but for now it suits him: vinylboard on 2 sides & bottom - lined with shelf-grip liner. The front is plastic chicken-fencing material I had left over from the pond fencing. I secured it well & gave it a 2" lip inside at the top to prevent escape by climbing...gives a nice view of the basking area. I glued a wide strip of the fencing on the edge of the bottom and it hangs into the water like a ladder...my pond turtles climb this to sit on the pond edge, so I'm hoping Jimi will catch on as quick as they did. Thankfully my son doesn't mind the waterfall sound effects from the Marineland Penguin filter - right now the water is about 2-3" down from the top edge of the tank.
Here's Jimi's new digs (he's in the top left above the heater):
the 'upstairs'
Son luring Jimi for a picture with a pellet
And - just because I can't post pics of the baby w/o bragging about my pond-dwellers - here's Liza (right) & Mercer (left) 2 weeks ago during a "cold" snap. The high was only around 67 and I was pretty worried but they were basking away most of the day.
I know the water was warmer than the air that day (about 75), but there they were. Made me proud. (No...it's not that cool all the time...today was 78 & will be over 80 the rest of the week) 
The top support broke during the cleaning (I'm such a clutz!) but I cut a metal-framed reptile cover I had laying around in 1/2, glued a piece of wood to the back of the tank edge so the lid is VERY snug. There's no give & it does a good job of supporting the tank sides. The basking area will have to be updated as Jimi grows (for more overlap on the sides), but for now it suits him: vinylboard on 2 sides & bottom - lined with shelf-grip liner. The front is plastic chicken-fencing material I had left over from the pond fencing. I secured it well & gave it a 2" lip inside at the top to prevent escape by climbing...gives a nice view of the basking area. I glued a wide strip of the fencing on the edge of the bottom and it hangs into the water like a ladder...my pond turtles climb this to sit on the pond edge, so I'm hoping Jimi will catch on as quick as they did. Thankfully my son doesn't mind the waterfall sound effects from the Marineland Penguin filter - right now the water is about 2-3" down from the top edge of the tank.
Here's Jimi's new digs (he's in the top left above the heater):
the 'upstairs'
Son luring Jimi for a picture with a pellet
And - just because I can't post pics of the baby w/o bragging about my pond-dwellers - here's Liza (right) & Mercer (left) 2 weeks ago during a "cold" snap. The high was only around 67 and I was pretty worried but they were basking away most of the day.
I know the water was warmer than the air that day (about 75), but there they were. Made me proud. (No...it's not that cool all the time...today was 78 & will be over 80 the rest of the week)