Habitat - Indoor :: DIY ATBA Mississippi map turtles

[Janc]

Im building my own ATBA for a 120gallon tank. Measurements in centimeters for the tank ara 150x50x60. The ATBA will be 150x50x40, made of wood and front glas.

I started working on it yesterday. The first thing I did was making the frame.








Today I started making the background for the basking area.
I used isolation foam and put sand on top. After that you need to let it dry.
When the foam is fully hardened, I Will put an epoxy coating on the background.

[steve]

Looks very cool! Is this the first time you've made something like this?

[Janc]

Looks very cool! Is this the first time you've made something like this?

Hi, yes its the first time. Did some research on this forum and the web and found some inspiration.

Added 4 wooden bars, 2 at every side so the weight of the ATBA doesnt rest on the tank.
Painted everything black to protect the wood.
Orderded 4milimeter thick glass for the front window.

Also decided to cut out a piece of the left floorboard so I can reach the filters easily.

[steve]

I like it. How will you setup the lighting?

[Janc]

I like it. How will you setup the lighting?

LED lightning under the ATBA, so I can see under water and a uvb and heat spot on the ATBA.

Placed the background inside. Now waiting for the front glass to arrive.





To give an idea how it will look i made this picture.
I cant fully fill the tank and place it against the wall, because the wall needs to be plastered first.
In the tank there will be alot of wood added, so it will look like a riverbank.

[ljapa]

Looks like you are going to have a very happy turtle.

Very nice!

[steve]

Man, you work fast! What kind of epoxy did you use?

[Janc]

Im still waiting for the epoxy to arrive.
Im using mr boat epoxy. http://www.mrboat.eu/epoxy/mr-boat-epoxy-750-gram/

[Kansasslider]

Nice job!