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I started with this design:



It's using a 110 gallon stock tank and is basically a cabinet built around it.

So far so good:





The basking area will be in the far corner there. The heat bulb and UVB bulbs will be powered by two basic sockets mounted high on the walls by the basking area. I thought about a mercury vapor lamp but don't have room for it. I need a bulbs the projects light out of the sides of it like the traditional bulbs do.

Everything I've done here has all come from ideas found on this site. So I can thank ALL OF YOU for being the geniuses that inspired me.

that is so awsome.
i've always watned to do something like that...
is 110 gallon really big?
and how much did the tank cost?

Wow, that's really cool! You can do a lot with the ledges.

Very cool design! I can't wait to see it finished! ^_^

Thank you very much for the compliments!

110 gallon is pretty big. It's about 4 ft long, 2.5 feet wide and about 20 inches deep. Plenty of swimming room. I I picked this one up at Tractor supply co for about 60 bucks. I'm also going to cut holes in the sides of the tank about mid way down and epoxy pieces of plexiglass there and mount small lights behind for some underwater "mood lighting." Those lights are more for human enjoyment than turtle.

Can't wait to finish it! Won't be able to make any more progress for a couple days though. Gonna start on the filter next.

Buy a pond filter for it. They have plenty of media and gph and are very cheap.

Wow that looks great so far! Where do you plan on setting it up at when you're done?

rrcoolj wrote:Buy a pond filter for it. They have plenty of media and gph and are very cheap.

I've looked at those. Unless you know where to find them cheaper, the one's I've found are about 300 and up. Too much for my budget. I have a design to make a 2.5 gallon, 350 GPH filter out of PVC and an external fountain pump for about 80 bucks. Plus, I just like makin stuffs.

RESnTX wrote:Wow that looks great so far! Where do you plan on setting it up at when you're done?

Thank you. It's going to go in the corner of my livingroom. I have a spot just for it pretty close to a window. The drain plug has threads to screw a hose into it, so I'm going to screw a hose into it permanently and put a shut off valve on the end of the hose. When the time come to change the water, run the hose out the window and open up the valve.

I know a website that has a filter that filters 1,000 gallons of water for a sale price of only thirty dollares! it's an external filter tho.
here's the website if you want to use it

http://www.petsolutions.com/Fishmate-Bi ... 03302.aspx

rrcoolj wrote:I know a website that has a filter that filters 1,000 gallons of water for a sale price of only thirty dollars! it's an external filter tho.
here's the website if you want to use it

http://www.petsolutions.com/Fishmate-Bi ... 03302.aspx

DANG! I missed that one! Nice I might actually use that! Does it come with the pump or is that separate?

This is really amazing, I love your design. You are so handy! And I love the idea of little plexiglass windows - really looking forward to seeing your next set of pictures!

Reel Girl wrote:This is really amazing, I love your design. You are so handy! And I love the idea of little plexiglass windows - really looking forward to seeing your next set of pictures!

Thank you!

I was thinking about the lid today and don't know if I'll build it now. You can see the lid in the design in my first post but now I think I'll just do a triangular shaped piece in the corner over the basking area to cover the bulbs. On the under side I'll attach some tin foil for a reflective surface. I was thinking that the lid might make the cabinet look nicer and keep flying insects out but I'd have to do a seal around the bottom of the lid and that's just too much trouble. Plus, a lid might keep fresh air from circulating in the tank.

I can always take the wood back.

Looks fantastic so far, what brand tank is that?

Wow great design!

steve wrote:Looks fantastic so far, what brand tank is that?

Thank you. It's a "TuffStuff." Picked it up at TSC for about 55-60 bucks. It was lited on the sticker for 80 but the computer didn't have a record for it, so the marked it down for me I'd get rid of it for 'em.

jacqui wrote:Wow great design!

Thank you! I'd be happy to share my design with anyone who wants it.