Moe's new 75G home - build thread.
Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:56 pm
My turtle, "Moe" is a 1.5 year old 2.75" RES. Moe is currently in a 20 Gallon Long tank that he has outgrown.
This is moe in his current tank....
(the underside of the bottom of the tank was spray painted with rustoleum stone paint to look like sand even though it was a bare bottom tank)
I found a good deal at a local pet store on a 75G Aqueon (formerly AGA/Oceanic) tank. Aqueon tanks larger than 55 Gallons come with a lifetime warranty IF they are placed atop a Aqueon stand. I opted to buy a black Aqueon stand along with the 75G tank. I chose black over what Aqueon called "oak" for the simple reason of matching. I knew Moe would get a new ATBA and would need a hood for the tank. I figured matching the satin black finish on anything I build would be much easier than trying to match the fake "oak" with any kind of stain or wood dye.
Moe's current tank has a ATBA platform made from a piece of slate tile I cut. His ATBA ramp is made from sheet acrylic (plexiglass) that I drilled a bunch of holes in for him to grip. The acrylic ramp and basking platform are easy to clean and do not take up much swim space in the tank. I plan on repeating this setup on this build.
I wanted a hood for the tank, but I also wanted a window to view Moe on his basking platform. Looking through the ATBA pictures thread on this forum, I borrowed a few ideas and combined them. I wanted the front of the hood to have an acrylic window inlayed into the hood.
I started to build the hood...
This is moe in his current tank....
(the underside of the bottom of the tank was spray painted with rustoleum stone paint to look like sand even though it was a bare bottom tank)
I found a good deal at a local pet store on a 75G Aqueon (formerly AGA/Oceanic) tank. Aqueon tanks larger than 55 Gallons come with a lifetime warranty IF they are placed atop a Aqueon stand. I opted to buy a black Aqueon stand along with the 75G tank. I chose black over what Aqueon called "oak" for the simple reason of matching. I knew Moe would get a new ATBA and would need a hood for the tank. I figured matching the satin black finish on anything I build would be much easier than trying to match the fake "oak" with any kind of stain or wood dye.
Moe's current tank has a ATBA platform made from a piece of slate tile I cut. His ATBA ramp is made from sheet acrylic (plexiglass) that I drilled a bunch of holes in for him to grip. The acrylic ramp and basking platform are easy to clean and do not take up much swim space in the tank. I plan on repeating this setup on this build.
I wanted a hood for the tank, but I also wanted a window to view Moe on his basking platform. Looking through the ATBA pictures thread on this forum, I borrowed a few ideas and combined them. I wanted the front of the hood to have an acrylic window inlayed into the hood.
I started to build the hood...