So I've finally got some pictures to show of Tucker's new ATBA. The set up I had before was working fine, but I got bored with it and wanted to make a change. Also, Tucker was eating his dock and I had poop covered styrofoam floating all over the top of the water every day. I also wanted to make a nesting area for Tucker. I hope when the time comes, she'll take to it. I ordered some precut acrylic from an online place which was a huge help. It actually was cheaper than buying stock sheets at the hardware store. Plus it was less mess I had to deal with. I originally thought working with acrylic would be tough, but it's not. Once you understand how the cement works, there's nothing to it. If you do use acrylic cement, I recommend putting towels underneath your work area. I bubbled up some spots in the tiles downstairs with some drips! Nasty stuff! It's not even glue. It's more like acid and it "welds" the plastic together and it's like working with water. Be careful if you use it. So here's what my tank looks like before the basking area. There have been minor changes since this picture has been taken, but it's basically the same. Floating dock with lights above it.
- Here is what my set up was before the ATBA
- Tank Front View.JPG (63.35 KiB) Viewed 17508 times
The plastic came in 4 pieces. I only had to cut a hole in one piece for the ramp and I cut one piece into different sections for the ends of the box and the nesting area partition shown here:
- This piece was cut for the short sides of the box, and the nesting area partition.
- 20120211_125028.jpg.jpg (48.18 KiB) Viewed 17508 times
I then attached the three big pieces together to make the bottom and two long sides to the tank. Shown here:
- I dripped some cement on the towel and the towel adhered to the bottom of the plastic! I ripped it off, but it left some towel fuzzies behind. This was when I decided I would carpet the bottom of the box.
- 20120205_173844.jpg (54.7 KiB) Viewed 17508 times
