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It all started with me getting a bag of sand for the tank. That gave Allison, my girlfriend, the idea of doing a beach theme which will perfectly match my living room decor. After laying on the floor for a while and letting our minds run wild, we decided on a solid plan to create a tropical beach tiki hut style setup with ATBA. Here's the look we are working towards.

Im using my 120 gallon tank on an oak stand. I've had my turtle Chris for about 8 years, she's adventures and curious and loves attention; perfect for the living room!

First question I need help with. Can any of these be used in the tank with a turtle? She's about 8 years old now. Thanks.

Are those real?

Hey Steve! Yes, they are real. I've determined sand dollars are too soft. But a larger thicker shell the turtle can't easily bite or crack should be ok. Your thoughts?

If it's small enough for your turtle to chomp on, it will happen even if she does not eat it.

I'm guessing you'll be using a sand substrate; but if you were planning for a bare bottom tank, the sand dollars and flatter shells could be placed underneath a glass tank (as long as the tank is supported by a plastic rim and not the glass bottom itself). Here's a video where someone used a sand-colored towel and some plastic ivy to make a more natural looking tank floor (describes it around the 30 second mark, and shows the result around 55 seconds):

Thanks Samuel, those are great ideas she had. Thanks for posting up that video. I've had a bare bottom tank the entire time I've been taking care of these turtles so its time to try a sand substrate.

Steve, I'm ok with the turtle chomping on anything I put in the tank; I know they bite everything! My main concern is the turtles safety. I know rocks small enough for the turtles to eat is a no no. So my main concern was if she chomps on a shell, breaks a part off, and eats it.

Some of the supplies we've found so far for the build;

Roofing Materials;

30"x 8' Mexican Thatch Runner https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YLUB3M/re ... axb587YE6C



Union Corrugating 2.33-ft x 12-ft Corrugated Steel Roof Panel
http://www.lowes.com/pd_12475-18591-250 ... Id=3317584


Siding for the tiki hut/ATBA ;

Plytanium Brown Pine Untreated Wood Siding Panel (Common: 0.3437-in x 48-in x 96-in; Actual: 0.322-in x 47.875-in x 95.875-in)
http://www.lowes.com/pd_19345-44903-719 ... d=50371878

Tiki frame will be made from 1/2 PVC pipe.

Background, we'll use the ocean blue side.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/double-side ... 24-in-high

What would the roof panel be used for?

Steve, the ATBA is going to looklike the tiki hut in the first photo. The metal roof panel will have the tiki thatch on top of it. The MVB will be under the metal corrugated roof panel to keep the heat away from the thatch (with some additional insulation most likely, just to be safe). The metal roof panel will also provide support for the thatch to lay on.

That would produce a lot of heat which I would be worried about. Turtles like to thermoregulate, so I don't think that would be able to happen under a roof... unless we're talking about something pretty gigantic here.

I wondered about the metal roofing trapping too much heat... maybe there's a way to build half of a roof (so that air circulates more), and to make the roof trap less heat by using something less reflective than tin? It's a really cute idea, I'd love to see it work!

You would probably have to install a fan to get enough air movement in there, so I'm not sure it's worth the effort. Why can't you have both... the basking goes on outside of the hut, and the turtle can go in when she wants to hide?

The Tiki thatch that has been ordered. Allison and I have managed to amass a huge amount of beach themed items for the rest of the room over the last four days! The project is moving along nicely! I

Wow, this looks like it'll be a lot of fun