Habitat - Indoor :: I hope someone can help

[jenaero]

So we're moving on Tuesday...a week earlier than I had planned. I'm getting a 300 gal stock tank delivered and I have nothing for a basking area. I wanted to make it 2ft x 2ft so it will fit them both when they get full grown. The tank is 5ft x 5ft.

I've only got a few days to throw something together. I was thinking of using concrete blocks with slate on top but all the places I've called say that there is limestone in the concrete mixture so that's a no-go. I'm really bad as far as creativity goes...I'm equally bad at building things.

I was thinking of pvc & slate or pvc and some kind of tile but I don't know what is safe to use as an adhesive.

Any advice/pics are sure welcome!
TIA

[steve]

You don't need adhesive with PVC or the ceramic tiles. The tiles are heavy enough and the PVC will be practically air tight. Most of us would use water to fill in the pipe to weigh it down. I'll try to take pics of what I have going on...

[jenaero]

they won't be able to knock it over? That's my main concern. Also, when they bask they tend to flip off the edges and it seems that might knock it down.

So ceramic tiles would be ok? I just want something that will let the plastrons dry and that wouldn't get too hot on the surface.

pics would be great if you can!

[steve]

I'm using 12" X 12" tiles and they are fairly heavy. I'll try to get you rough dimensions as well. I'll also try to get pics soon, I've been trying to prepare for the server move but the database is too large to transfer.

[jenaero]

ok I got my hands on a couple of milk crates. Since they're filthy, what can I use to clean them that will be safe for the turts? I thought of vinegar but is that going to kill any germs?

[Spookster]

Here some photos of my old tank. I used PVC pipe with with a stone tile and some plexiglass. Probably similar to what Steve was suggesting.

http://www.designqueue.com/photos/turtle/oldtank01.JPG
http://www.designqueue.com/photos/turtle/oldtank02.JPG
http://www.designqueue.com/photos/turtle/oldtank03.JPG

[wolfmanviagra]

the pvc will be heavy enough when filled with water. if you want, you can use aquarium sealant to hold them together. Also, the tile is heavy in comparison to the turts. dont worry. the combination is like a person standing on a wood frame house. might feel shakey, but it will hold just fine

[marisa]

If the crates are filthy, clean them first and then disinfect them with bleach/water (I'd just let them sit in the solution for about 15-30 minutes in the tub). Rinse well and let them air dry (chlorine leaves water in 24 hours, I'd let them air dry for that long if possible).

[jenaero]

I soaked them in bleach/water for about an hour then soaked them in just water overnight. They're drying outside now and won't be used til tuesday so that should be good.

[steve]

I would skip the crates. The PVC basking area takes up minimal space, is easy to clean and very strong. I think you should also be able to find tiles that are 16x16 (or was it 18x18) in a variety of colors and some people also use slate tiles or just slate. I'll try to get you a pic/diagram tomorrow (been tired from the server move).

[jenaero]

I'm not worried about taking up swimming space for now. The crates are just a temporary solution til I can think of/build something more natural looking. Seeing as how they'll have 5ft one way and 5 ft the other way I'm not real concerned about taking up a bit of space in the middle...at least for now.

Oh, and I got some slate to put on top so they won't be sitting just on the crates.

Ideally, later on, I'd like to build something with pvc and slate for a more natural look and to avoid taking up space in the water. There are just so many things to do when buying a house that since I've got a bit of a solution, it's kindof the least of my worries at the moment. Once we get settled in and organized I'm going to make something better. So I'll save whatever pics/diagrams you send me for later use

[steve]

here's what mine looks like:




I went with a very straight forward design requiring the minimal amount of PVC.

There are 4 legs of equal height, 2 long pipes that extend the length and support the tiles and 2 short pipes that space out the width of the tile. These tiles are 12", so the short pipes are are about 9 1/2" long.