Habitat - Indoor

I am new to the forum but here is my before and after pictures of my tank with inspiration from you guys

: here is before

: after

: basking area

: turbo enjoying the new custom LED light strip for the tank

Looks very nice, thanks for posting before/after pics!

I have some fake plants I was going to add so it will give the tank a little bit more life. One question I do have is that the LED strip I added at the bottom of the tank will that bother the turtles? I have them set to turn off every 12 hours with the heat and UV lamp.

I don't think it would bother them.

I built my turtle dock out of essentially Styrofoam and hydraulic cement and at its widest point is approximately 20" x13". It is not finished because I still need to cement the base on the bottom right side, as well as paint the whole thing with a waterproof epoxy resin. It will eventually go in a 65 gallon tank and will be attached to the right corner of the tank with aquarium silicone, which along with the base should provide adequate stability. I am in no way suggesting that you go my route because it can be very challenging. It takes a long time and it can also be hazardous if you're not very careful and do not do your research first.

The original piece was about 3 feet long. I sketched out a pattern and got to cutting.

I ended up with this shape:

This is what it looks like after applying the cement:

I'll post a picture of it in the tank with turtle once its finished.

Looks great Mr Tuck. How heavy is that thing?

Although I have not weighed it, I used approximately 7-8 pounds of cement, and remember it's essentially hollow. The cement is about 1/4" thick on most parts. I'm not as worried about the weight as I am worried about having it crash through the bottom of the tank. That's why I will be siliconing it to the sides and bottom of the tank as well. I got the design idea from Petco. I saw all of their docks that were for sale and they were all too small...then I walked over to their turtle tank and saw what they were using. I took some pictures, did a little research (found another great website) and got to work. The current dock I am using is made out of pvc and slate tiles. Even that is far superior to anything they were selling. I spent way too much money building my two docks, but now I have one that is large enough for two full grown sliders and will last 1000 years.

Note: I didn't have to use the hydraulic cement to make this, but I wanted to be sure it would last because my turtle likes to chomp on things. I've seen others make similar projects using a grout mix, but just make sure you seal it. You also need to seal the cement especially if you put something like this in with fish. The cement will leech out pH for a while, which can be harmful to the fish.

Thanks for the info. I use PVC and tile in one tank and it still looks new. Looking forward to the final pics.

Hi everyone,i just joined the forum

here is my males basking area

And my females

Mr. Tuck

I got the design idea from Petco. I saw all of their docks that were for sale and they were all too small...then I walked over to their turtle tank and saw what they were using. I took some pictures, did a little research (found another great website) and got to work.

What is the website you are referring to? I have always wanted to find where they got the design or idea from. Thanks

The websites just got me started, but not directions on how to make it. What they made on the website was not necessarily for turtles.

Got the idea to use styrofoam from:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a- ... reptile-c/

and got the idea for hydraulic cement from:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Terrari ... -for-frog/

Shows you how to properly mix hydraulic cement:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... sculpting/

Remember, it can be a long, messy, and potentially hazardous project if you do not know what you are doing. Therefore I don't recommend you try it unless you have a lot of time on your hands and have adult supervision (even for adults)

thats too cool I will probably stick to the branches and logs;)

I look at it like this...If I am going to fail, I'm gonna fail big. But hey, its not even finished yet!

Hi 02476lisa, welcome to the site. I really like your ATBA, it's a great use of space. I might be a little wary about using digital probe thermometers because many of them are notoriously inaccurate.

Habitat - Indoor :: POST YOUR BASKING AREA PICTURES HERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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