Habitat - Indoor :: Bulding my own tank i have some questions

[tingblings]

hey everyone. i got two turtles right now names fonzie and crush. i was going to build a tank with my dad around 120gallons. we're also going to build the stand. does anybody know a really good website or good book i can get for it. the turtles are both still relatively small but they are growing fast. i'm building it prolly around christmas time. another month or so in my ten gallon tank will not hurt my turtles i'm sure of it. i just need some good advice or some good book cause most of the internet sites i've seen are average at best. but i don't want to build the typical tank i want it a little wider so they even when they get huge can turn around in it. it seems like it will be a fun project to do and from what most sites say they're not impossible to build. me and my dad aren't too bad with tools so i'm sure we could do it the stand shouldn't be too hard either. i just need some advice. i plan on doing a really sweet looking over the tank basking area also. don't know what i'll do with my old tank probably let my beta fish swim around it or put some rosy reds in it for the turtles. thanks for any and all input everybody.

[emma]

Here- I was looking through the forum to day and I found someone trying to build a tank too. There are some links on here--
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=577

[untsmurf]

Another user actually made his tank and stand with his dad and photographed the progress. Here's the link:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10299

I would also suggest looking at aquarium making companies and read their descriptions of how they make their tanks to find info on glass thickness and amounts/types of glue/sealant.

[killrmack]

It might seem wierd but allot of people build tanks out of plywood and have a viewing window and thats it thats what i plan to do when i get the room probly a 300-500 gallon it will be a home the y will never grow out of

[untsmurf]

You mean the sides of the tanks are plywood? If so, I wouldn't suggest doing that. You'd have to put like 800 layers of sealant on something like that and it still probably wouldn't work. I think the cages that you are seeing are made for snakes and lizards and the like, nothing aquatic.

[DavidY]

Actually you can make really huge aquatic tanks out of plywood using the same techniques as in boat making, just inside out! lol! You can buy marine grade fiberglass resin and matting to line the inside of the aquarium for strength and then coat that with a few coats of resin or epoxy. Here's a great online store for building supplies...http://www.jamestowndistributors.com. The stuff that was recommended to me for sealing a glass window to the fiberglass is called SikaFlex. You can do a search for it on that site. I was gathering a bunch of info for building a huge enclosure in my basement for my... *sniff* ...my caiman... ...well, maybe I'll still build one someday for a shark tank!

[powerofvoodoo]

To house two RES together, I would think that you would want to consider around a 200 gallon tank to be a permanent set up. I think a 120 gallon would be a bit too small for 2 adult RES even if the basking area was above the tank.
Good luck with your tank and be sure to keep us updated on the progress!