Photo Gallery :: Skipper, 12 years in

[Skippah]

oh that was 2017! only the most recent messages were from 2022! :0

[Skippah]

so, my dad is too sketched out by the idea of constructing a DIY plywood tank. he's worried about the weight of the water cracking the wood. what a dork
he does seem okay with the idea of cutting into the wall though, he suggested an idea to cut a hole and build a nesting area resting in it, extending the basking area. if i'm not making sense, look at the last image on page 1 of this thread. extend basking platform to the left, into the wall. put bin of soil/sand in wall underneath basking area.

that would be cool, but the other half of my problem is that i need a bigger tank for my three goldfish to overwinter in, and skipper's current tank would be a major improvement!

so, since i'm "nOt AlLoWeD" to haphazardly slap together a tank, i'm eyeing a 150gal fiberglass tank w front window, for $671 (pentair). that price is moderately crazy but it's technically doable if i reallly budget for a few months! i'm scared of the shipping cost, though... it needs a "custom quote"

[steve]

Is the tank going to be placed in a basement or outside? I'm not sure about cutting into the wall either... it's just that it can be a lot of work. A fiberglass tank does sound interesting, though I might be tempted to go a little bigger given the financial investment.

[Longhorn]

I can't seem to keep those suction cup brushes stuck to the glass. My kids knock them loose in no time and I find them floating around their tanks.

[Skippah]

i solved that problem by zip tying it to her little shelf-house!

maybe your turtles don't have shelf-houses though lol.

[Skippah]

Is the tank going to be placed in a basement or outside? I'm not sure about cutting into the wall either... it's just that it can be a lot of work. A fiberglass tank does sound interesting, though I might be tempted to go a little bigger given the financial investment.

1. it'd be in the basement, where her current tank is! a big part of the reason that we built me a room in the basement is that the weight of her tank was causing the floor to sag...
2. i don't think cutting into the wall would be that much work. i mean, we built it, it's not load-bearing at all, and only one side is finished. it's just 2x4s, rolled insulation, and gypsum board on one side. there's one power outlet that we put in, which could be moved, and it'd be easy to see where the wires are by just pulling the insulation out.
3. the 180 gallon would fit, for $200 more... so be it. i'd do anything for this critter.

[steve]

Sounds good! Is there a reason you want to go with the fiberglass tank over the stock tank, aside from the window? I also like the summer stock tank idea, a cover like you have for the fish should be fine.

[Skippah]

the window and the shape. the fiberglass tank is completely rectangular, unlike stock tanks which usually have rounded corners, and that would work better for the idea i have.

[Skippah]

i caught her sleeping on the basking platform earlier!

i've seen her bask with her eyes closed and limbs outstretched, but head down and legs danglin'? i don't remember seeing that before haha. she woke up and went back into the water a few minutes after i took the photo.

[steve]

Must've been real tired from all the floating, pooping, basking, and eating.

[Skippah]

I've been doing a lot of research and thinking on the new enclosure ideas!
Most importantly, I started writing a persuasive essay to try and convince my dad that it's actually chill to make a plywood tank. This has lead to me doing a ton of research on the different options so I have all my facts straight.
I got a quote on shipping for the 150 gallon fiberglass tank (I re-measured the space, and due to some quirks where the wall meets the floor, I don't think the 180 would fit. 48" wide is the max we can do.) and got a pretty big number, $530, making a total of $1,257.
I also learned the reason that there isn't too much on stock tanks with windows. Larger plastic stock tanks almost always either have some kind of indents on the sides or have a "stepped" design, presumably for structural support, that make it impossible to put a sizeable window in them. Metal ones are more smooth, but I don't really want to deal with trying to cut into metal haha.

So at this point, I'm working on designing blueprints for the enclosure. Right now I'm stuck on how to design the land area. For the nesting area, based on the information on the site, 12" should be plenty deep, but what about width and length? Do you think 18" wide x 24+" long would be enough?

[steve]

Personally, I'd rather do the standard stock tank and adding a window doesn't seem worth it. As for the built-in basking area, it's worth a shot but most times turtles don't like to use them.

[Skippah]

(Yay, I fixed it so that notification emails aren't going into my spam anymore!)

Not having any kind of viewing window would make me pretty sad tbh, I've had almost 13 years of interacting with her through the glass.