Made to size...

[jetmerritt]

Well,
I have a dresser that I want a custom tank for...

Here is the beginning. I bought the glass pre cut for $125 and the aquarium safe silicone for $12.
I think there is a screen for the top at the pet store that will fit my tank, then onto finding a heater and decorating it.

This was super easy to assemble so far. All the green tape is for nice clean lines. I cleaned all the glass with glass cleaner, then isopropyl alcohol before siliconing everything together. I used duct tape to secure it all together. I thought I would have to clamp it, but the duct tape actually worked really good.

I'll keep adding as I progress. I was thinking about a wood back and maybe some other stuff but I am thinking now, just take the easy road. I don't have a wood shop.

The tank is 48"X16"x13". I find the pet store tanks are always proportionally the same and didn't work for my spot I had picked out, they are too deep and too tall.

 

[hikisquid]

Ooh very nice. Perhaps run a bead of silicone on the top edge of the glass, so you don't have to worry about the sharpness?

I'm looking into building a custom tank for my snake, I'm kind of tired of his tote. XD

 

[jetmerritt]

I'm hoping to get this set up right.

I bought a giant heat pad for it, I think I'll go for the manufacturers recommendation and mount it on the back wall.

The glass is all sanded and it is not too sharp. I have to make a screen for the top though, I'll head to the building supply this afternoon and see what I can dig up.

 

[Amanda47]

If the tank is for a snake, I don't think putting the heat pad on the back wall will help it much. Snakes use a hot spot to help digest their food (or warm up if they're too cold). If that hot spot is somewhere they can't lie on it, it won't do them any good. They have to make contact with the warmth.

 

[jetmerritt]

If the tank is for a snake, I don't think putting the heat pad on the back wall will help it much. Snakes use a hot spot to help digest their food (or warm up if they're too cold). If that hot spot is somewhere they can't lie on it, it won't do them any good. They have to make contact with the warmth.

Ok, you sound like you know what you are talking about...

So on the bottom is best then. The stupid instructions basically made it sound like your reptile will certainly die if you install their product, especially on the bottom... I realize that it is a C.Y.A. policy on their part.

What about running a carpet or whatever under the substrate? Do I need to do that? To keep my snake from cooking herself? The PO never had one in the tank. She seems fine now.

Any advice would be appreciated...


Thanks,

Jason

 

[Amanda47]

The safest thing to do is get a thermostat with a probe that will regulate the temperature of the under tank heater (UTH). You plug the thermostat into the wall, plug the UTH into the thermostat, and run the probe into the tank, placed against the glass over where the UTH is. When the UTH temperature reaches the thermostat setpoint, the thermostat will turn off the UTH before it gets too hot, and will turn it on again when needed.

(I don't know how much you know about that stuff, but I didn't know any of it when I started, so went ahead and explained it)

The Hydrofarm is a good option, works well, easy to use, inexpensive:

http://www.amazon.ca/Jumpstart-Digital-Thermostat-Heat-Mats/dp/B000NZZG3S/


Just placing the reptile carpet over the hot side might not be enough since snakes burrow and love to squeeze themselves into places. They have a lot of patience and spare time when it comes to poking around for nooks and crannies. I wouldn't want to see it find a way under the carpet and sit against the hot glass for a while. Maybe it never would do that, but probably not worth the risk.

It might still get too hot, even through the carpet. Some people put a stone floor tile over the hot spot in wooden vivs. I don't have any experience with that though.