55 gallon aquarium horizontal conversion

chairman · 11-25-15, 09:16 PM

I ended up with a 55 gallon aquarium with a pinhole leak in the bottom. Decided to see if I could turn it into a front opening enclosure with sliding doors.

I started looking for glass doors and ended up with 11.25" x 13.5" tempered glass panels that are 1/4" thick. They are panels from an exterior door and only cost $1.50 each. Took four panels to cover the opening.

For tracks I wanted to get double u channels intended for the purpose but couldn't find any locally. I went with 1/2" J channel used for vinyl siding. It wasn't quite tall enough on the front edge to hold the doors in place so I bought some vinyl moulding to place under the bottom piece of J channel. Here's the moulding and channel I used:

Proceeded to cut the moulding to length and use GE silicone I to adhere it to the aquarium. Cut and attached J channel using the silicone as well.

Let everything dry overnight and then put the glass in place. Used some clear plastic wall hangers for door handles. Thick felt furniture feet to raise the tank a hair so I could add heat tape. And that's pretty much it. All it needs is a thermostat and a pair of sliding glass door locks.

It isn't anything special, minimal ventilation and inability to add much in the way of overhead heat sources does limit the species it can house. (All panels tempered glass so no drilling.) But still, I think that it is pretty decent lemonade to squeeze out of a lemon tank.

**Minkness** · 11-25-15, 09:27 PM

Sould be good for a boa maybe. =)

IW17 · 11-26-15, 09:41 PM

Looks good so far. Two things. First be careful how much weight you put in these tanks when laid down like you have it. They're designed to hold weight when vertical not horizontal. It can be done and has so in the past but it's something to keep in mind. Second I'd cut down the size of your Uth. It should be no more than half the length of the tank so the animal has the option of getting away from the heat. Not sure if you were leaving it this way but I figured I'd speak up now before you got any further. Other than that I like it. Very thrifty.

jjhill001 · 11-26-15, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IW17

Looks good so far. Two things. First be careful how much weight you put in these tanks when laid down like you have it. They're designed to hold weight when vertical not horizontal. It can be done and has so in the past but it's something to keep in mind. Second I'd cut down the size of your Uth. It should be no more than half the length of the tank so the animal has the option of getting away from the heat. Not sure if you were leaving it this way but I figured I'd speak up now before you got any further. Other than that I like it. Very thrifty.

If you just set it to keep ambients it wouldn't cause much harm I'd think.

toddnbecka · 11-27-15, 01:54 AM

Should be great for holding humidity, but will there be enough air circulation for anything to breathe long-term?

pitontheprowl · 11-27-15, 05:01 AM

Might replace a door or two with Lexan an put some ventilation in them.
Other than that it all looks great.

chairman · 11-27-15, 09:59 AM

Thanks all.

I'm aware of the weight restriction. That is part of the reason why I left the front frame intact... with the frames in place the tanks are designed to hold a lot of weight in terms of the force that the water exerts on the glass. With the bottom track only allowing for an inch of substrate I shouldn't run into any problems housing standard tank fare like a little cypress mulch, pair of plastic hides, humid hide, water dish, a branch or two. I'd just have to avoid rocks, heavy hides, heavy bodied snakes, and stacking anything on top of the cage. At best you could probably double-stack cages like this but nothing like the towers that plastic cages can handle.

I have yet to run the heat so I do not know whether I need to cut that last third of the flexwatt off or not. It is a lot easier to cut off a piece I don't need than to add one back.

There will be plenty of ventilation for breathing. Remember, there's a gap between the top of the door and the top of the channel and there'll be gaps between glass panels once the locks are installed. Add the fact that the cage will be opened for feeding, spot cleaning, changing water, etc, there are ample opportunities for fresh air to enter. I'm not sure if there will be enough circulation to prevent mold, though. I'll have to run the enclosure and see what happens.

Minkness, I have been eyeing Dumeril's boas and you're not helping matters any. But I'd probably be more apt to move my cornsnake into this cage and give a boa the 4'x2' AP cage that my corn currently lives in. I think that this cage would do well as-is for a corn or king, there's plenty of cool space on the floor for a thin-bodied snake (even more if I remove a panel), I could add vertical perches to increase cool spaces to hang out it, and 50% humidity will be easy to maintain without mold (and humid hides added for shedding purposes).

**Minkness** · 11-27-15, 01:04 PM

I like dumers! Also, a hog island would be good! I don't know about corns or kings. I kinda want one some day...but meh...the one I had hid ALL the time, no matter how big or small the tank was. Even tried her in a tub x.x so, my experience wasn't stellar. I saw my BP out during the day more than my king. =(

I do really love that set up thiugh. I might look at doing that for my BPs when they need a larger space. I love seeing them out and about, so really want to stay away from tubs if possible, amd most other caging that's a good size and front opening are expensive!

Anyway, love what you're doing with it now. The comand brand plastic hook being used as a handle is genious! (Totally stealing that idea later lol).

Do you have plans for a locking system to help prevent escapes?

chairman · 11-27-15, 05:33 PM

Minkness, I am going to pull a "you" and suggest that everyone needs a cornsnake. It is very difficult to not find a color or pattern that you like. And they are almost universally good tempered. The meanest cornsnake I've ever encountered was my first snake and while she loved to put on threat displays all I had to do was talk to her and she'd calm down (for me, others had difficulties...). When I was 10 I wore that snake like clothing, many many hours per day. Find an adult or subadult on craigslist, pay the $30 and you're unlikely to regret it.

For locking, I'm going to use display case locks. Same as you'd find on an AP sliding door cage.

**Minkness** · 11-27-15, 05:53 PM

Lol. I like that idea, and I agree on the pretty colors. Would love a lavender stripe honestly. But I don't want another tiny baby for a whiiiiile and getting adults around here for a reasonable price is hard. Most people seem to want 100$ for their snakes here.

IW17 · 11-28-15, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhill001

If you just set it to keep ambients it wouldn't cause much harm I'd think.

Uth of any kind are going to have minimal, if any effect on ambient temperatures. Covering what basically amount to the entire floor of a Viv with heart tape is not good. The snake has no way to get off the hot spot. And I n the event of a thermostat failure, your animal could be in trouble. And yes some thermostats have a built in failsafe (herpstat), however all things man made can and will fail, including safeties. Unlikely, but still a possibility.