40 gallon tile question

[Nihilist]

I have a 40 gallon breeder tank, of course it says its 36" x 18" x 18" but that's on the outside. I measured to the best of my abilities, which isn't saying much, and I came up with 35 11/16x17 11/16 for width and length. Figured I would go with 35 5/8 x 17 5/8 to give me a little room on the sides to make it easier to put in and pull out. Going to try and do it with two or 6 tiles. For anyone that has done this before does it sound like it would work? Or should I leave more room on the sides?

 

[CooperDragon]

I have an exo terra 36x18x18 and had my tiles cut to 17x17 and they fit pretty well with a bit of finger room around the edges.

 

[Nihilist]

How rough does the time need to be. Finding nothing but smooth tile.

 

[ruben0311]

I went to Home Depot and while looking through the slate tile area found a lot that were opened, just from shipping and offload... I spoke with a sales member and they let me pick and choose which pieces I wanted to keep in order to make a full package. I was able to pick out the most exaggerated pieces and even got a discount because of the open package. not one of the tiles is flat, all have several raised layers of slate.

 

[Nihilist]

Ya Lowes only has one that would work. Have to buy in bulk and they don't cut that type.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

You could try Menards. That's where I got my tile (haven't put it in yet, but that's cause I haven't had a chance to cut it). They had several textured tiles to pick from, though you kinda have to feel them to figure out which ones they are.

 

[Nihilist]

You could try Menards. That's where I got my tile (haven't put it in yet, but that's cause I haven't had a chance to cut it). They had several textured tiles to pick from, though you kinda have to feel them to figure out which ones they are.

No Menards in my area :|

 

[Rampagingraptor]

You could always try searching it online or ordering it from these stores online. Kind of hard to judge them then, though.

 

[Nihilist]

You could always try searching it online or ordering it from these stores online. Kind of hard to judge them then, though.

Going to look at Homedepot tomorrow. Was told they are having a clearance on mismatched pieces, by a Lowes rep, and he thinks he saw what I was looking for. If nothing there then I am going to do the online thing.

 

[Nihilist]

Well struck out at Home Depot, they had what I wanted but would have to cut them myself. Renting a saw is $45 for 4 hour, at the cheapest price. Will be searching online for tiles cut to what I need.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Yeah, that seems to be my issue with getting my tile stuff done, too. My uncle will probably help us with that, though.
You can always try using it in the tank for now and just leaving little spaces inbetween the edges, then covering them with something like newspaper or a decoration in the tank.

 

[Nihilist]

Yeah, that seems to be my issue with getting my tile stuff done, too. My uncle will probably help us with that, though.
You can always try using it in the tank for now and just leaving little spaces inbetween the edges, then covering them with something like newspaper or a decoration in the tank.

Can't even find any tile that will remotely fit, either way too large or any combo tiles that won't leave me 6+ in gaps. Did a web search but couldn't find anything but going to try a few mom and pop stores and see if I can find anything that doesn't cost it's weight in gold or maybe willing to cut tiles I buy from a different store. Till then this project is on hold lol.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Yeah, its not as easy to do as it sounds. You could try some alternatives, but I don't really know what you could do personally without doing some research into it. If I turn up with anything, I will keep you informed!

 

[ruben0311]

Try this.. get a large size tile, however many you think would be able to take care of your dimensions, then get one more on top of that.... put the tiles in a trash bag and smack that sucker with a mallet. you'll get various sized pieces that you can piece together to make a mosaic type of flooring. fill the spaces with any kind of waterproof filler... or use loose substrate, and viola. if you like you can secure the tile pieces to linoleum tiles so you can remove them as larger pieces too, kinda like homemade tiles... made out of tiles... on tiles.. hmmm.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I like that idea! I'll probably stick with just cutting it personally.