Waketek516
Member
So my little guy isn't so little anymore - ~3.5 months old - 14" and growing fast! 
I decided it's time to start building his new viv where he'll have lots more room and better scenery! Originally I thought about building my own cage, but the local pet store had a clearance sale on a 40G tank for a very good deal. I decided I could modify it to my liking, and save myself some effort.
I started by getting all the foam I needed for a background and rock structure. I started building it in the cage so I knew exactly how much room I'd have to work with:
Wall & platform
What will be a large cave:
Top View:
Next was making a new top - I wanted all my fixtures to be inside the tank for a cleaner look than everything sitting on top of the screen that came with it. I don't have many pictures of the build process of this, but it's basically a 38x18" sheet of 1/2" plywood with a 14x8" screened hatch for ventilation and access for feeding. I used a dual fixture from home depot for the heat lights, and a 24" dual T8 fluorescent fixture for my 24" Reptisun UVB & regular viewing light:
I decided to cut the wall in half to make removal for cleaning a little easier, and started my first layers of grout:
So far everything is going very well! - I'll have another update tonight when I get home from work, and start adding some paint detail on the background and rocks!
I decided it's time to start building his new viv where he'll have lots more room and better scenery! Originally I thought about building my own cage, but the local pet store had a clearance sale on a 40G tank for a very good deal. I decided I could modify it to my liking, and save myself some effort.
I started by getting all the foam I needed for a background and rock structure. I started building it in the cage so I knew exactly how much room I'd have to work with:
Wall & platform
What will be a large cave:
Top View:
Next was making a new top - I wanted all my fixtures to be inside the tank for a cleaner look than everything sitting on top of the screen that came with it. I don't have many pictures of the build process of this, but it's basically a 38x18" sheet of 1/2" plywood with a 14x8" screened hatch for ventilation and access for feeding. I used a dual fixture from home depot for the heat lights, and a 24" dual T8 fluorescent fixture for my 24" Reptisun UVB & regular viewing light:
I decided to cut the wall in half to make removal for cleaning a little easier, and started my first layers of grout:
So far everything is going very well! - I'll have another update tonight when I get home from work, and start adding some paint detail on the background and rocks!
