Tile Help?

[sbattisti]

OK, so, I want to put tile on the bottom of my enclosure. So far we've used shelf liner, but I'm ready to upgrade. spurlee told me the most important thing is that it be rough, so he's not ice skating on it.

Any particular recommendations?

Also, what's the deal with getting tile cut? My tank is 18x18x36, but inside the tank it's a little smaller, so I think I'll need tiles that fit basically a 17 x 34.5 area. I was at Home Depot today, and they said basically they don't cut tile any more.

Any ideas?

Steve

 

[spurlee01]

Okay, so tiles at Lowe's basically come in 6x6 for $.99 or 12x12 for $1.99 which is a better deal cuz it's like 4 6x6s. So I went with the 12x12s. So, you need:
2 12x12s with nothing done to them
1 12x12 with 1.5 inches cut off
Then, 2 more 12x12s each cut in half and another inch taken off so you have 4 pieces 5"x12". You will only need 3 of these but you can't buy half of a tile.

 

[sbattisti]

Thoughts of my own...

So, assuming the tiles are only available in 12x12, I would need six pieces to match those dimensions:

2 12 x 12 full
1 12 x 10.5 cut down

(these three would give me 34.5 in length)

Then I'd need:

2 5 x 12
1 5 x 10.5

So, six pieces of tile. Assuming the 2 5x12s can come from the same 12x12 piece, I'd need to buy 5 12x12 tiles, and have 3 of them cut.

Do I put anything under the tiles, to help protect the glass?

Thanks!

 

[sbattisti]

LOL, nice timing on the post. Great minds...

 

[spurlee01]

Oops you're right on the last one. Forgot to cut off the extra length. I don't have anything under to protect the glass, but you might be able to just put the tile on top of your shelf liner, I'm not sure really.

 

[BaskingBaby]

I had this same problem a few months ago. I have the same dimensions as you - a 40 gallon breeder. We just got two 18" tiles and a small sliver had to be sliced off of one of the tiles. Other than that, they fit in perfectly. It was really difficult cutting the tiles though. My boyfriend borrowed a tile cutter from his friend, and even then we broke a few of them.

 

[sbattisti]

I had this same problem a few months ago. I have the same dimensions as you - a 40 gallon breeder. We just got two 18" tiles and a small sliver had to be sliced off of one of the tiles. Other than that, they fit in perfectly. It was really difficult cutting the tiles though. My boyfriend borrowed a tile cutter from his friend, and even then we broke a few of them.

Yeah, I think I'd sooner take on performing surgery on Khalil . . . or myself . . . before I'd tackle using a tile cutter myself. Come to think of it, they might end up being the same thing!

 

[spurlee01]

I had this same problem a few months ago. I have the same dimensions as you - a 40 gallon breeder. We just got two 18" tiles and a small sliver had to be sliced off of one of the tiles. Other than that, they fit in perfectly. It was really difficult cutting the tiles though. My boyfriend borrowed a tile cutter from his friend, and even then we broke a few of them.

Yeah, I think I'd sooner take on performing surgery on Khalil . . . or myself . . . before I'd tackle using a tile cutter myself. Come to think of it, they might end up being the same thing!

Lol thanks I needed a good laugh, I'm flippin out over this paper!!!