10 gal. conversion project

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rhino43grr

New member
daggekko said:
Oh, question for you on this build. Since you have the piece of glass on the inside to make the tank water tight, does the piece of glass on the door actually butt up against it to prevent things like poop, crickets and geckos from getting inbetween the 2 pieces?
Click to expand...

there's a gap, which i'm going to have to figure out a way to cover. on the original plans i altered there would have been a false frame over the substrate barrier and a smaller door, which i now realize is meant to prevent that very issue. it won't look great, but i might try some weatherstrip tape.

also the lower hinge came loose already, so i'll probably have to get a different adhesive than silicone, probably some kind of epoxy that attaches metal to metal and metal to plastic.

at least i'll know what to do differently on the 20 gal. conversions.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
So I finally had a day off(I usually work 7 days a week) and decided I would get in on some of this 10 gallon conversion fun. I started off this morning with a tank that was cracked on the end that needed to be removed and the ideas in my head from this thread and the link to the other verticle conversion. Here is the fun->
The tank:








The equipment: I also had a flathead screwdriver and pliers. The sunglasses are always VERY important as right after I hit the glass with the hammer I had a piece of glass go in my ear!
















The black spray paint!










Once all the silicone sets overnight I am going see how the door fits and make any changes to it. I might use the epoxy I bought to try to attach the door but I might wait until monday to get the stuff that I know will end up working.
 
R

rhino43grr

New member
looking good. it took me a few days to get as far as you are. :lol:

let me know what epoxy you use so i can get some. i'm kind of unhappy with the way mine turned out so i'm itching to start on the 20 gal. tanks now that i know what i need to change.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Yeah I get compulsive sometimes. When I start a project I don't like to leave it unfinished. I picked up a little on this build today. Really I only have a tiny little bit left to finish it up.

For starts, I used a loctite brand epoxy. So far it has worked well. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it is very liquidy and I would have rather used a thicker substance. But if it holds I can't really complain!

The other thing I ran into yesterday was that I couldn't find a magnet set that was small. I bought a couple regardless because I figured I was going to need them either way. Today I actually took the magnet apart and found that I could use the parts much more to my liking that the whole set. I just siliconed the first magnet latch on and don't know if it is going to work or not. I will be getting back to you probably tomorrow about how well it worked. If it works I need to add one more. Here are some more photos:





















And this last photo is the basic concept of how the magnets are going to be touching each other with the door closed. Hope it works!
 
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rhino43grr

New member
i was going to get the loctite epoxy last night but wasn't sure which one to get, so i just got some generic contact cement. at this point i'm kind of just using this 10 gal. tank as practice for the bigger tanks. i got some weatherstrip tape and put that on the substrate barrier in hopes that it will fill the gap between the two pieces of glass. looks kinda bad, but oh well.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Yeah I went to 4 different stores looking for something I thought would work well and finally just broke down and got the loctite. I was looking at the package later trying to figure out if it would stick to steel or not when I realized that on the back where it lists the amount of strength it has it says on steel. So I figure it works on plastic but works better on steel, so it should be fine to use!

I finished the tank all the way up today(I told you I get impatient!) and the magnets work ok. I messed up somewhere on the spacing and it made the door have a much tighter fit. Once you push the door shut it does stay shut though, and only requires a tiny pull to open it up. I just will wait until later in the week once all the silicone has dried up and decorate it! Thanks for your inspiration!
 
R

rhino43grr

New member
i think i'm definitely going to use some sort of adhesive or epoxy on the screen frame corners for the 20 gal. tanks... i think the tight-fitting doors are a product of the frames expanding slightly if the corners aren't physically attached to the frame pieces.

i'm thinking that this 10 gal. tank will end up as just an extra and/or grow-out tank. i missed petco's $1 per gallon sale by one day (i was there yesterday and they said it didn't start until today) and there isn't one close to me, which is probably good since i really don't need to spend the money with two 20 gal. conversions and multiple other household projects to work on right now. 10 gal. tanks are only like $13 at walmart anyway if i need/want another one eventually.

now i'm just trying to get the office cabinets and bookshelves done as quickly as possible so my wife can't use it as a reason i can't get anything to fill the tanks with.
 
R

rhino43grr

New member
i used the self-adhesive weatherstrip tape on the gap between the substrate barrier and the door, but i don't really trust it. because of that, i'm just going to use this one as a plant-growing tank. i'm not going to bother doing a background or anything for it, although maybe i should just for practice.

work on the 20 gal. tanks won't start until i've finished a few other projects that have been on the to-do list a lot longer. i'll start a new thread and go step-by-step with pictures when i do those tanks.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
You should break it down and re-do it! Depending on how lazy I feel I might try to get started on another 2 or 3 of these today. I like the one I made a lot. The only issue I have with it is that the door sticks slightly when closing it. But the only reason I have an issue with it is because I would have liked to see the magnets actually work like they were closing the door and keeping it shut!
 
R

rhino43grr

New member
i got a few plants at lowes so i'm testing out the temps and humidity and seeing if i can keep the plants alive. i was able to get a used 12x12x12 zoomed terrarium for $15, so i figure that will be a good size for hatchlings/juvis and i can always keep an eye out for free tanks on craigslist or freecycle.

i'll post pictures as soon as they upload. i have three plants in pots inside the tank now. sansiveria, "mini adam" ivy (hedera helix) and "bush on fire croton" (codiaeum). i was worried after seeing croton isn't safe, but luckily it's the safe "misnamed" kind, not actual croton.
 
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rhino43grr

New member
pictures. sorry some of the close-ups are blurry, i can't find the normal camera so i used the photo mode on the video camera and it's not quite as good.

full tank:


100_0208 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

"mini adam ivy" (hedera helix)


100_0209 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

"bush on fire" codiaeum


100_0210 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

sansiveria (not sure which type)


100_0211 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

cork tube and thermo/hygrometer (taken just after the light came on; temps and humidity have both increased already)


100_0212 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

i put the cork tube in to try to trick my wife into thinking i had bought a gecko at the reptile show, but it didn't work.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
i put the cork tube in to try to trick my wife into thinking i had bought a gecko at the reptile show, but it didn't work.
Click to expand...

Nice try!! Better luck next time! I've got some sort of croton that was bought for me and I killed most of it off but after finding out it likes a lot of water(but not to sit in water) the last little bit started living instead of dying. Sansiveria does really well in my tanks. It likes to be watered frequently and to dry out slightly inbetween waterings. I have found it rots quickly if left in soggy wet soil. The tank doesn't look bad! I got that Krylon fusion spray paint for plastic in satin black and it looks really good. Might try that on your next tank. The can was about $4 at home depot or lowes and for a one coat job I am quite satisfied.
 
R

rhino43grr

New member
daggekko said:
Nice try!! Better luck next time! I've got some sort of croton that was bought for me and I killed most of it off but after finding out it likes a lot of water(but not to sit in water) the last little bit started living instead of dying. Sansiveria does really well in my tanks. It likes to be watered frequently and to dry out slightly inbetween waterings. I have found it rots quickly if left in soggy wet soil. The tank doesn't look bad! I got that Krylon fusion spray paint for plastic in satin black and it looks really good. Might try that on your next tank. The can was about $4 at home depot or lowes and for a one coat job I am quite satisfied.
Click to expand...

hopefully by next time i'll actually be able to bring one home. i had debated painting the frame/hardware black to match the aquarium plastic, but i kind of like the look of the unpainted metal, too. i'm kind of worried that with it sitting in a white bookshelf and on a white "countertop" the black would stand out too much and make the tank look smaller. maybe i'll put some electrical tape on this one to see how it looks before i do the other tanks.

for the plants, do they get watered like houseplants (i.e. pour water on them for a while) or should misting be enough as long as the leaves are coated with droplets and the soil is damp?
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
The plastic paint I use comes in at least a dozen colors. You could get a white paint and paint the rims of the tank and the door and hardware. I would worry about white though because it seems to look dirty faster.

I spray the enclosures with my geckos daily and about once a week I will actually water the plants. The other house plants I have only get watered as I don't want to spray water all over the place uncontained. I use pots for some of the plants that don't have drain holes(Money Tree loves this and syngonium(Arrow head plant?)) but for the ones that don't like to sit in water I only water those a little. I also don't want puddles of water in the bottom of the enclosure so the pots that have drain holes don't get over watered either. You'll have to play around with the plants to figure out what works and doesn't. The only plants I use anymore are:
Money Tree
Arrow Head Plant
Sansiveria(snake plant)
Philodendron
Dracaena
I only use these because I don't tend to kill them!
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Here the tank is decorated. The magnets were a waste of time after I pinned the bamboo in place. I'll have to figure out a quick easy latch because I am getting a new gecko in the mail tomorrow.


 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
I have the first one on all of my conversions as of now. They work well, but I want something smaller like a screw eye and hook. The big problem I always have with the latches is that when you start pinning bamboo in place the tank shifts slightly and then the bar doesn't line up as well as it first did. I am probably going to use tape for the time being:biggrin:
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Well thanks for giving me the build bug. I have just about worked it out of my system though. Tomorrow I have to epoxy the hinges, handles, and latches onto 4 new tanks!! I woke up this morning with the intent to do a 20L vert and a 10 vert and ended up doing 3 10's and a 20L. Once I get all the tanks on my rack I'll try to get a good picture of the old/new ways!
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
I still have to cut and paint the latches and wait for the epoxy to dry.



This is how they start and end up looking(the latches)

 
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