20 gallon vertical conversion project x2

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rhino43grr

New member
i'm going to be converting two 20 gallon glass aquariums into vertical setups and using two different, but similar methods.

the basic plan for both can be found here. i plan to do great stuff and cork bark backgrounds in both and using bioactive substrate with live plants.

for one tank i'm leaving all the glass intact. the other tank i removed the glass on what will be the new top. both tanks have two round holes near the back of one side, but are otherwise standard 20 gal. fish tanks.

the glass-intact conversion will be first. i intend on using it to house a gargoyle gecko.

i've placed the cork bark in the configuration i plan to use. the entire thing will be moved up toward the top of the tank above the substrate, but it was much easier to rest the pieces on the bottom for now.

front view:

SAM_0750 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

side view:

SAM_0751 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

any suggestions so far on the cork placement? (besides reminding me that it needs to be moved up about 6 inches)
i will be posting pictures of the construction process as i go, but i plan on doing the background first so i'm not working around the door, screen section and substrate barrier.
 
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rhino43grr

New member
plugged the two holes in the left side of the tank with conduit pieces (you can see them in the first picture, all the way on the left) and siliconed them into place/together. also sprayed in the great stuff around the cork for the background.

pictures to follow once it dries.
 
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rhino43grr

New member
i shaved down the great stuff and i'm in the process of drying out the eco-earth in the oven. here's a picture of the background so far.


SAM_0753 by rhino43grr, on Flickr

it's going to be a pain trying to work around the "branches" to get the silicone and coco fiber over the great stuff in a few spots.
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
Wow! That's going to be awesome! Keep the updates coming! The silicone and coco fiber step is the messiest and most difficult! At least it wasn't my favorite part!
 
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rhino43grr

New member
thanks, i did the silicone and coco part today. i'll post some pictures after i let it dry for a day or so. i started off trying to use gloves but ended up just ditching them and wiping my fingers off with paper towels in between spreading the silicone and applying the coco fiber.

note to self: put the branches in after the background is done instead of making them part of the background. it's really hard to get silicone into some of the small spaces i left myself to work with.
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
I did the same thing! I put the branches in as a part of the background and had to work around them! It was awful!!! I also tried gloves for all of about 2 minuets and ditched them and made a mess of my hands and clothes!
Looking forward to those pictures!!
 
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rhino43grr

New member
my order from new england herpetoculture came today so i went a little out of order with the construction process. the tank is planted, but i still need to put the door on the front.

pictures tomorrow.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
That is going to be fun putting the door on after getting the tank all done up! Are you going to epoxy the door on with hinges like the 10's? Let me know how that works for you because I have a hasp I need to put on a 10 that has a gecko in it(right now tape is holding the door closed:biggrin:).
 
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rhino43grr

New member
most likely a gargoyle gecko as soon as i find one i like that i don't need to have shipped.

the bromeliad in the soil (neoregelia chiquita linda) was an extra that was sent in my order and it has a good sized pup on it. i put one on the background and i'll be moving the one in the soil into another tank once i find a good piece of driftwood to take its spot.

the second 20 gallon vertical conversion will be for something that needs uvb since i'm making it with a screen top. probably either lygodactylus williamsii or one of the smaller phelsuma species. building that tank will be a little trickier since i need to use some aluminum pieces to replace the plastic i broke.
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
I'm so in love with Gargs at the moment (who am I kidding? I'm so in love with all geckos!)! I'm getting two before the spring! Good luck with your other build and finding that Garg!
 
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rhino43grr

New member
i'm thinking about putting a small concrete garden statue in the tank on the right side (in place of the bromeliad on the floor) but i didn't know if it would be "safe"

any insight?
 
Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
I'm sure it'll be okay. My leopard geckos custom tank background is made via the foam and grout method. I have it painted so it has a seal of sorts on it. I would try clearcoating it.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
Yeah I'd wash the thing real well and rinse it off even better afterwards. I'm sure it will be just fine!
 
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Logie Bear

New member
Holy crap, that tank is looking fantastic! 2 big questions, I hope you'll divulge the secret to: How did you go about removing the glass on the first tank for the new top, and secondly can you post more pics on how you're constructing a door for fronts of the cages? I would looooove to try my hand at making a viv like this but you've totally got me stumped on the front part!
 
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rhino43grr

New member
here's the link with instructions on how to do the vertical conversion:

Rapture Reptiles - Vertical Door Construction

i didn't remove any glass for this one. on the other tank i just put the whole thing into a kiddie pool that was going in the trash with the side i wanted to remove on the bottom, hit it with a hammer and pulled out the broken glass. i accidentally broke the plastic frame when i was trying to get some stubborn pieces out, though, so i'll have to do more work than if the plastic had stayed intact.
 
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Logie Bear

New member
Oh sweet, that's a very helpful link. Thanks! I also just found the 10 gal conversion thread and am reading through that now. I'm definately going to have to start trolling craigslist for give-away aquariums to experiment with! For those of you who have built some of these, do you have an approximation on what the cost of materials has been from lowes for each tank?
 
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rhino43grr

New member
Logie Bear said:
Oh sweet, that's a very helpful link. Thanks! I also just found the 10 gal conversion thread and am reading through that now. I'm definately going to have to start trolling craigslist for give-away aquariums to experiment with! For those of you who have built some of these, do you have an approximation on what the cost of materials has been from lowes for each tank?
Click to expand...

just trying to go from memory and give some approximate costs...

glass will probably run ~$5-6. you should be able to get both glass pieces cut from one sheet as long as you figure it out ahead of time.

screen frame kit ~$12. (4 48" pieces, 4 corners, spline) you will have some left over.

extra screen frame corners ~$2 for a pack of 4.

mesh screen ~$20? can't remember how much it was. you'll have a ton left over. i know the really fine mesh to keep fruit flies in/out is $30 at lowes, but cheaper mosquito/no-see-um fabric is cheaper at camping stores, etc.

hinges/handle/latches ~$8 total

so probably ~$70 for enough stuff to do the doors for two tanks.

as far as the costs of the stuff for the background and substrate...

great stuff ~$3-4 per can. i used one can on this 20 gal.

brown silicone for covering the background ~$5-6 i used one tube.

clear silicone ~$4-5 only need it for the glass and screen-frame so i just used part of a tube of aquarium sealant from petsmart.

eco-earth/coco-fiber/coir ~$7 one brick was enough to do the background and use in the substrate mix.

orchid bark ~$4-5 for in the substrate mix

sphagnum moss ~$4 for substrate mix

natural hardwood charcoal ~$7 for substrate mix

cork bark tubes and flats ~$12 each at petsmart, etc.

magnolia leaf litter ~$4 with at least half leftover

plants ~$12

springtail culture ~$7

isopod culture ~$8

hydroton/LECA ~$18 with some left over

wow. i spent a lot of money on this stuff. doesn't seem like it's costing that much when you space everything out.
 
daggekko

daggekko

New member
I think the window screen is $7 for enough to probably do 6 10 gallons. I ended up buying a bag of spline for about $4(25 feet) and got the 8 foot lengths of the aluminum frame. They were $4 each I think. The kit is nice if your just doing the one or 2 tanks, but since I will need to make 8 more I figure I just don't want to buy 8 kits. In the end if you do many tanks the kits I believe(I could be wrong!) will cost more. I also bought a couple cans of the black spray paint for plastics to make everything look uniform in color. I also used black silicone when attaching the glass to the door frame. Again that was more money ($7) that I could have avoided, but I am happy that I did. It can depend on the latches you use as well as the hinges and door handle. Some are more expensive than others. My hardware probably cost me closer to $10 for each tank. I am assuming you found the 10 gallon conversion that rhino43grr started and I helped out in?

wow. i spent a lot of money on this stuff. doesn't seem like it's costing that much when you space everything out.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was going to say I think I ended up spending nearly $50/tank on the first couple. And I didn't do backgrounds. I'm not going to dig deep and look into how much I did spend though because I don't want to see how rediculous I am:biggrin:
 
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