Above Tank Basking Area - Details
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- čas přidán 13. 06. 2012
- This is the basking area we built for our Red Ear Slider. I got a LOT of ideas from the forums at redearslider.com/ - I very much recommend reading their basking area build thread. I managed to put a big scratch in the left window while I was shooting this. Bah!
UPDATE VIDEO: • Above tank basking are...
I just noticed that we are now at the 10 year mark. This entire setup is still going strong. Sammy is happy, XP3 filter is happy, tank is happy. Only changes over the years was the addition of a UV sterilizer (strongly recommended) and upgrading the tank lights to LED.
Hands down one of the best turtle tanks I've ever seen. The basking area is genius. Well done!
That's exactly awesome the design I'm looking for. It works for a large turtle AND it looks really nice. It works with the heat lights and everything to make the turtle's life better. My daughter's turtle has become very large and the floating dock doesn't keep him completely out of the water anymore. Thank you for publishing your vid. Excellent job!
Thank you for posting. We have a large RES and none of the commercially available basking platforms are large enough. She is very happy with her new basking area. Has been up and down the ramp several times in the first hour.
I built one of these about 6-7 years ago after seeing this vid. I put your few wood size descriptions into a cad program and nocked up a blueprint sized for my 75 gallon. I made some very minor changes such as leaving the handles off the plexiglass windows, no florescent bulbs on the back of the topper, and textured rubber matting on the ramp rather than holes. With 3 coats of water proof paint, mine is still going strong with no signs of deterioration with good cleaning every few months. Good design and compliments the tank's heavy duty wood stand so well that it looks like the topper came with the tank.
That's awesome! Mine is still doing great - My guy is outgrowing the tank so in the not too distant future I'll be building another one.
This is one of the better ones I've seen. U could probably make some money selling these on e bay
It was Rustoleum semi gloss. One of the premixed quarts off the shelf at Lowes. I put 3 coats on, and its holding up very well.
Just built one for my 75 gallon tank.
Came out good.
I just need the windows in and paint to finish 100%
Thanks for the video.
That's amazing! That's definitely one of the best set-ups I've ever seen.
So brilliant and extremely well done! What workmanship!
That is a VERY NICE tank topper! The nicest one I have seen!
Hands down the bests turtle top I've ever seen! If you're turtle gets bigger you may have to do it all over again. Just be sure to film it for us.
I finally finished my turtles topper and its on CZcams! Thanks for the idea
Very nice setup. I especially like the sliding doors.
This is the exact idea I had roughly , mine ended up a little different but very close , best one I have seen on here so far
Thanks! The goal was to make it look store bought and like a piece of furniture. I'm really happy with it, and my turtle loves it too. Eventually I would like to upgrade to a 90 gallon as well - I'll need to build another topper then or modify this one to work..
This is real nice dude! Good job, I'm thinking of doing everything you did exactly!
It's just amazing, you did a great job. Wish I was that handy to make one for my turtles, I did however felt inspired by your video to at least give it a try.
I wish I had the time to! It really is a *very* simple project. Every cut is straight, and you can easily adapt the design to fit any shape/size tank. The black paint can cover a LOT of mistakes and have it still look good. Give it a shot!
Very nice setup 👍🏼
Thank you! This is awesome. I watched it a million times today and made my plans. Hope it turns out nice too! I will post a pic when finished...
Awesome! So glad it was helpful. Good luck with your project.
I will send my turtle topper pic shortly. :)
is it done? bc i don't understand how to build it
You should definitely sell those toppers I'd love to buy one!!
Brahma Bull My 40-gallon version of this is for sale. I live in So Cal. I have about $200 of materials into it... will sell for significantly less.
still Brahma, just different account lol.. but yea, I have a 75 gallon tank and live in cleveland
Me too!!
love your setup
Wow!!! That is incredible! I just adopted a RES and I am getting a 75g aquarium 48"x18"x20"(LWH) for him as he is about the same size of yours. I am however totally clueless when it comes to doing this type of jobs or anything requiring being handy for that matter. However, to build something like this for the sake of my turtle I would definitely be willing to embark on this project.
The tank itself is in a bay window, so we have algae working against us, but it is usually pretty clear. I clean the filter every 6 weeks or so, and replace about 60% of the water every 2-3 months. Up keep is pretty minimal.
Hi John - I used Rustoleum semi gloss enamel latex. It was a quart of the premixed black off the shelf at Lowes. It has held up well. There are 3 coats on it, with a light sanding between each. There is a skirt around the bottom of the box of 1/2" x 2" - I think I mention it right at the start of the video. The eggcrate as well as the tile floor are held up with rails around the perimeter of 3/4" x 1/2" pine.
Looks great!!!! Once I get a bigger tank I plan on building something similar.
Perfect tank!!! So many good ideas for my tank with my 12
If I were building it (and I will have to eventually when I upgrade tanks) I would do it exactly the same, just deeper to cover the whole top of the tank. You may run into issues with the light not being bright enough for the whole tank. You could resolve that by having the back wall of the topper pushed even further forward so you could use double tube fixtures. Mine is only moved forward about 2". If I pushed it any further forward than that the basking area wouldnt be big enough.
It will melt the plastic. If you get the Aluminum eggcrate you could place the heatlamp on it directly, but its harder to find. They dont carry it in Lowes/Homedepot but you can find it online or maybe at an electrical supply house. They use it as a diffuser in fluorescent lights in office buildings and retail.
i really want to make the exactly same setup for my 90 gallon tank! mine is so plain and boring but your setup makes the whole tank look professional
im gunna make one for my 75 gallon
Excellent video
Well - A job well done! I might just be able to make that work with my 40 gallon tank and two tier stand. Great setup!
Wow. After watching all the other "basking areas" on youtube you really put them all to shame. This looks great! The turtle gods smile on you.
I am GREEN with envy! You are so handy this is beautiful.
Great job bro
Nice setup! I wish I can do something like this to my tank!
Man, that is AWESOME!!! I have a 55 gallon tank and the toppers I see that are sold are too small from my slider. She is pretty large.
I would love to get the directions from you. Granted I have a 125 gallon tank but I love this set up. very smooth and does not look out of place one bit as it covers the entire tank. I am new to the fish tank world and I'm just getting start. YUP Im a rookie
thats a awesome set up
Sure thing. We are using a Rena XP3 filter. This is a 55 gallon tank, so the filter is way oversized compared to what you would do with fish. In the bottom basket I have the 2 coarse pads and 2 medium pads that the filter came with. 2nd basket is all bio media (A mix of cylinders, stars, and stuff that looks like rocks - I forget what it is called.), I have a polishing pad on top of that. The top basket is 1/2 bio media and half polyfill.
very nice baskin platform
I have A Red Ear Slider turtle and want to know if i can keep it outside by making a rectangle in the dirt and filling that in with a large container filled with water so it can go in and out when ever it wants in an area in my backyard. It will be secured and where the sun also hits. I will also put shade for it. I want to do this because my turtle does not bask at all i had it for about a month and i recorded three full days and reviewed the footage and i found out it does not bask at all. It stays under water and swims.
Thanks Liam.
That is awesome! My turtles are just babies right now, but I'm considering doing something like this when they upgrade to a bigger tank. Great idea!
So the main body of the topper is the exact same width and depth of the tank and sits directly on top. The "skirt" forms a lip all the way around that wraps around the upper rim of the tank and covers the seam where the topper meets the tank. It holds it in place nice and snug. I used glue and a nail gun to attach that to the main body of the topper. If you look at the handles on the side of the topper, they are attached to the skirt board. Make sense? I wish I had taken more build pictures.
Really nice
Love it! Love it! Perfect! Finally after searching and searching I found what I was looking for. Thank you. Gonna save this video and show it to hubby! His butt better get on it fast! My Loki needs her tank pimped. =D
This is amazing
Great tank.
Nice job
Great job mate :) Thx for the idea :D
Cool tank
Aside from adjusting dimensions (My tank is 13" front to back and yours is probably 18") I would do it exactly the same. The good thing is that you could spare a few more inches in the back for lighting. Mine is only like 2-3" and I had to use slim line flourescents. You could probably get away with 4-5" and use LED aquarium lights, or whatever you like....
How cool !
Could you possibly post your plans for this? Dimensions, materials, etc? Thanks!!!
That is an awesome topper. I would love to do this for my turtles
I think you could adapt it to any size tank...You might need something a little sturdier than plastic eggcrate for the top though. Maybe build frames about of 1x1's and then cover them with 1/2" hardware cloth? Also, for the basking area itself I am using floor tiles - They top out at around 24" square, so you would need to find another option, or just push the back of the topper forward so that the basking area is only 24" deep....
You should definitely start selling these as a hobby . I have a 75 gallon and would love one . You would make $$$
great video
Beautiful!!! Please make me one!!
very very nice
The paint works fine (think of a painted wood sided house). I'm sure it will eventually rot, but I think I will be able to get a good 5-10 years out of it. It's a little over a year old now and there are no signs of deterioration.
Wow your video quality is good in 2012
really cool.
Best turtle tank ever seen
Awsome! I need one!
Well i did it!! No expeirience building anything ever but i invested in a jigsaw and this is the result! Terrapin tank above tank basking area
Great work!!
would you mind uploading a complete tutorial in the future if you make another one?
Wow! This is awesome! May I ask you how expensive this was for you to do? I'm really liking how nice it looks, and I would love to do something like this for my tank!
Search for "sliding door track". The ones I ordered are Knape & Vogt P2417TAN72. They cost around $10.
I wish I had made a step by step when I built it, but this was all pretty much off the cuff and just based around the measurements of the tank and the lights that I hung on the back.
very cool!
Amazing
This is really nice, I love seeing people build custom things for their turtles! That's love!
I have one question though, I don't think you mentioned it... roughly how much did it cost to make?
Keep up the great work!
Really cool
Its a Rena XP3. Works great.
This looks awesome. Much better than my turtle topper from online lol
Amazing What would you suggest for a 75 gallon tank? I would love to do the same thing it looks great and looks safe and clean for my turtle.
nice tank sir
hi there. amazing setup!! I have bought a new tank for my 2 turts, it arrives wednesday and i need to think about what to do about their new basking area. I defiantly want to go above the tank, my current one is above but out the side but i won't be able to do this with the bigger tank. see Terrapin tank basking area setup new! for my current setup! is there ANY chance you could do a dummies guide to building this? it would be SUPER amazing. my new tank is the aqua one AR980 and ill be taking off the above tank filter and using a fluval so will have full access to the lid! Thank you in advance!!!
Hello. Please i have Question. I understand the lighting of the upper part. I dont understand what is shining on the bottom of the aquarium.
Awesome set up, I'm planing to do pretty much the exact same thing. Just a quick question, is the topper on the inside lip of the tank or does it sit on top of it, or does it sit on top with a lower hanging lip, if so how did you do that? does that make any sense?
hi, love your topper, but i do have a question your water is so clear, can you tell me what order is the media in your filter, and what do you have in it, thank you
Sure. You can easily cut it with some heavy scissors or a pair of tin snips. The only downside is that you cant sit a heat lamp directly on it. They do make the eggcrate out of Aluminum, but it gets pricey and can be hard to find.
I absolutely love this set up! I'm so glad that I found this video. I'm definitely planning on attending this. I also have a question, what kind of filter do you have? All the ones I've tried for my tank never seem to keep it looking clear like yours. I must have gone through 4 different ones.
I have a Rena XP3 and a UV Sterilizer to help control Algae. Works great!
do you have any advice for making one for my 75 gallon tank?
Awesome …i wish i could do one of those for mine, but i’m afraid the tank might break if i fill it all the way to the top lol!
How did you attach the skirt to ensure the top tank does not move? I am building a topper now but the only suggestion I find online is to use Velcro. I like your idea better but I didn't catch how you attached the skirt to the bottom tank. Thanks
I used an air nailer and woodglue on everything (including the skirting boards)
Can you post a link to the rails purchased on Amazon? I can't find them.
Awesome I want something like that
nice man thanks
I used latex paint and water based wood glue, so I didnt wait any longer than it took the paint to dry.
Thanks for the idea! My husband is making one just like this but 5 feet long for our 9 inch R.E.S. turtle.
Awesome! It should scale up to a bigger size no problem.
Its coming along pretty awsome maybe when it's done I will make a lil video to show u as well :)
TrIsHyPoOh81
I would definitely love to see it
Quick question! How has the wood help up over time with the water?
That's an amazing setup! But, can you put the egg crate as a screen top directly on to the tank not the rim of the turtle topper?
what is the "box" made of? like the material surrounding the plexi glass
Sure. It's probably easier just to buy new, but you could certainly recycle other wood. Just be sure that it is not MDF or Pressboard of some sort. The humidity will cause the glue in them to fail and it will just fall apart.
Probably around $100. I wasn't keep too close of an eye on it, but its around that. A lot of it depends on what wood and acrylic go for in your area - It can very pretty wildly.