GOT THE TANK! :D now the project...

[Jaime]

So the other day I was watching Draco pace and dig at the side of his tank and I realized hes bored...hes currently in a 40 gal and is going insane lol...soooo, I went online and started searching local adds for used aquariums and low and behold theres a 75 gallon tank for sale...its used and old, some of the molding is missing but its safe for Draco, they wanted $100 for it...after talking with the lady she knocked the cost to $75 and then before I went to see it it was dropped to $50! I was excited because most $75 gals are $200 or more and the ones that are a little cheaper are always too far for me to travel...this one was literally 10 minutes from my house and the cheapest one I've found for a tank that size. Now on to the project...I want to make the best home for Draco.
I've been noticing in some pics posted that people are using tile? I would like to use small rock type tiles, but do I grout them together with regular grout? I also want to re-seal the tank corners to ensure it can withstand the weight since some of the sealant is damaged, adding the tile is going to add a lot more weight, what do I use to do this?...Draco is now 1 can he have some kind of safe type sand in a corner? What would safe sand be? I dont want him to get any impactions, Ive heard the calci sand is not good for them, ive never used it, hes always had repti carpets but they get so stinky! I love the concept of the tile and the ease of cleaning it and I would love to have a little corner with sand for him to explore if possible...im just want to make sure everything is safe for him it seems like with all this work it will be a couple of months before hes in it but Im hoping it turns out to be a unique project and something Draco enjoys ...I cant even wait til its finished. Any other thoughts and advice would be fantastic! thank you

 

[Germ]

Regular 1oo% silicone will do the job nicely on sealing the corners, sounds like it will have plenty of time to cure, need 24-48 hrs. Check with Southern Dissolution, one of our members, about the grout. If particle substrate is desired, the only one that I would recommend is Strained Children's Washed Play Sand. I have used it in all of my enclosures for years, without issues, If the choice is to use it, just be sure all your other husbandry specs are up to par & that you keep your BD well hydrated.

Unsure why a person would only use it in one area, I understand the concept in theory, but in practical use, your BD will spread it around your enclosure anyway, making it always look dirty & more difficult to clean.

 

[Jaime]

Thanks Germ, thats awesome! I may not go with the sand plan but it was a thought, I was thinking of doing maybe a foot of his enclosure with the sand on one end just to give him a different environment on one side, I was going to tile to a point then make a devider that would be very easy to climb over to enter into the sand side to seperate the sand and tile to help prevent it from spreading as much and keeping each side clean. I have so many ideas with this space! lol.

 

[Germ]

Yeah, many keepers think similarly, acquire a larger enclosure, then just clutter it up. Personally I prefer the K.I.S.S. system.

 

[SouthernDissolution]

Im glad I stumbled across this! LoL Germ you should have messaged me! What you need to know Jaime?

 

[SouthernDissolution]

If you want tile, from experience, I would suggest a more nonporous tile than that of a "Natural slate/rock" tile...My custom enclosure has porous, tumbled marble...As far as cleaning goes, it was a bit of a mistake...looks amazing, doesnt clean very well for tile...

You can use whatever you please but that was just my opinion on the tile itself...as far as grout goes, there is only ONE grout that I would recommend to use in any kind of critter cage.

I have used SpectraLOCK on both of my cages now, and what can I say? If you stay on top of your cleaning, then this grout literally is stain PROOF as it advertises. It is considerably more expensive than conventional grout, at roughly $25 for what you see in the picture above, but as far as the maintenance (Never has to be sealed or resealed where as conventional grout does yearly) its totally worth the extra coin. As far as the grouting process you have to be quick with this stuff...being it is an EPOXY and not regular mortar mix, it dries considerably fast, not too fast to dry in the bucket but fast enough where you cant walk away and come back to it later.

If you have ANY questions regarding tile/grout or the tiling and grouting process feel free to ask, I hope this helps!

 

[Germ]

Im glad I stumbled across this! LoL Germ you should have messaged me! What you need to know Jaime?

I did point her in the right direction . Thought that she might be able to take the initiative & message you herself . Glad you stumbled upon it.

 

[Jaime]

Thank you both for the info & thank you SD for taking the time to respond! I love the info and its greatly appreciated ...I assure you it wont be cluttered Germ, I think youll have to see it in person to see how it will be if I follow through with the half sand half tile plan...he will still have his entire floor space and I am planning on building him a hide/climber combined out of foam (I have to look more into how to do this properly). I want Draco to be able to run from side to side with all of the floor space

 

[SouthernDissolution]

Always man! I LOVE seeing people use tile. I have no problem with sand, I just prefer tile hands down and love to see what people do with it when they do use it. Like I said before, anymore questions Ill be glad to answer

 

[bb66]

Congrats on the good purchase looking forward to the end results sound interesting