105qt tote build

[Hermie225]

I'm planning to upgrade from my 20High, but space and weight are a bit of an issue. Ideally I'd love to overrun my house with beautiful tanks, but not everyone that lives here has the same appreciate I do for a beautiful tank and cute little hermits
So I've heard and seen some people using clear plastic totes and although I don't like the idea that it's not as perfectly clear as glass, I'm considering making a switch and going for it. I found these 105qt totes that are decent size (32.13 x 19.13 x 13.75). My idea is to stack two on top of each other and cut out the bottom lid so I can fill pretty much the entire bottom tote with substrate, and still have quite a bit of height for climbing.

I'm searching for some pros and cons to tote crabbing vs using an aquarium.

So far thru reviews on the Walmart website some people have said these totes are not air tight at the lid, so I'd have to devise a way to secure that completely on the bottom level but still be able to take it apart in the future. Was thinking silicone but that would be pretty permanent.

Sorry for the long post, lol.
Would love some input on this with pros and cons of using totes, anyone with experience using them or just anyone that has any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Ideally I'd like to get this done before winter (I live in MA so it's rapidly approaching lol)
Thank you


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[PinchersAndShells]

The worst I've heard is that the totes bottoms can fall out from the weight of the sand if you don't lift it a certain way, otherwise I don't believe there's much worse.

[aussieJJDude]

^^^ True, they can be prone to bowing...
But supporting the bottom with some old towels or some "blocks/lumber" could do the job and stop it from bowing. a temp crabitat I used a tote and I just folded a towel underneath until the thing didn't bow - by pressing down on it. If it remained "flat" it was all good. Worked fine, but not sure about long term - over a month - if it would make a difference. But some food for thought.

[Hermie225]

Ohh I didn't even think about bowing... I have to go to the store and physically see the totes, I have a feeling they are probably quite thin and definitely not rated for 200+lbs of wet substrate lol. This could be a bigger project than I thought.
The two totes stacked would equal to roughly 52 gallons total. With the entire bottom tote being filled with sub at about 26 gallons, would 3 bags of sand be enough? I used almost 2 for my 20g high and that's only at 7-8in.. This will be 13in of sub.


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[hprmom]

My 65g has a similar footprint (36x18) and I have 12" of sub in it. I bought 3 bags. **Edit: Double that plus one! The Hubs reminded me that he only bought me three to start with, until he saw that wasn't going to cut it!** (I didn't make a note because when you're in the throes of mixing sub for hours you think these details will be seared into your memory, lol!).