DIY 20 Gallon Square Crabitat

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:54 pm

I'm finishing up our new crabitat, and thought I'd share some info.

First off, this is pretty much the same thing as 2 10 gallons in surface area and volume. I originally was looking at an 18 Gallon square "Turtle Tank." But it was only 320 square inches (compared to our 10 gallon's 200 square inches), and cost between $50-80.

So, I went for the Do it Yourself route.

What you get is a 20 gallon tank, 20 inches x 20 inches x 12 inches. Surface area is 400 square inches, twice the surface area of the 10 gallon.

Glass can be bought precut at a hardware store, or a mirror/glass place for maybe cheaper (cost me under $30). I got the wood from Pearl Arts & Crafts*. You could substitute plastic strips, but they're expensive.

*cost $1.09 each at the store, but they just raised the prices to $2.59 & $2.79

Required materials
1) 1x 20x20 inch 1/4 inch glass
2) 2x 12x19.75 inch 1/8 inch (aka "double strength") glass
3) 2x 12x20 inch 1/8 inch glass
4) 2x 9.5x20 inch 1/8 inch glass
5) 4x 3/ 16 x 1 x 24 inch brasswood strips
6) Aquarium Sealant (3 oz) or GE pure Silicone (NOT bathroom & kitchen)
7) Masking tape

Optional
1) Paint
2) Wood "circles" or something to use as "feet" (can use rubber feet from UTH)
3) 4x 1/4 (or 3/8 ) x 1 x 24 inch brasswood strips
4) Fixture for a 10 gallon aquarium (or 2)

Use of each part
20x20 will be the base (why it's thicker)
12x20 will be front and back
12x19.75 will be the sides
9.5 x 20 will be the lid (giving 1 inch gap
3/16 x 1 x 24 wood strips will be the top trim (required to "hold" the lid in place)
1/4 x 1 x 24 wood strips will be the bottom trim

Diagram of glass portion
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mormegil2 ... design.jpg

Steps

Glass
1) Apply strips of masking tape to bottom sticking out toward front and right side, and to right side of front panel
2) Apply a bead of silicone to to the bottom edge of the front glass, the bottom and side edge (adjacent to front) of right side glass panel
3) Attach front glass and side glass on top of base glass and secure with tape
4) Run finger along inside edge to spread out excess silicone. Let cure for a couple of hours
5) Apply strips of tape to bottom sticking out toward rear and left side and both sides of of rear panel, and to left side of attached front panel
6) Attach rear glass and left side glass panels and secure with tape
7) Run finger along inside edge to spread out excess silicone. Let cure a couple of hours
8 ) Apply a bead of silicone to einside edges, and run finger along to spread out evenly. Let cure overnight
9) Pour in water to check for leaks (with paper towel or newspaper under), dump out water, and apply silicone to leaky areas. Let cure overnight and repeat until no leaks
10) Remove masking tape.

Trims
1) Cut trim down to fit the outside (miter cut if you're fancy - aka 45 degree cuts)
2) Paint strips (mine are black)
3) Silicone bottom trims (I siliconed the excess 3 inch bits on the corners to make a gap between the base glass and table surface)
4) Place lid panels on top to guide top trims
5) Apply silicone to top of glass where trim will go but not on lid
6) Attach top trim with slight overlap onto lid panels, secure with tape
7) Let cure overnight

You're done. You should be able to put the 10 gallon fixture(s) right on top.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mormegil2 ... tphoto.jpg
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mormegil2 ... photo2.jpg

Crabitat set up and populated:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mormegil2/newtat.jpg

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 04, 2006 3:16 am

That sounds like a great project. I'd love to see pictures.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 04, 2006 1:52 pm

Yes, pictures pictures!!

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Sat May 06, 2006 11:36 am

Photos added

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:31 pm

That looks great. I wish I had that kind of talent. I'd probably just glue my fingers together. Please post pics when everyone is moved in.

nora · Post by **nora** » Sat May 06, 2006 1:09 pm

Wow, that is impressive! You are talented! Can't wait for the happy crabby pics enjoying their new digs!

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Sat May 06, 2006 7:24 pm

Thanks for all the compliments, but it really wasn't that hard. It doesn't take "talent" - all the glass was bought precut.

It's basically 5 pieces of precut glass glued together with aquarium sealant. The rest was embellishment (I recommend the top trip to keep the lid in place). The reason I posted this is so others could copy the plans and do it themselves (DIY= Do It Yourself, right?).

Got everything set up, and our pair of PP's are moved in. They were pretty excited, and spent some time exploring. I think they're mostly taking a rest now.

I posted a photo of the set up tat.

I'll try to post some better photos later, but the glare from the window didn't let me get very good angles on the new setup.

I think I see a smile on Odysseus' face:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mormegil2/odysseus.jpg

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Thu May 18, 2006 1:41 am

Would it be an idea to sticky this thread? Several people have expressed an interest in trying to build their own tat. I think others down the road may also be interested.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:06 am

WOW. Your tank is beautiful, Mormegil. I wish I could make DIY projects look that good.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 1:24 pm

Looks awesome!