R. Vent 10G Vertical tank

[LilyPad]

It's a nice looking tank! I am thinking about converting my 10g into a vertical tank. I only use it as a quarantine/hospital tank, but considering I only own tree frogs, it makes sense to have a vertical hospital tank. Did you use a conversion kit? Was it easy to do?

[DigitalPunk]

Amy,

I did not use a conversion kit. I bought all the supplies (except for the living hinge) at Lowes and Home Depot.

The living hinge I ordered from NeHerp.

Supplies used

Screen Frame Kit (Lowes) You will get enough screen frame to do 5 or more 10G tanks lol
Window Screening (I use the same screen for the drainage layer divider that i used for the vent)
Living Hinge
glass (i think I ended up using 1/32 thickness, but 1/8 would work as well) Lowes had some scrap glass left over from a previous customer so they cut my pieces from that and gave them to me for free
1/2 turn buttons (Lowes) they are used to secure screens in should be over by the screen frame kits or in the same isle (these are used to lock the door when it is closed.
cheap plastic window screen installer tool

It was very easy (you do not have to drill the tank like I did.

I figured out how deep the soil + drainage layer was going to be and then made the bottom piece of glass an inch or so taller.

I bought the screen frame kit first and made the vent as small as I could (even cut some off the plastic corner pieces so they could fit closer together. Saved me about 1/2 to 1 inch I think) Put it on the tank and then measured the remaining open space. I subtracted the length of the bottom glass and then took an additional 1/8" off and that was the length I had the door cut.

I installed the bottom glass first and secured it with silicone (let it cure for 12 - 24 hours before moving on)
Cut Living hinge to size.
Install Living hinge on Lower glass.
Insert good glass into living hinge
Lay frame in place and test closing the door. (Might need to modify the screen frame here to get a snug fit)
Once everything fits good install screening into screen frame then silicone frame to tank (when cutting the screen cut it about 1 inch long on all side. Then after it is installed into the frame trim excess off. I used a razor knife to trim)
Attach 1 or 2 1/2 turn buttons to screen frame so they can hold the door closed.

Done

You can water test the bottom after the lower silicone cures... I would recommend it

Easy peasy

[ColleenT]

very nice. but you are already a pro.

[DigitalPunk]

very nice. but you are already a pro.

Thanks ColleenT. I am far from a pro though, I read a LOT about builds and look at a lot of builds. I have made many many mistakes and anticipate to make many many more, but the most important thing when doing anythings is admitting when you have made a mistake and learning from them

[ColleenT]

oh good, bc i have made a few big mistakes in my build, already. i did fix them tho. but fixing them was more work than the original.

[DigitalPunk]

Like with everything in life it is always easier to do it right the first time lol, unfortunately that isn't always possible. I like to share my failures on the forum so hopefully others don't make the same mistakes.

Its a large part of the reason why Bill and I made the Vivarium Construction 101 thread, unfortunately it doesn't appear like it is being used

We take the things we learned from the last build with us to the next. In the next build we will discover all new ways to mess up lol.

[jarteta97]

Like with everything in life it is always easier to do it right the first time lol, unfortunately that isn't always possible. I like to share my failures on the forum so hopefully others don't make the same mistakes.

Its a large part of the reason why Bill and I made the Vivarium Construction 101 thread, unfortunately it doesn't appear like it is being used

We take the things we learned from the last build with us to the next. In the next build we will discover all new ways to mess up lol.

Don't worry, Vivarium Construction 101 is being used I used many of the instructions there to build my tank, and it worked out great, so your hard work and effort making that thread was NOT wasted.