Finished, the tank is free standing on a small (3'x1½') side table... no "support"... The construction pic, it's on a milk create... Thanks for the compliment... our crestie loves it, which I'm guessing is the best compliment
All materials are from Home Depot... The door and panel fit inside the recess around the top of the tank... The door is made from 1 full stick of 5/16" screen frame (just the right thickness to come flush to the top of the recess), a 4 pack of corners, and screen to suit... I cut two pieces the required width for the opening (less the size of the corners)... then cut one piece the full width of the opening to put on the top edge of the panel... the remainder was cut in half to give the height... The door was assembled, and sat in the opening... the required panel size was measured (about 4½" high) and cut from an off-cut of 1/4" Plexiglas I had laying around (HD have small sheets)... I split the bottom out of the piece of frame with a dremel, so it would fit over the Plexiglas... with the frame in place over the top edge of the Plexiglas, I stuck the panel in place with a thin bead of silicone... The hinges are the smallest brass hinges they have (3/4")... these where spaced out over the height of the door and stuck on with superglue... clean any finger oils off the surfaces before hand, to get good adhesion... The latches are also the smallest they had... they're screwed into the (plastic) screen frame corners, and the other piece was bent to fit the corner of the tank, and stuck on with superglue... I also bent a little finger tab on the top of the latch, to make it easier to grab... this was done in a vice with a hammer, prior to fitting... The total cost of materials and glues, was around $25, but I have enough screen and glue left to do several more...
To clarify the latch I've used, here's a pic (all be it a little fuzzy). The loop section has been bent at 90° to fit around the corner, and is bonded to both faces... The latch is screwed into the plastic frame corner piece... This is repeated at the bottom corner.
thanks for the close-up bryan, that helps. now we just have to figure out how to rig it since we used metal screen frame and not plastic.
Are you sure it's only 17 gallons, with those measurements? Mine is a 40 gallon, and it is 30 inches tall, 16 wide and 18 inches long (how many geckos can you keep in the size I have, btw?) Thanks! Your enclosure is gorgeous, I wish my front was nice like that, but tall tanks are nearly impossible to find!
It was sold as a 17gal... but if you wanted to be technical; 30"x12"x12"=4320 4320÷231=18.7gal These are external dimensions, so it may well only "hold" 17gals inside. Lets do the maths... ¼" glass on both sides leaves; 29½"x11½"x11½"=3901 3901÷231=16.9gal There ya go, a 17gal tank. Geckos housed = One You should really have a 20gal for the first adult... Since mine is now an adult, I'm going to upgrade to a 40gal soon.