Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I've been working on an idea to make my largest setup ever. I've got a chance to take two 55-gallon tanks, one of which is gueranteed waterproof, and stack them up for one big tank. It's going to be for a number of tree frogs and a few geckos that a friend of mine is trying to find a good home for, so I figure a false bottom would be great for humidity.

What I'm looking for here is any advice from experiences anybody has had with either of these features. Like I said, this is the biggest thing I'll have built, so I'm getting into new territory and looking for ideas.

Thanks! ^_^

The one thing I can tell you is that stacked tanks are not a very good idea. I don't know who it was initially that proposed this idea but it's been taken up in a number of vivarium design articles and books and perpetuated as a good way to make use of two tanks to make one bigger tank. The problem with this that is never explained is how incredibly difficult it will be to service a tank as tall as what will be created using only a top opening for access. The larger the tanks get the more difficult to service the tank. For starters it's difficult to even assemble a decent vivarium in a top opening tank set up. Multiply that times two and you've got a difficult task at best. A better option if you have something like a 55 gallon tank is to turn it on end and use the top opening as front opening. This way you get the benefits of a tall tank and you're still able to have a much more easily accessed front opening. I'd strongly recommend against stacked tanks for making any kind of enclosure.
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Matt Campbell

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir