Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know you folks (dart froggers) have done things like this before and i need some help with it.

I have three 20 gallon tanks i got for free. i would like to take the bottoms out of two of them and stack them on the third.

my plan is to have the bottom 20 gallon tank holding water and the top 40 gallons houseing my anoles and geckos. so it will be a paludarium. i just need help figureing out how to get the bottom glass out. i tore the black plastic of one of the tanks and have started takeing the silicone off but it is takeing forever.

any ideas on how to quickly get it out without breacking it?

also i need acsess to the tank from the side....how hard is it to cut a door in the these aquariums?

add any other ideas you think will help with this tank

Well I don't have frogs any longer, however I used to have a "tank" that I made similar to what you are talking about. There is no easy way that I know of other than a razor blade. I have heard that you can try "goo-gone" that you can get from most stores and that will help. As far as the door goes I would suggest taking the tank to your local hardware store and they will normal cut it for you for a small fee. What I did was I used a 40 gallon long and a 30 tall and stacked them. I put a screen top over the exposed side of the 40 long and then sealed the 30 on top with silicone and some supports. I used to have many different critters many types of lizards and one frog at one time. They loved the access to the water and the plant life that could grow tall. I also screened in the top of the 30 gallon so no one could escape. The bottom was a terrarium with live growing plants and a "pond" on the floor. It was very cool.

It is VERY tough. I used De-Solve-It, and i still cannot pry the bottom off a ten gallon. (so I can use an epoxy coated board for drains, bulkheads). You're risking damaging the tank if you're not careful. Personally I would find stacking tanks to be less attractive than a custom built idea from scratch.

true but im going for cost here as im only 16.

I want to buy a 90 gallon tall tank from the petstore i work at as it as a side door in it already. but i they wont let me until i sell the lizards in it.

I wasn't able to get the bottom of the tank out so i just smashed it tore the peice off. then i had my dad take his diamond blade and cut a small door in the side.

so far i have the bottom 20 gallon long with another stacked ontop making a 40 gallon tank with a door in the side.

I just have to go and get a rubbermaid container so i can move my baby moolies from the third tank so i can smash the bottom out of that one also.

i'll try to get pictures once the tank is fully setup and has ocupants.