3ft aquarium conversion

yes part two is underway.

this is mainly for my 2 smeringus mesaensis and 2 scorpio maurus. I do have some h.troglodytes but two are 'very' small and the other is about half grown. as they are slow growers i will get them into their own tanks at a later date... like in a couple of years lol

so anyway. glass done the same was as in the '4ft aquarium conversion' thread. No need for false bottom in this one.

the scorpio maurus do need a touch more moisture but ventilation should be good and not affect the s.mesaensis. if it does appear too much humidity is getting in with them i have a cunning plan... but i'll come to that if it becomes an issue.

anyway, substrate. my previous 'dry' species i.e. hadogenes, didn't need burrowing substrate so making a binding substrate has never been an issue... until now. However after reading the latest edition of the barrons book - scorpions: A complete pet owners manual, i found an interesting recipe for desert burrowing substrate. basically...

12-15 parts sand (silver / play / desert)
1 part bentonite clay
1 part pea gravel

so i tried a small container of it to see how well it worked. and it appears to work a treat. solid enough not to collapse and loose enough to dig up.

anyway. 3 partitions are now in place for the smeringus and one of the scorpio maurus. I am defo going to put one more partition in for the other scorpio maurus but i am in two minds whether or not to partition the last section off or leave it at a square foot enclosure and kinda get myself a desert hairy.
And I think I am inclined to the desert hairy idea... it is mothers day relatively soon and I may have to hint about getting one as my present tee-hee
Pics to follow shortly

awesome lis! good luck with it all.

Right on...can't wait to see the desert tank!!!

ok pictures.....

1) 3 panels in place



2) Substrate in. the three scorps to be moved first are sat in their enclosure still in their temp accomodation. bit of a tight squeeze at the end but once the water dragons have sold then the third and final tank can be sorted

looks good lisa.

I like it, I think you should make me one lisa lol

^good idea... i wouldnt be able to make one.
yea, get a desert hairy for the other section.

You probably could jordan. it really isn't that difficult.

I use a CD pen to mark the glass on the outside front. A dot at the top and a dot at the bottom. then align the glass to those markers, then if you have a spare pair of hands get another person to hold the glass while you line it up as best you can to a square angle... have a tape measure pulled out along the top of the glass and look down and adjust it by eye. When you have glass cut they put some sticky foam squares between the glass to protect it, and they are great for holding the glass in place while you silicone it.

Not exact I must admit but near enough give or take a couple of mm.

Graham... if you have a tank and the glass i will get one done for ya lmao.

I might give it a try with plexiglass... since it's easier to cut than glass. I recently got a big tank from a friend, I could split it up I suppose..

hey why not? saves socket space as well

you right.

I've got 4 scorps that should mature within the next few months, so I need some more space..

the scorpio maurus is now in enclosure #3. these like a bit of humidity so I didn't have to wait for the substrate to dry. put some rocks and slate in for temporary hiding places until she starts a burrow underneath one of them. and sporadic stones and bits of bark flung in for a more natural look. More for my sake of course but it gives the scorpion some more exercise having to walk around it all

You can only just see it. but it is behind the rocks at the back in picture 3

Looking great Lisa

you have inspired me... but i dont have any large tanks.. so im going to seperate two 1.5' tanks and get a mate for the one i have now and a pair of Euscorpius flavicaudis and a pair of Liocheles australasaie and put them in the other seperated tank....
thanks for the inspiration!!!

that look reli gd n natural

hey ya welcome jordan And thank you to everyone's kind comments on my housing projects

like i have said before these conversions are excellent if you are on a budget and have spare tanks kicking around.

I am about to start on some earth tiger tanks for our stigg soon - I believe the pattern for this tank is in one of sorens papers (I will check with our Stigg). these are more expensive than these conversions and are separate tanks but they do look professional. And make the front room look tidier!
Each tank will cost £23 if I use glass but i think I may look into plexiglass or something to a) bring the costs down and b) keep the weight down.

So I think that will be my next 'how to' in custom tank building

I did my 4ft tank with plexi glass and it works for me with my gravid emps.
I keep lookin for second hand long tanks to make more for my deserts..
Bad bad sad horrible thing tho is today the corner of my tank cracked !!!
I dont know why!! Ghosts!!
Its a huge crack on the side, false bottom doesnt appear to be leaking but im disgruntled because I Just got it set up and I dont want to move the gravid emps again one looks as tho she gonna pop any day

oh eck thats not good is it?

as for second hand tanks try at local aquatic shops, they usually have ex display ones that have been repaired and no longer aesthetically pleasing for the shop front.
I got my 4ft tank for £20 from my local. it had been repaired. they originally wanted £25 but they dropped the price if, i would please take it off their hands because they kept tripping over it lol!

you could also try glass recycling centre's, they sometimes get tanks in that are in usable condition. sometimes cracked at the back or side etc but this is easily repaired. no good for fish but great cheap invert tanks.

And the usual car boot / tabletop sales, local classifieds and various auction websites.

Yah one shop went outa buisness bout month or so ago and I missed it
I had no idea about it. Now its some hair salon
Wish I made it to the last day sale I bet huge nice tanks sold for 50 60 or more % off

_scorpio_ wrote:

you have inspired me...

yup.. u can say that twice as she has inspired me too to get a new very VERY large tank!! i hope mine would be 1/2 as cool as yours..

cant wait to see

SickOfYou wrote:

I did my 4ft tank with plexi glass and it works for me with my gravid emps.
I keep lookin for second hand long tanks to make more for my deserts..
Bad bad sad horrible thing tho is today the corner of my tank cracked !!!
I dont know why!! Ghosts!!
Its a huge crack on the side, false bottom doesnt appear to be leaking but im disgruntled because I Just got it set up and I dont want to move the gravid emps again one looks as tho she gonna pop any day

aquarium sealing glue stuff would work if you are worried about the false bottom leaking...

the final panel is now in place. Just waiting on some more bentonite coming hopefully tomorrow so I can fill in and sculpt the final enclosures.

As for the end enclosure... I have decided on getting a Smeringus vachoni immanis aka the giant dune scorpion. I figured H.arizonensis was pretty common in the trade and decided for a less common species.

Other problem is that I really need to shift the final WD's so I can start on the next tank. I only have a couple left and it's frustrating!!!

Anyway earlier I mentioned about the scorpio maurus needing a slightly higher humidity than the smeringus mesaensis. And this looks like it isn't causing a problem. I bought a clip on light that sits over the smeringus enclosures, which takes the heat upto where it needs to be for them and instantly drying any humidity that may come from the scorpio maurus section. I also chopped the end of the lid off to accommodate the light fitting which in turn provides excellent ventilation.
Result: for the first time since I have owned them I see them regularly on an evening and they appear to be a lot happier. The Scorpio maurus has made a small burrow at the back but comes out as soon as the room is dark with bundles of energy. So all in all pretty pleased with the way it has worked out.

That is awesome Lisa! It is so much fun when we get it right and our scorpions respond so positive. I just really picked that up in what you shared so thanks! I felt so good when all my little ones molted to 4i with no causalties. When we get the temps and humidity right everyone is much happier