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3ft aquarium conversion

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  • #1

    3ft aquarium conversion

    yes, phase two of my conversion has begun

    this time it's with a 3ft tank with a cracked bottom. obviously no good for fish but ok for inverts. In particular my 'dry' species

    I have put in 3 glass panels so far. Smaller enclosure size to the 4ft aquarium thread. these are 6" x 12" floor space. thankfully desert species are usually smaller than forest species.
    I need to put at least one more partition in for the scorpions I am about to move into this new home. These scorpions will be 2 x smeringus mesaensis and 2 x scorpio maurus palmatus (one of which i think is gravid as well)

    Anyway in the past the only 'dry' species I have kept are the hadogenes species, which dont burrow but live in cracks and crevices. So a suitable burowing substrate has never been an issue. until now!
    I have a barrons book on scorpions which gives a nice recipe for burrowing desert substrate, basically

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

    I tried a small mixture and it appears to work well. solid enough not to collapse and loose enough to be dug up.

    i might have to leave the end section a square foot enclosure... just in case I happen to buy, oooh i dunno... hadrurus arizonensis

    pictures to follow shortly
    My Collection: - Support captive breeding




    Tags: 3ft, aquarium, conversion
  • #2
    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


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    My Collection: - Support captive breeding




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    • #3
      brilliant stuff, Lisa...bet the scorpions love it! and it'll be a great display for you. nice to have both the tropical and the desert set ups like that!
      Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
      -Martin Luther King Jr.

      <-Black Metal Contra Mundum->
      My Collection: - Support captive breeding

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      • #4
        looks a lot tidier too.
        Hopefully by next week i will be able to let the smeringus loose once the substrate has dried out.
        I have noticed by adding this clay the substrate does seem to dry out quicker
        My Collection: - Support captive breeding




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        • #5
          The aquarium looks lovely Lisa! I only wish I had the space to make one myself...
          A, abdomen, abstain, ace, advantage, aegis, ajar, aluminium, ambidextrous, angel, angle, ant, aphid, apple, Arachnida, arachnology: an awesome activity!

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          • #6
            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



            My Collection: - Support captive breeding




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            • #7
              yay were 99% done.
              I have modi-bodged the lid for now to accommodate the spotlights. But i plan to make a custom wood frame with wire mesh to allow for maximum ventilation as needed with desert species.

              Apart from the new smeringus coming tomorrow all the enclosures have scorpions hidden in them. I am on the hunt around the dry stone walls for some nice pieces of flat stone to add to the troglodytes enclosure. It has 2 slate crevices to hide in but a couple more hidy-holes will not do any harm

              so enclosures left to right....
              #1: OCF female S. mesaensis
              #2: YCF male S. mesaensis
              #3: female S. maurus palmatus
              #4: large juvi female H. Troglodytes
              #5: large juvi S. vachoni immanis (to come)





              My Collection: - Support captive breeding




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              • #8
                Really nice pics Lisa, shows what can be done with fish tanks that so many people just discard instead of making good use of them like you've done.

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                • #9
                  we live in an area where there is lots of flats,and when people move out I have noticed that tanks get left behind.

                  spotted one last week in a junk pile in the street that the cleaners had put out and i thought I would grab it on the way back from shop. it was only a 1.5' one but tanks are always useful! Alas 20 mins later when i got back it had gone.

                  my last 3ft tank is now clear and I will be starting that project at a later date. I have a 50/50 mix of desert and forest juvi scorpions that are just sat in that tank at the moment (in their own enclosures obviously lol) until i decide what to do with it. that decision might be made at whatever show we next appear at lol!

                  And thank you for the kind words linda
                  My Collection: - Support captive breeding




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                  • #10
                    nice

                    Very nice set up Lisa, just wish i had a bigger place to get a set-up like that, lol.

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