DIY: Aquarium Renovation {kyle} |

A few years ago, Sarajane got me a pet turtle for my birthday. I love turtles and had been talking about getting one for a while, so it was a great present. We had to drive down to Myrtle Beach {we lived in Wilmington at the time} to get the turtle though because they are illegal to sell in North Carolina. I don’t quite understand why. They can carry salmonella, but so can all other reptiles and you can easily purchase a snake or iguana in this state. But whatever, we got a turtle, and being a big fan of Bible names, I called him Ezekiel.

What Sarajane didn’t realize when she decided to get Zeke for me is that turtles {Red Eared Sliders} can live to be 30 to 40 years old. So, it’s a bit of a commitment. Zeke has grown significantly since I first got him and his tank has gone through several changes. Originally he was less than two inches long and so my first aquarium was only a little 5 gallon kit. As he progessed in size we went up to a 29 gallon and then, finally, we now have a 50 gallon tank. Living in Wilmington there were a lot of folks with aquariums, so I was able to find a great deal on this one on Craigslist {only $150} in great condition.

Of course being an aquatic turtle he doesn’t need much dry surface to roam around on but I always like to make sure he has more than enough. I wanted him to have more than just the little floating log to sit on so I created a top to the aquarium for him to walk up on if he so desired. Unfortunately, the first time I tried this I didn’t quite get it right and it kind of looked a mess. I decided to try again and in the process make the aquarium look a little nicer as well. This is what I started with:

Please do not judge me for the disgusting green-ness of the water. It’s only been like that for a short time. I recently tried adding sand to the bottom of the tank instead of gravel to give it a more riverbed type environment and, even though I washed the sand first, it brought in some nasty sediment and bacteria.

The first thing I did was redesign the top of the aquarium. You’ll notice that the original only went across half of the length. I thought this would be enough originally, but it just doesn’t look that great and it’s not incredibly functional. Turns out Zeke can pull himself up and out of the tank on that side that is not surrounded and he’s fallen out once or twice. So this time I made it a little shorter and twice as long so that he wouldn’t be doing any cliff diving. I just bought a roll of mesh screening and a couple sticks at Lowes. I was able to salvage part of the original top, so all in all the new one only cost about $15.

I ended up using staples on the back side to attach the braces. I originally tried using some small tacks, but the wood was so thin that it just split. Fortunately, I had a few extra pieces to try again.

I used hinges to attach the pieces together. This way it can adjust a bit when fitting on the tank and around the lights and pump. It also makes it simple to fold the whole thing up when I have to take it off to clean the tank.

I had previously installed the glass plate on the top of the tank. In the very first version I had tried using wood because I thought it would be easier for Zeke to walk around on, but even with the heavy coat of shellac the constant moisture was too much for it. The glass is a lot easier to remove and clean. I also used a little floating ramp and attached it with hinges to the middle bar in the tank so that it will still rise and fall with the water level and Zeke can easily climb up out of the water to sunbathe. I think the glass only cost about $7 or $8 and they will cut it to size for free at Lowe’s. The ramp can be purchased at PetCo or most pet stores for $10 to $15.

The next step was to clean out the tank and empty it of all the nasty sand. Zeke always likes running around in the grass during this process. You’ve got to watch out though because turtles are a lot faster than you would think and if you lose track of them they are really difficult to spot.

The next step was just to start painting. It took several coats because of the material the aquarium is made of to get a nice solid white. I just taped up the floor and the edge of the glass and went at it. {I watched Presidential Debate while I worked and let me just say, it was much livelier than the first} Zeke swam back and forth as I painted the sides of the tank.

After that it was as simple as attaching the top and letting Zeke get back to his normal life. I used some little rubber stoppers to hold the top in place. Added a few decorative touches and viola!