# how to modify a cheap 10-gal aquarium to be a vertical viv



## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

I need help figuring out how to make one of those cheap ten dollar 10-gallon aquariums into a vertical viv. I know to have glass cut to fit the opening obviously, and have it in two pieces. I will silicone the bottom in place, and have the top hinge open. That is what I don't know how to do. How do I make a door? Don't get all fancy and technical on me, I will take the tank to someone who cuts glass and let them do it for me. But I have to have an idea in my head about how it is supposed to work first. Plus, I like to have a strip of screen on my tanks for ventillation. How could I incorprate a strip of screen in this? Thanks for the help!


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

hey check on http://www.thechocohut.com and then the vivariums page thre should be link to "How to make a Vertical tank (10 and 20 gallons)" 
that should explain it better than I could


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

Ben Green has some good journals on his website http://chocohut.org/
He has a great web site, and always had some inspiring ideas to share with us here. I wish he was still a frequent member, but haven't seen him around much lately.

Look under "Building Vivariums". The second link has one with a screen top above the door. "How to make a Vertical tank (10 and 20 gallons)"


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

oops, beat me to it... :lol:


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Okay, thanks! I will look at those right now.


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Well, I checked out that site and still have no idea how to make a door for my tank. I guess it went over my head, or maybe I'm tired since it is so late. It talked about building the whole viv yourself, I just want to turn a ten gallon aquarium up on its end to make it a vertical tank, and that means I need a door instead of a lid, which means it needs some way to latch shut securely. And it would be nice to have a strip of mesh for ventilation, but I don't know how to do that. I'll look at it again later with a fresh mind I guess.


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## verbal (Sep 8, 2004)

Easy answer... Paul a FCA has great inserts.

Ryan


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

I'll try to help ya :wink: 

When you set your tank on end, You will want to silicone the bottom strip of glass(approx. 4 in. in height) in place.

For the vent section-

Your glass shop could make this for you, pretty cheap I'm sure, but you might have to provide them with the mesh.

To do it yourself, go to the hardware store and get the normal screen moulding they use for house windows. They also sell plastic corner pieces for the moulding to eliminate mitered cuts for the screen frame. These plastic corners are about 3/4 in. wide. 










Take the inside width of the tank frame rail and subtract 1.5 in. (for the two corners) and cut two pieces of the screen frame that length. Then you will have to determine how tall you want the screen vent to be, and cut two more pieces of the frame rail that length. To leave a 1 in vent, your frame will be 2.5 in high. You will also have to shorten the legs on the corners, to slide both pieces inside the 1 in. pieces of frame rail. (you'll see what I mean when you get to that step)

Once you have the pieces cut, just push the corners in and your frame will be done. You will need some no-see-um mesh(tent screen), to keep the flies in, and the rubber seal that will be next to the screen moulding at the hardware store. Just lay the screen over the frame, and press the rubber seal into the channel, and cut off the extra screen. Vent done.

You will need the black flex hinge, that they use for glass tops for aquariums, and cut it to fit tight against the tanks frame rail. You will have to notch it to fit the inside of the tank when the door is closed.










Put the hinge on the bottom strip of glass that is siliconed in place, and measure the distance from inside the channel, where the bottom of the door will sit, to the bottom of the screen vent. This will be the height of your door.

I would have the glass cut an 1/8 shy of both directions for a good fit. The vent can be lowered down some before siliconed in place after the door is mounted.










You can see the little twist tabs in the above pic, that are used to keep the door from falling open. They should also be at the hardware store in the same section. Just drill holes in the vent frame and attach them there. you can use the door edge guards for cars for the top lip of the door, or just have it smoothed out by the glass shop.

Let me know if I missed anything, or if you need more help with anything. 
Have fun


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

*Re: how to modify a cheap 10-gal aquarium to be a vertical v*



back2eight said:


> Don't get all fancy and technical on me


Ooops  , missed that part :lol:


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Well, you might want to check out my rather unorthodox design, which I've been very happy with. All you need is a tank and an inexpensive snap-on screen top--the screen is already in place and all you have to do is cut away most of it.

Here's a link to the thread (which I still intend to finish some day--my frogs have been laying lately and I'm spending too much time watching them and reading about eggs & tads at the moment):

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14290

And you might want to check out Tadpole4's 10 vert thread in Member's Frogs & Vivs--she decided to forego the screen entirely and has a very clear description and pics of how she engineered her door:

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14548

Cheers,

--Diane


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Okay, thank you Diane and Mike. I might go buy the items needed, print out this thread, and take it all to the glass cutter and have him build it for me!! I am not technically inclined, and my husband is, but for some reason everything I have asked him to help me with has messed up. The waterfall, the glass tops on my other vivs, etc. He just can't get it right. I guess I'm not explaining things well enough, I have the picture in my head of what I want, but he is not the one reading all this stuff so can't get a clear picture in his head of how it should work.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

Hey good luck with this project! I just found this thread today. I am very interested in how your tank turns out. I just love these vert vivs. I have a 20 long that is currently home to a pair of fbt's but I would love to convert it to a vert for a group of singing thumbs (maybe next year :lol: )
I am well and truly caught in this addiction! I have a 55 gal that I will build next for a group of leucs i think. Both of these projects will have to wait several months. My DH is not as enthusiastic about this hobby as I am so I have to go very slowly or risk having them all booted :lol: 

Trust me you can do this your self! Have some faith in your own abilities. You don't have to be technically minded at all and it is sooooo stressful to have an idea in your mind and try to communicate it to someone else who doesn't share your vision Then if they agree to help you and have it not turn out the way you want it, you seem ungrateful if you try to change it. I have NO technical skills whatsoever I SWEAR! If you read my thread you will see that I had to have my glass cut 4 times befor it finally came out the way I wanted it.  Just take your tank to the glass shop, tell them what you want and have them cut the glass for the door for you. Then go to HD Lowes what ever and get the silicone and put it together. with the door oriented this way I just wipe it off with a clean cloth to remove any fog so i don't think I need a vent for such a small viv. I probably would put a vent on a larger vert though.

note: when I did this I ran a bead of silicone then smoothed it out using a putty knife to reduce the bubbles and gaps. but then I am extremely anal and obsessive, I wanted it to look professional and neat, I did not want lumps of silicone squeezed out all over the edges. You can see what I mean in the pics (I think) the silicone was not as cloudy looking after it cured so it looks almost clear.
















I used 2 6inch piano hinges spaced 3/4 inch apart and one door clasp in the upper right hand corner of the door. The glass was 3/16 in thick but if i did this again I might use 1/4 in thick despite the heavier weight the hinge is strong enough to support it. and the rim is 1/4 in deep so the thicker glass would fit snugger.
Sorry for the novel, I do already have a construction journal posted  I just wanted to help ypu visualize what I was saying. 
try not to stress so much, just enjoy the process and if you mess anything up it is supremely easy to fix, then just laugh and chalk it up to experience.


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Hey, another female, and a southern one too! We are sort of close, I'm in Mississippi. My husband is not into the frogs, either. He thinks the vivs look neat and all, but I can see it (the money being spent, mainly) being something that might get thrown in my face if we argue.

I did read your post, and I had to laugh because I had a similar experience getting my glass cut just a few days ago. 100 dollars later, I finally have glass that still doesn't fit exactly right, but it will do.

I may go ahead and set up a vert viv. I will take it slowly due to money, and I may add a waterfall but I'm not sure yet. I probably will not put darts in it, though. My son has been asking for some frogs of his own, so I think we might go on a frog hunt once I get the viv ready and let him put some green tree frogs in it. We caught one the other day that was so cute! We let it go, though. I really need to get a rack or some shelving first because right now all my vivs are scattered throughout the house wherever I could find a place for them. I have 15 frogs, and I know that is not a lot to some people, but I have three kids and talk about being crammed into this house! We have junk everywhere, even though I have a housekeeper, I still feel like the house is never quite clean just because I can't find places for all the STUFF. I will take some new pictures of my vivs later today and post them. I've made changes since I last posted.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

We southern girls need to stick together!
I feel you! I have four kids 7;5;3;2 so my house is chaos central :lol: I hav 8 frogs. 2 fbt, 4 dwarf aquatic, and 2 azureus ( 2 imis soon to come in the new vert  ) and the mess drives my dh up the wall, in fact it is the only thing we ever argue about :roll: . He's not happy about the cost of this new hobby either, but so far I have only spent "my" money. 
the guys at the glass shop didn't charge me anything for the corrections  I only spent $7.49 for both pieces of glass if you can believe that!!! It was all the plants that broke my budget- I have 3 orchids in there along with 6 broms :roll: 

I am eager to see your collection of vivs. a word of caution about wild caught tree frogs- they don't tend to do well. wait for a few months and put out a baby pool, then wait for the frogs to lay their eggs and collect som of them. we raised nearly a thousand tadpoles this way last summer. It was one of our "science" projects :lol: then we released the froglets by the creek out back and at the local nature center. Plus the wild frogs are used to ALOT more space.


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Wow, my kids are 7, 5, and 7 months. I used to oil paint as a hobby, but since the baby came I haven't had time. He was a little early and wasn't breathing, he had to stay in the NICU for ten days (I'm just thankful it wasn't longer than that), and this was all right after Katrina. My husband is a pastor so instead of being there at the hospital with me all the time, he was busy taking ice to church members, and especially keeping a close eye on the old folks. I have finally gotten to the point that I don't feel like I have to wake up ten times a night to check on the baby to see if he is still breathing. I am lucky enough to have a job working from home, and so I don't have to put him in daycare all day. I have been using my money for the frogs, too, but then he isn't happy when I have none left and I have to ask him for spending cash! He will ask why I don't have any left, and I mumble that there was a plant that I couldn't pass up, or a cool looking piece of driftwood in the pet store, or that I had to order more crickets for the tomato frogs. I would love to paint again, but I can't concentrate when I get interrupted. the painting doesn't turn out as well. I need a few hours of uninterrupted time so I can concentrate, and I just don't get that right now.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

LOL My big "activity" hobby is scrapbooking so i know how you feel about uninterupted time to focus on something creative. I started making dolls to sell because it is easy to walk away from and come back later and pick up where you left off. No planning a layout and then trying to remember what it was you wanted to do..
Yet another reason I am totally taken with these frogs. It has a creative aspect and a care taking aspect and they are just soooooooo darn cool to watch! 8) The more I read on the board the more I am drawn to getting some frogs that are really known for their singing voices. so now I am researching those frogs for my next viv :roll: It is addicting I swear :lol:


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

*10 vert*

Something you might try when you build this vertical viv is to put the door on the side of the tank instead of the front. That way your view of the inside of the viv is not obstructed by hinges and glass seams. I did this to my 29 gal vert. One of these days I will learn to put pics on this board so you can all see my vivs!


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