20 gallon cube tank.

I'm thinking of setting up a 20 gallon cube tank for some salamanders. It doesn't have to be a cube but the base should be 19" X 19" or close to that. It could be a little taller. It will sit on a wooden cabinet that used to hold the cream separator at my inlaws dairy farm. This tank will be a display tank for my wife. I'm looking at exo terra, acrylic or glass from glasscages.com, and a glass cube where the front corners are formed and the back is siliconed on. I like the looks of the formed glass best. I'm a little iffy about the exo terra.

What are your recommendations? I guess I'm leaning most toward an acrylic cube from glass cages.

I've not used the exo terra tanks myself. I've heard most dart frog keepers usually end up customising the ventilation on them and fly proofing the doors. I'm not a big fan of the black plastic edging, especially as a display centre piece. ENT style vivs are the most popular amphibian enclosures here in Europe. I don't know if there's an equivalent in the US. If you can actually get hold of the authentic German ones you can't go wrong.

Personally I would build my own glass cube using 6mm glass. At least that way you get the dimensions you require for the stand and you can tailor the land/water ratio to the species you wish to house. All my acrylic creations have ended in scratch disasters...

I cannot speak personally on the other terrariums from glasscages.com or the ENT from Germany (although i have seen them before and think they are brilliant). I have been building vivariums for frogs since college that I sell privately and I though i could add some insight. If you are going to go with exo tera, Don't. Go with Zoo Med terrariums. the 18x18x18 (or 18x18x24) would be perfect for what you are desicribing. Fit a piece of plexiglass to fit over the back 3/4 of the lid so air moves across the front glass but humidty is held in the rest of the viv. They are also nice and easy to drill (either underneath or on the back) for drainage. Dont use diamond bit glass cutters just use the black and decker 1/2 drill bits for glass and tile and thats all the drainage you need. If you would like some images I can show you what I am doing with my zoo med vivarium right now. Hope this helps a little.

I have to agree that Zoo Med brand vivaria are superior to the others here in the US. I also have to agree that none of the off the shelf products in North America truly meet the needs of amphibian keeping. Nothing beats building your own to the required specifications.

If you have a Dremel Tool, they have some superior bits for working with glass and plastics.

I would have to say that I personally like the exo terra terrariums.