Revamp-100 gallon glass aquarium tank to a terrestrial habitat

[sallie2010]

I have several questions as to go about converting a 100 glass aquarium that is (wxlxh) 18"x60"x24". The tank has 2 nine inche plates of class in the middle to support 2 lids. My fish have recently died and would like to convert it into a terrarium to house the anole, salamanders, and any future amphibians I acquire.

The tank is located in the basement that gets to low temperatures of 65 F but not any cooler. I would like to be able to dismantle 9 inche plates to refit in the tank below to create a small aquatic area.

I have looked at other tanks that are very elaborate and would like to create as much terrestrial, aquatic, and arboreal space as possible. Please direct me to any good sites etc that will allow me to create a second habitat for my animals that live at my school and must vacation at my house.:happy: I am basically tired of moving my 40 gallon terrarium tank to and fro each winter and summer.

 

[Jennewt]

Why do you need to remove the 9" glass plates? If I'm understanding your description, these 9" plates go horizontally across the top in the center of the tank? If so, these are part of the structural support for the tank itself and it would be inadvisable to remove them.

The challenge with any land/water tank is how to separate (or not separate) the land and water areas. There are various ways of doing it.

Be careful about what species you try to house together. With a tank this large, there are some species mixes that might work, but be sure to put some thought into possible conflicts or differing needs.

 

[sallie2010]

Thanks for the warning! I found a good site where it showed step by step how to make a land/water tank. My thoughts is to have inhabitants for all three micro-environments in order to maintain a sustained micro-system. Currently I have an anole (I adopted from an elementary school) and a grey tree frog (adopted from a HS), and some salamanders that were purchased from a scientific supply company. They have lived in harmony for over a year now. The lizard and frog tolerate each other, even sitting next to each other during cooler days.

 

[freves]

You certainly have room to experiment with mixing some species in a tank that size however I would not advise mixing salamanders with anoles. Even though representatives of both species may be found in the same general regions in the wild they have totally different habitat preferences. Just my two cents..
Chip