# using 5 gallon aquarium for arboreal T's



## just1moreT (Jan 28, 2014)

I have been doing some figuring on just how many 5 gallon aquariums I can get on a wire stand 48 x 72  from lowes.20 of them. i like they way they look and are sturdy.anyhow I was wanting some opinions on if they are big enough to house a full grown female Poecilotheria sp. And other arboreals sp. I have had them in 10 gallon tanks  seemed like no need for that much space ,, To me 5 gallon big enough for all , 16 tall 8 wide .I know a person can get a 10 gallon for the same price sometimes cheaper  but trying save space   I put a pic here of a 5 gallon I made some time back redone today  for my sub adult versi female , I would like to try and drill the tops of the enclosures for vent to try and get a better flow of air . I do believe the 4 vents work good for air flow as is

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## Mike41793 (Jan 28, 2014)

I plan to give adult pokies a vertical ten gallon. Not sure if 5 is ok for them but I'd feel better if they had a ten gallon. A five gallon would probably work great for avics and psalmos though. 

EDIT: I guess the way I think about it is that even if they don't use the extra space 95% of the time, it's there for the 5% of time they want it. Also I think as a keeper I'd rather have more space to do maintenence and keep distance between me and the pokie lol. And if you plan to breed then having extra room for pairing would probably be better I think. Letting the male approach the female versus dropping him right up in her business. Not positive tho, I haven't bred T's before. 

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## just1moreT (Jan 28, 2014)

Mike41793 said:


> I plan to give adult pokies a vertical ten gallon. Not sure if 5 is ok for them but I'd feel better if they had a ten gallon. A five gallon would probably work great for avics and psalmos though.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk


Yeah I know I used 10 gallons  for my grown pokies while back  ,just trying save some space really not a big cost difference on the 10 gallon . I do agree plenty big for avics    just a checking see what everybody thinks on the matter lol


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## viper69 (Jan 29, 2014)

They should be fine. I talked to Poec54 about vertical space, and if I remember the dimensions accurately, that should be fine space even for an adult female P rufilata. As he mentioned to me it's not simple absolute vertical height that is a factor, as we all know they do go down to their burrow. In the wild, as he reminded me, there is a lot of lateral spaces (branches), large tree trunks w/places to hide as well. So in short, you should be fine.

I know that size would be fine for smaller NW arboreals.

When I make a lid, I'm still not sure if I'm going with screen vents, or drilling smaller holes, just not sure yet.


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## just1moreT (Jan 29, 2014)

Viper thats kinda how I thought about it, I have had full grown P. rufliata not in 5 gallon but 10  she always stayed in bottom by cork in her dirt burrow lol  ..I put the bottom Plexiglass piece on tank around 5 inches so can get  quite abit of substrate in there to help with burrowing and humdity some   im going to try and put vents in the top of tank here oneday for air flow mainly for avics , probally break a 15 dollar tank lol . but I do have a drill press to use for this just got to get a 2 inch diamond hole bit , I reckon only reason I dont drill a bunch of holes is time of doing that, I can do the 4  2 inch holes faster . It does obstruct view some what   cool thing about the latch is it can be glued to the plastic rim on tank with the acrylic contact cement .seems bond well  and no big globb of silcone or hot glue holding on the latch  I guess there hundreds of way converting a fish tank into a 8 legged mansion


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## viper69 (Jan 29, 2014)

Yeah I agree with you on maximizing space. So the rufi barely used the space- interesting esp because the are so large. Really makes me wish I could observe them in the wild. Yeah in drilling small holes in the small acrylic boxes I have it does take a while. And that's only 20-30 holes per box.

I've watched vids from reef tank owners cut glass, I won't do it, I know I'd break some tanks. How long did it take you to drill those 4 holes ? What thickness of acrylic did you use?

I liked your idea of using a plastic latch. I've seen what RobC does also good idea. But your idea is lockable and that can be useful for basic safety. Yea hot glue is OK but it does dry fast and it does glob up too. It's not as fluid as I'd expected.


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## just1moreT (Jan 29, 2014)

I use 1/8 inch usally cheaper ,it works fair on small pieces like this . 3/16 and 1/4 is nice for the complete build boxes  dont warp as bad  as 1/8 does but gets costly,  if you dont get a glue joint you will have leaks on the all acrylic boxes ... I  build kitchen cabinets so I got some serious tooling for wood but will work on the plastic as well lol  I figure I can drill 4--- 2 inch holes in couple  minutes with drill press and a good 2 inch fostner bit works well just need take it easy can crack the plexi


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## viper69 (Jan 29, 2014)

I wish I had those mitre joint clamps, the type you see for joining plane surfaces at a 90' angle! I havent made the boxes just yet. At the moment I'm drilling into some from the container store for little Ts.

You know what's strange  on drilling these AMAC boxes? I have 2 types of bits I've used. General purpose drill bits and then I bought some brad point bits. You'd think the brad points would be easier, but with my hand drill even at low RPMs they end up melting the acrylic slightly without lube. BUT with my general purpose ones they come out fine, at least 80-90% of the plastic comes out as a single piece (as if I was using a single fluted bit made for plastic) as it should. I can't figure it out

The only thing the brad points do better is maintain the bit in the same place of course. It's really odd


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## just1moreT (Jan 29, 2014)

Yep I use high speed drill bits cheap irwin brand type for the small holes they seem to do pretty good in all plastics


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## viper69 (Jan 29, 2014)

I might try using a hole saw, havent tried a forstner bit, though I have some


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## just1moreT (Jan 29, 2014)

viper69 said:


> I might try using a hole saw, havent tried a forstner bit, though I have some



Yeah that should work also

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## fyic (Feb 2, 2014)

Nice looking........I my self am working on a few 5gal right now as well as a few 2.5gal tanks.......in the past I had no prob using 5gal for adult T's....I posted some time back about getting these for like $1 gal on sale .....and as you have said I just don't have the space for 10gal and I also feel they can be wasted space

so for the 5gal I'm going to put my p.ornata and my p.regalis
and for the 2.5gal I'm going to put my h.mac and my OBT

they are for the most part ready I'm just waiting on vents.......but as viper said I'm on the fence with vent or just drill holes

oh and in the past I had put holes in the glass top too ........I would put 4 small ones ......you have to be VERY patient when drilling in glass hahaha I use 1/8 bit....I have seen them use the 2" but ya with my luck I would break the glass hahahaha

I'll post some photos when I'm all done


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## just1moreT (Feb 2, 2014)

Im going do some with just holes to up the sides of lid also, see how that looks and works , im having problems finding a 5 gal tank just dont see  any at lps right now  guessed I missed out on the 1 gal sell again ,need to get a text from petco when they start that lol ,post some pics here whe  you get a tank ready always like a looking at others


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## Introvertebrate (Feb 2, 2014)

Does Petco do the sale for 5 gallon tanks?  Somebody once said the sale is for 10 gallons on up.


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## just1moreT (Feb 2, 2014)

I have heard that to not sure  member here said they where  were he lived so maybe they started. I really dont see how they could looks like glass cost that much lol .   I missed the sale guess it ended on 25th

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## viper69 (Feb 2, 2014)

just1moreT said:


> I have heard that to not sure  member here said they where  were he lived so maybe they started. I really dont see how they could looks like glass cost that much lol .   I missed the sale guess it ended on 25th


Petco had a great sale on Tetra glass tanks that were 20 gallon and up. 50% off in my locality, made the tanks super cheap. Never seen a 5gallon at a big box store though.


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## just1moreT (Feb 2, 2014)

viper69 said:


> Petco had a great sale on Tetra glass tanks that were 20 gallon and up. 50% off in my locality, made the tanks super cheap. Never seen a 5gallon at a big box store though.


Come to think about it I dont remember seeing 5 gal there either  my LPS has usally got them but there what a 10 gal cost and the small 2.5 gallon are like 15 bucks


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## fyic (Feb 2, 2014)

I think you are right......I got mine at a ma&pa pet shop......reg price for there 5gal is around $8 I think I got mine for about $5.99 and the 2.5gal for $3 


Introvertebrate said:


> Does Petco do the sale for 5 gallon tanks?  Somebody once said the sale is for 10 gallons on up.


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## viper69 (Feb 3, 2014)

fyic said:


> I think you are right......I got mine at a ma&pa pet shop......reg price for there 5gal is around $8 I think I got mine for about $5.99 and the 2.5gal for $3


Where is this store located?? Those prices are great compared to what I see..wow.


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## fyic (Feb 3, 2014)

it's down the street from my work........they are more of a fish store....but also have some small pets and supplies.....and I think the tanks are made local 

and yes you are right they are much cheaper then most LPS.........like this place has 10gal for $11 thats reg price where as say petco has them for $13.99 reg price.....but where this place really has the deals is in the under 10gal......cuz most LPS sells the tanks under 10gal for more then a 10gal.......I want to say I seen a 2.5gal at petco for $13.99......I know I don't get it but is what it is 

also I had thought about making a few acrylic 5gal tanks my self with these tank frames http://www.aquariumframeswholesale.com/frames ......so they would look and feel like a glass tank but would be all acrylic and you could put vents anywhere you wanted to....might not work for everyone but thought it might be kool to try

now I know acrylic isn't always cheap....but if you look on craigslist you might find it for cheaper........I got almost a full sheet for $15.....they only needed some it and sold off the rest.....I gave him my # cuz he says he does this a lot cuz he doesn't have the space to store it after the jobs are done...anywho it's just a thought....might give a test run


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## viper69 (Feb 3, 2014)

Those prices are so good at your LPS, I'd have a fleet of 5  gallons on my shelves with some 2.5s too!!


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## fyic (Feb 3, 2014)

thats the plan just don't tell the wife hahahaha

but for real.......right now i just don't have much space so working with what i have lol


viper69 said:


> Those prices are so good at your LPS, I'd have a fleet of 5  gallons on my shelves with some 2.5s too!!


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## fyic (Feb 4, 2014)

Here is one of the 5gal and 2.5gal........still a work in progress but fig I would show you how they look so far

I have bark and waiting on vents and still looking for some fake plants


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## viper69 (Feb 4, 2014)

What's the background? Looks like a resin?


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## fyic (Feb 4, 2014)

its Hagen Exo Terra Background http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Bac...53&sr=1-1&keywords=Hagen+Exo+Terra+Background

had some left over from my kids fat tailed gecko setup .....so fig why not put it to use lol


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## viper69 (Feb 4, 2014)

Thanks for the link!


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## fyic (Feb 4, 2014)

welcome ........and I used a utility hacksaw to cut it http://www.walmart.com/ip/Performance-Utility-Hacksaw-W733/14698308

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## sschind (Feb 6, 2014)

fyic said:


> I think you are right......I got mine at a ma&pa pet shop......reg price for there 5gal is around $8 I think I got mine for about $5.99 and the 2.5gal for $3


That is an incredible price on 5 and 2.5s even at the regular price. I would say they were either used (or at least second hand) or made locally or an off brand.  I'm thinking about spending a couple of hundred bucks and stocking up since my wholesaler has the Aqueon tanks on sale for $7.83 and $7.13 and that's about the cheapest I have seen them in about 10 years.  Generally they are more expensive than the 10 gallons.  That is due partly to the fact that they make a zillion more 10s than the smaller ones so when they buy the glass cut to size they are getting a better price.  Also, since the 10s sell so much better they can afford to sell them with a smaller markup and still make a profit because of the quantity they sell.  Another factor is there ismore breakage of the smaller tanks because of the thinner glass so they factor that in as well.


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## just1moreT (Feb 19, 2014)

It cost me over 15.00 with tax for a 5.5 gal tank yes that price would  be worth stocking up on I have a deal with my lps im going to barter crickets when I have more than need so maybe yhat help some on my prices of 5 gal tanks


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## viper69 (Feb 20, 2014)

I wish my local LPS sold the small tanks for cheap - 2.5 gallons at $19 is NOT cheap to me!


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## fyic (Feb 20, 2014)

haha thats cuz it's not cheap........I hear you I got lucky finding this place 



viper69 said:


> I wish my local LPS sold the small tanks for cheap - 2.5 gallons at $19 is NOT cheap to me!


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