Spare 80 gallon

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Yes I know this size is well beyond what you would generally see in the arachnid world, I just happen to have a spare 80 gallon glass enclosure. Don't have any idea what I was thinking to do with it. Don't really want any more reptiles. If I can't figure out a nifty arachnid theme for it I may end up just making it a little mock river tank with a couple perch. Maybe a small species of bass, but man another fish tank? Help me out!
 

sdsnybny

Arachnogeek
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
1,330
Stand it on edge add shelves that flow air, heat tape with temp control, CPU fan, door/s and you have a controlled environment for slings/juveniles
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Giant M. balfouri communal
How difficult is the communal setup with them? Same as the incei? If @EulersK didn't get it to work I feel I'd fail horribly.

Stand it on edge add shelves that flow air, heat tape with temp control, CPU fan, door/s and you have a controlled environment for slings/juveniles
Not a bad idea at all, once I get to breeding that may be very useful.


Keep em comin!
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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3,292
Personally, I'd set up a divided enclosure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear the crowds screaming already. Divided enclosures are fine if you make them properly. Don't cut corners.

Turn it on its side so that the long edge is on the floor. Cut a long piece of wood - 1" thick, ~3" wide, and however long you need. This is what will keep the substrate from falling out of the front, since it is wide open. You may need to cut this into segments to accommodate the dividing glass pieces. Go to Lowe's and buy some glass; this time, no acrylic! It will bow too much over time. Why Lowe's specifically? Because they'll cut it for you to exact dimensions. Get however many dividers you want, be sure that they fit exactly, and secure them in place with high grade, food safe silicone. Don't be afraid to put on multiple layers of this stuff. For the front, go ahead and use thick acrylic for each door. I wouldn't suggest a feeding door on any of them unless you can cut it directly into the acrylic for more of a feeding hole. If you make a feeding door, there is a chance that the two pieces will bend outward resulting in a T that can squeeze through to the neighboring enclosure. To secure those fronts in place, I will post pictures tonight... way too difficult to explain, but it's literally $10 worth of supplies and very easy to do.
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Personally, I'd set up a divided enclosure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear the crowds screaming already. Divided enclosures are fine if you make them properly. Don't cut corners.

Turn it on its side so that the long edge is on the floor. Cut a long piece of wood - 1" thick, ~3" wide, and however long you need. This is what will keep the substrate from falling out of the front, since it is wide open. You may need to cut this into segments to accommodate the dividing glass pieces. Go to Lowe's and buy some glass; this time, no acrylic! It will bow too much over time. Why Lowe's specifically? Because they'll cut it for you to exact dimensions. Get however many dividers you want, be sure that they fit exactly, and secure them in place with high grade, food safe silicone. Don't be afraid to put on multiple layers of this stuff. For the front, go ahead and use thick acrylic for each door. I wouldn't suggest a feeding door on any of them unless you can cut it directly into the acrylic for more of a feeding hole. If you make a feeding door, there is a chance that the two pieces will bend outward resulting in a T that can squeeze through to the neighboring enclosure. To secure those fronts in place, I will post pictures tonight... way too difficult to explain, but it's literally $10 worth of supplies and very easy to do.
Definitely liking this idea a lot as well, like a custom exo haha!


I'm pretty sure @Formerphobe and @Blue Jaye and @Trenor have/had a successful communal. I really want to try it one day.
It would be cool, but I'm afraid I'd just end up with one fat happy spider lol. If I do decide to go communal some day I'll most likely do a scorpion setup
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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3,292
Definitely liking this idea a lot as well, like a custom exo haha!
High. Grade. Silicone. I can't stress this enough. Silicone has a nasty habit of working perfectly for a few weeks right before catastrophically failing overnight. For a project this size, I'd even look into what they make aquariums out of and see if you can buy it online or at an aquarium shop.

With a setup this size, you could fit a nice number of arboreals or burrowers. Personally, I'd set it up for a line of burrowers, I think that would look amazing... but I love me some burrowers! If you decide to do that, get the highest grade acrylic you can find for the front (because acrylic is multitudes stronger than glass), and use the same acrylic for the inside dividers. It's going to be supporting a lot of weight.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
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Jan 28, 2016
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High. Grade. Silicone. I can't stress this enough. Silicone has a nasty habit of working perfectly for a few weeks right before catastrophically failing overnight. For a project this size, I'd even look into what they make aquariums out of and see if you can buy it online or at an aquarium shop.
You can buy it in a lot of places. If you go this route allowing it to properly and fully cure before putting stress on it is really important. Just because it's dry on the outside doesn't mean you're ready to go. Heavy glass puts a lot of stress on the silicone and soft middles can cause it to fail. We repaired a lot of aquariums when we did fish and the first few didn't work out too good even when we waited the dry time. I had one glued up, set it aside, and forgot about it. When I went to use it weeks later it worked great.

It would be cool, but I'm afraid I'd just end up with one fat happy spider lol. If I do decide to go communal some day I'll most likely do a scorpion setup
There are a lot of write-ups on M.balfouri communal setups, talking up the pros and cons, so I'm not going to re-roll that here. I've enjoyed my communal setups and so far I've had good luck with them. They are starting to get some size. As luck would have it, I was feeding this afternoon after getting back from a trip. Two of the M.balfouri came right out and I managed to grab a few shots with the phone.


 
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magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
You can buy it in a lot of places. If you go this route allowing it to properly and fully cure before putting stress on it is really important. Just because it's dry on the outside doesn't mean you're ready to go. Heavy glass puts a lot of stress on the silicone and soft middles can cause it to fail. We repaired a lot of aquariums when we did fish and the first few didn't work out too good even when we waited the dry time. I had one glued up, set it aside, and forgot about it. When I went to use it weeks later it worked great.


There are a lot of write-ups on M.balfouri communal setups, talking up the pros and cons, so I'm not going to re-roll that here. I've enjoyed my communal setups and so far I've had good luck with them. They are starting to get some size. As luck would have it, I was feeding this afternoon after getting back from a trip. Two of the M.balfouri came right out and I managed to grab a few shots with the phone.


Why....why did you do this to me...it's so beautiful :O

Seriously though that's really cool...are they easy to deal with?
 
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Trenor

Arachnoprince
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Jan 28, 2016
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1,896
Why....why did you do this to me...it's so beautiful :October

Seriously though that's really cool...are they easy to deal with?
Again, read and make sure you know the risks to communal setups. That being said, I've had great luck with them. It was a bit of a handful when the first few weeks I had them. A few times when I opened the enclosure one or more tried to pull a breakout on me. Once they finished the shared hide and webbed some they always dove for it when disturbed. That made it much easier to work with them.

Here is an older thread and there are a few more floating around where I have posted my experiences with them. I can honestly say they have been enjoyable to keep. I'll be glad to answer any questions you have if you hit me up in PMs.
 
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EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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@magicmed

Here are those pictures. The top is a removable 90 degree bracket that I coated in electrical tape to prevent scratching the acrylic. It is held firmly in place by a neodymium magnet hot glued to the frame of the aquarium. This magnet was taken from an old HDD, so it's quite large and strong. I'd suggest something similar. The bottom is a semi-permanent 90 degree aluminum corner piece that I cut to size. It spans the length of the aquarium, and yours should as well. I say semi-permanent because it can easily be removed, but I never do. It is held in place by the weight of the aquarium, although you could glue it down if you wish. This piece keeps the acrylic from falling out.

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magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
@magicmed

Here are those pictures. The top is a removable 90 degree bracket that I coated in electrical tape to prevent scratching the acrylic. It is held firmly in place by a neodymium magnet hot glued to the frame of the aquarium. This magnet was taken from an old HDD, so it's quite large and strong. I'd suggest something similar. The bottom is a semi-permanent 90 degree aluminum corner piece that I cut to size. It spans the length of the aquarium, and yours should as well. I say semi-permanent because it can easily be removed, but I never do. It is held in place by the weight of the aquarium, although you could glue it down if you wish. This piece keeps the acrylic from falling out.

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Very cool idea, love your work! Thank you for the pics and idea
 

shining

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
755
Beautiful fish, but I wouldn't want that much aggression. I do have a spare 20 I kind of want a African butterfly fish in though
Maybe some Heros sp., the gentle giants of the S.A. cichlids.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Dec 8, 2006
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17,851
Don't really want any more reptiles.
Traitor! Heh, I saw a guy put together a 40 gal tank for an arachnid.

You need an H. gigas with a nice water setup. Like I told someone recently here, make a setup with different depths so we can see how deep they will travel.

Go for it!
 

REEFSPIDER

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
412
Traitor! Heh, I saw a guy put together a 40 gal tank for an arachnid.

You need an H. gigas with a nice water setup. Like I told someone recently here, make a setup with different depths so we can see how deep they will travel.

Go for it!
Hahaha with the 80 that'd be insane.
There are dart frog and gecko tanks I've seen that large with plants and water features incorporated. Why not arachnids?. H gigas ftw!
 

BorisTheSpider

No this is Patrick
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May 26, 2009
Messages
488
Shiitake tank . Take hard wood logs , seed them with readily available plugs , and stand them on end in the tank . Keep and eye on the humidity and then harvest of those delicious little fungi . I have a forty gallon Exo terra breeder tank that is about to become my next mushroom project . It's a cool diversion from the usual "pet project" .
 
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