Idea: splitting 55gal tank for 2 geckos

[or1gb1u3]

I was showing off pictures of my gecko to one of my friends and was relaying how I was thinking of setting up a second tank. he told me he would give me his 55 galon tank. so a fw questions

would it be possible to silicone in a divider to split tank in half?

would using a single uth in the center more preferable to one on each side?

would center uth be enough?was thinking a uth for size of the total tank ie rated for 50-60 gal vivs

I have not seen what the hood looks like to figure out how I want to light it yet.
and I think all else would be typical to standard set up.

is there any thing else I should think of?

 

[TokayKeeper]

1. Yes, make certain you use a piece of glass. Silicone does not tend to bond well with plexi-glass. Make certain your glass measurements are accurate, but still give you enough room to navigate the piece into place within the tank. I'd go with 1/4 inch thick glass for stability and integrity purposes.

2. I think you could get away with this. You're essentially creating two 27.5 gallon tanks. If you were to get a large enough UTH you should be able to adequately heat both sides.

3. see #2.

I have not seen what the hood looks like to figure out how I want to light it yet.
and I think all else would be typical to standard set up.

is there any thing else I should think of?

A standard 55 gallon tank is about 4 ft long (48.25 inches). If your friend is giving you the tank and light hood, then the hood could be one 4 ft fixture that'll take either a 36 inch or two 18 inch tube fluorescents or it might be two 24 inch fixtures that each take an 18 inch fluorescent tube. Assuming the friend also has the glass tops for the 55, then I'd look into getting a screen lid.

 

[or1gb1u3]

thanks Tokaykeeper I thought it would work was/am just making sure I am not missing anything

 

[fl_orchidslave]

You could build quite a nice display with that size tank. It may be necessary to cover the divider so the geckos cannot see each other, either with a pre-made background or fabricate a styrofoam one. Please post photos so we can see how everything is coming together

 

[LeoMerlin]

Oh man that would be awesome if I could get one that size, but Merlin's fine in his new 20g long. Yea the divider sounds like a good idea, I'd just use glass as TokayKeeper said, I'm no expert but that sounds reasonable. Backgrounds also are a good idea. Especially if they're both males as they'd want to probably fight each other through the glass o.o. Or you could put some fake plants on either side of the glass divider to make sure they can't see each other. Definitely would love to see some pictures!