Building a new tank, and I have questions?

[scoobyloubydoo]

So I've got a second hand fish tank of eBay, and got few question, hope you don't mind a numbered list 
I'm going to try my hand at making a lid for it and at some point a topper Thinking of making one like this:

www.erodent.co.uk/gerbilcages.htm

1 . Does it matter that there's no wood on the width sides, iykwim?
I'm also thinking of using mesh with lots of really small like 1/8" or smaller, to prevent lots of bedding getting kicked out. 
I've seen on one tutorial for making lids that you can get hardware cloth, and wonder if this is what I'm wanting. But nothing comes up on the b&q or homebase website...
2. Does anyone know where it can be brought in the UK? Or something similar to my need? 

Also the tank will go in the living room so I would prefer the topper to be black (for aesthetics) like current topper, which is not big enough in width. I know I could buy a secondhand black cage and piece them together but would rather not buy anything else for the purpose of cutting up, I enough unfinished random projects in my house, lol.

3. So was think is it possible to buy black powder coated wire mesh from a high street shop? Anyone know? 

Lastly the tank it's replacing is the Gabry 50 gerbilarium from p@h. I Was seriously doubting this was big enough after having them home for a few weeks, especially after p@h got a few things very wrong.. And now I'm doing more research on the tank I've got and how many liters/gallons it is I'm not sure the new tank is as perfect as I first thought...

Here's the dimensions L 76 W 30 D 38
3. With a topper is that enough do you think?

Also I'm not known for my DIY skills so go easy on me?


Oh yeah, I'm new. Hello!  *manically waves*

[pyrotarukia]

It's hard to say if it's big enough as I think thats just under 20 imperial gallons but I don't know how many gerbils are you keeping in there? lol

I think the wood on the side of the mesh is to weigh it down so they cant just push the lid up and escape I know you can get short wooden batons from Wilkinsons pretty cheap also helps when taking the topper off and not cutting yourself on the mesh edges but if you have other ideas on how to keep the topper down then experimenting is always fun for weight I know you can buy perforated metal sheets from B&Q thats just metal sheets with lots of little holes in for breathing purposes you could get one of those cut down to the dimensions of your tank and just have it ontop but without cutting another larger hole in the top I don't know how you'd fit a topper onto that.

I've never seen anywhere in the UK where you can buy black mesh from either sorry :/ but I also wanted a black lid/topper so when I made mine I just cut up part of a black ikea table top I had from an old coffee table that broke and my cage topper is smaller then my tank as well so I cut holes and secured my topper onto the wood...

[scoobyloubydoo]

Sorry, it's for two girls... ? The tank I have now is this one:

www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/gerbil/gerbil-homes/gabry-50-gerbilarium

Just under 20! From what I have read, that's not much is it?

Oh yeah I think I saw a pic of that in a recent thread, the one with the hatch at the side... It's pretty impressive not sure my skills are up to that... Although I have got a slightly beaten up ikea table that's needing replace, hmmm... Something like that would be perfect..

Wish my dad lived closer, I'd have him on the job, lol. Was thinking I could do a quick temparary lid, and judge my abilities on that to wether I'd manage something more complicated. Not done wood work since I was 14 and at school, even then it was just a cassette holder, lol.   Well I'm off to B&Q and homebase tomorrow to have a look about and see what I can see.. 

Can I ask, if that tank is your handy work. Is the blue pod thing good? I saw one in p@h but wasn't sure it being plastic? 

Thank you so much for your input, there's so much info out there it's making my head spin. ?

[pyrotarukia]

About the blue pod I think it depends on the gerbils I originally bought mine from P@H for my 2nd gerbil and he loved it slept in there every night never once chewed it either. The 3rd gerbil I gave it to just kept stealing all the bedding out of it and dragging it downstairs lol and then I noticed a couple of little beginnings of chewing marks so I took it away. My 4th gerbil loved it as well but needed a bit of encouragement to try it out the first few times she was a bit timid to go in, and these 2 gerbils I have now started sleeping in there straight away and they both curl in there together and there are a couple of chew marks from the first day but nothing more then that I do daily checks to make sure the chewing hasn't continued but it's been over a month now and I think they know it's a bed and not a toy now.
I wish my dad lived closer too lol he's a carpenter joiner and would have done a much better job then I did but I'm happy with how it came out and feel good about my efforts lol you have to be careful when cutting ikea wook as it's not real wood it's more like lots of woodchips compressed together.

I've read that 15 gallons is good for 2 gerbils but also read conflicting that 20 gallons is best for them but I don't know if these people are measuring in imperial gallons or US gallons because in US gallons I think yours is around 22 which would be plenty. I know there are a lot of people that keep 2 gerbils in this cage from P@H
www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/gerbil/gerbil-homes/extra-large-gerbilarium
and your new one is bigger then this so would be fine.

I used to keep 1 gerbil in this P@H large gerbilarium and then when I got these 2 they lived in there for 3 weeks until I got my larger tank but they were pretty happy in there to be honest I only upgraded so I could spoil them and fit more toys and also I wanted the glass to be clearer and not green so I could see them better. They came out of the cage everyday for a run around so no lack of exercise was given to them when they were in the smaller cage I think keeping them in your new tank would be fine do they have a wheel? or do you let them out in a play pen?

EDIT:
The measurements given on the P@H include the topper and the topper really is just an additional to the cage it doesn't count as far as measuring the gallons for space as the gerbils really need the depth to dig and run around at the bottom bottom space is always more important

[scoobyloubydoo]

So had my little research trip to homebase, B&Q and wicks. 

Came across a few other bits I wondered wether they'd be good to line wire shelves?
Hanging basket liners(there listed as natural material, these:
www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/garden/pots-and-planters/quick-liner---30cm-384069
And Empty hessian sand bags, their only a quid!  

Thanks for the input pyrotarukia. I found the metal sheets in b&q they look perfect, little pricy though.. Homebase had something similar but mdf.

Apparently MDF is no good for gerbils, does it count if it's just part of the lid? Or only if it's within chewing reach.. 

Cool good to know about the pod, they look like such good space savers.
Ahhh the mix up between imperial and us gallon might of got me confused... And my math skills..

[GerbilUK]

Hiya, firstly I think your tank will be a great size for two gerbils, even without a topper. I have a tank that size with my loner gerbil in, it looks great. I also have a slightly larger and slightly smaller tank both with pairs in them. So I wouldn't worry about the size. There is plenty of room to put cardboard, logs and all sorts in. You will be do glad you swapped them from the p@h one honestly.

I don't like toppers personally, maybe try with just your homemade lid for a bit and see how you feel. You can easily plan one later and decide how you want it etc.

I have fairly large mesh on my lids and I really don't find that they kick the bedding out at all. If you buy some of the wire you plan to use, you can just balance it on top and weigh it down with books until you make the lid. Assuming you don't have a cat that is! I even used chicken wire for one of my lids, sandwiched between two layers of wood.

One other thing, amazon sells metal bottle holders that hang over the side of glass animal tanks. They are really smart and just the job.

Hope that helps Wokette

[GerbilUK]

Oh a couple of other things- I have a lid made of Mdf. It's not within reach though as the tank is pretty deep (it's a corner aquarium)

I haven't seen powder coated mesh tbh. Garden centres do green plastic coated stuff but its not very attractive

About the perforated metal sheet, I toyed with the idea of something like this for a curved aquarium. I was looking at a sheet of plastic to fit inside and rest on the rims, with holes drilled every cm or so. This was expensive too, at least twenty quid for the Perspex.

Cheers

[mothman]

I'm a new gerbil owner, so definitely not an authority, but the one thing I'd maybe find annoying about the lid example you posted (with no wood on the width ends) would be that the lid could maybe slide back and forth on the tank? Nothing to hold it in place? If I was to then add a topper to that style of lid, I'd be paranoid about the whole contraption being knocked off.. but then that's me, with two rambunctious children in the house. lol

My lid is very basic, and ... erm... rustic... lol I made it entirely out of 1/2" hardware mesh, cut longer/wider then the tank, and folded down on the sides/ends to form more of a "cap" that fits on the tank. I also attached a homemade topper (built from a chopped down second hand hamster cage) which I attached to the wire mesh lid with steel wire in several spots. My topper covers about 3/4 of the length of the tank, and on the remaining 1/4 I cut the mesh lid off, then reattached it with several loose loops of steel wire (to form a rudimentary hinge) so I can open that section up to get in the tank without lifting the entire lid/topper off. Out of paranoia on my part, I then have 3 mini bungee cords (one on each end and one along the front) stretched between the lid/topper and the base of the tank, so the lid can't be pushed up or be knocked around. It also helps keep everything more "snug", and keeps the wire mesh parts from rattling.

[scoobyloubydoo]

Thank you sooo much for the input! It's so helpful and helps me feel a little bit more confident in my choices   

So I'm still to get a topper hoping to get on today. Thinking of going with something similar to yours pyrotarukia, but with mdf screen instead.

I was thinking I'll cut a hole in the screen to fit the cage, then glue or nail a ledge using the wooden batons round the edges of holes for the cage to sit on. Cutting a hole next to the topper for a hatch into tank, glue/nail batons so hatch has a shelf, then putting hinges on and a bolt....

Don't worry mothman, I too think putting a topper on the on I posted would be asking for trouble. It was just a temparary idea, but I've decided doing a temporary one then possibly not using it would be a waste.
I might end up using bungee straps too, I also have a small mess maker, and she ain't a gerbil, lol!

*Sigh* I always take a simple easy idea and turn it into a massive project lol...

Hahaha, woketteuk no topper was my original plan. That's what I told my boyfriend when I said I wanted to buy another tank. But I feel they need somewhere to climb a wee bit (Biscuit loves climbing) Also a wheel up top would give them more space to burrow, also to be sure that the bottle isn't being buried and soaking bedding. Also I'm still trying to tame them, and I think a topper would encourage them to spend a bit more time out of the underground so they can get use to us.  

Think I'll starte a new thread on the case of appropriate wire shelf wires... 


Thanks for all your help, I'll post pics when done. Hopefully next weekend it will be all finished and fluff balls will have moved in 

Louise 

*oh also what do you think is best to use some form of wood glue or small nails? Ta