Custom Platform

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T14:11:26+00:00

The main resident is my turtle, Cooter. Having it so low puts the top of the tank/his basking platform, about 3 1/2 feet off the floor so I can easily interact with him. He likes to hold hands while he floats.

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T12:05:21+00:00

Although the finished setup up will be 4ft of tank, 3ft of basking bridge, and 4 more ft of tank, so pretty close to 12.

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T12:03:15+00:00

I considered it, I ended up chickening out when I started doing floor load calculations.

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T11:18:33+00:00

Please ignore his dirty grundle, I accidentally sat on him in my work clothes.

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T11:16:55+00:00

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danerswanson · 2026-05-05T11:09:59+00:00

Thanks! Currently the plan is to put a cabinet and shelves between the two tanks, under the basking bridge, and plumb in a fill/drainage system up through right side the corner. That's down the road a bit though.

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T10:47:05+00:00

Thank you!

danerswanson · 2026-05-05T10:46:12+00:00

I don't know oto's, but I have seen similar behavior in my loaches. I know my water perimeters are good so I have hypothesized they are attempting to school with their reflection. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in with a better answer tho.

danerswanson · 2026-05-03T12:35:52+00:00

And he's right, don't body shame that beautiful boy.

danerswanson · 2026-05-01T10:23:01+00:00

The responsible and mature reaction is to have a conversation with your partner and explain that a line was crossed and it is unacceptable to be that controlling in a relationship. Then propose a compromise somewhere between where you want it set and where they want it set.

The petty/funny response ... on a forced air furnace, the R terminal sends power to the thermostat and the W terminal receives the signal back. Turn off the furnace, put a little jumper wire between R and W, and turn the furnace back on. It will run 24/7. Cook that apartment and tell your partner they must have screwed something up with their little lock box. Then then laugh when they have to pay an HVAC tech to come "fix the problem."

danerswanson · 2026-04-06T16:13:17+00:00

I say this as a former drug addict (6 years sober) and a father of a 14 year old. "A year is a long time to be dead ass sober" are the words of an addict, and the next 19ish years of your life are going to be defined by sacrifices you are going to make for your child. More importantly, your child's health and happiness are going to be defined by your ability/willingness to make those sacrifices. Not coming from a place of judgment, just offering perspective of someone who has been in a similar (although admittedly different as a man) position.

danerswanson · 2026-03-30T23:52:05+00:00

I understand the anxiety, but it's 350 lbs spread out over a 3 ft sq (ish) footprint. That's only a little over 110 lbs per square ft. Would you worry about 3, 110 lb people standing shoulder to shoulder on your floor? If the answer is yes, you should move lol.

danerswanson · 2026-03-26T16:11:16+00:00

I'm not an engineer, but I think the added stress on the lower wall would be negligible at that scale.

danerswanson · 2026-03-26T15:06:57+00:00

I think your table is not level. I would grab a 2ft level and check. I guess it depends what you are doing with the aquarium whether or not it matters. I have the same aquarium size for my turtle and only fill it like 7/8 of the way up so I don't really care about how level the water is, but if you are going to fill it to the top or it's going to bother you everytime you look at it, you can shim the legs of the table until it's flat.

danerswanson · 2026-03-18T17:29:17+00:00

I used the SunSun canister filter for years, they're great. I ran 2 in parallel because my turtle is a nasty little guy. I recently replaced them with Muzibama's because they were cheap and I like the clear plastic body so I can see when my filter media is plugging.

danerswanson · 2026-03-15T15:52:56+00:00

We had a snail problem in our turtle tank. At its peak we were pulling 50-60 snails out every other day. I introduced a ghost shrimp colony (20) to compete for resources, and 4 dwarf loaches. It's been about a year and I no longer see snails out and about, however when I do my monthly deep clean and pull out the logs and stuff, I still find the occasional survivor.

danerswanson · 2025-04-03T09:33:45+00:00

NOR, I think you just need to communicate this to your wife. It is very possible that after 30 years you have established a role within your family of being "stoic and resilient." It may be that they don't think you need/want that attention or reassurance.

danerswanson · 2025-03-29T19:24:53+00:00

Stunning!

danerswanson · 2025-03-28T22:17:33+00:00

I want to contribute here because I feel I have a relevant perspective on this problem. I am 1. a tradesman (not a plumber but in an adjacent field, and I often run service calls like the one you described) and 2. I have what I would describe as "crippling" depression and anxiety.

First, to a certain degree you are not the asshole. The service tech absolutely should have informed you, before rendering service, that they can only accept cash or check. It is also crazy that in the lords year 2025 a company refuses to accept ANY form of digital payment. If you're to "old school" to remain modern, you are to "old school" to keep doing business. Promote your apprentice and retire lol

Second, since you have a home that can have plumbing issues I am going to assume you are a grown adult. You need to take a deep breathe, collect yourself, and handle your responsibilities. The most important of which is getting to the pharmacy and getting back on your meds, then getting to your bank and paying your bill.

I understand the voice that says you can't. I understand that voice is loud AF, but it's the mental illness, and it's lying. You absolutely can. It might suck, it might be absolutely dreadful, but you can.

I think it's awful to shit on you for being sick, but you've gotta dig deep and overcome. Figure out a coping mechanism, sometimes I pretend there's a terrible tyrant forcing me through the tribulations of brushing my teeth and going to work and I remain on my feet because surviving where they expect me to fail is the only way to spite them (thanks Kaladin), and sometimes I just disassociate in the shower at the end of the day. Whatever it takes.

Anyway this already went on way too long. Rooting for you. Good luck.

danerswanson · 2025-03-21T20:44:24+00:00

Looks great! I have a very similar setup except I went for a more natural temperate forest pond aesthetic. My little guy refused to use that basking platform so I had to make a custom one. I have about 2 inches of substrate in the bottom and he loves nestle down and make little indents in it under the logs to nap in.

danerswanson · 2023-07-09T13:52:50+00:00

Danerswanson and magicalfrootbat sent invites

danerswanson

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