Re: Jonathan’s Mason Tubs
The plastic mason’s mixing tubs (small, medium and large) are short – only 12 inches or less in height. But they are wide (two to three foot) and long (three to six foot) to give the surface area that turtle setups need. Pre-formed pond liners are also generally shallow in the one to one-and-a-half foot depth range. Many of the plastic pond liners are cheaper by volume, but they usually come in odd, space-wasting shapes instead of rectangular (obviously because they are meant for landscaping and aesthetics). Maybe you are looking for the plastic Rubbermaid tubs that Jonathan uses for the water sections of his garage setups? They are all about two feet tall in all but the small size (which is only one foot tall). I think Jonathan uses the mason’s mixing tub for the sand basking and nesting area between the water tubs – is that right Jonathan? Rubbermaid lists the dimension of the various tubs on their website under the lawn and garden catalogue heading. TSC stores do stock the Rubbermaid troughs, too. The 100, 150 and 300 gallon sizes (all two foot high) should be good for turtle set ups depending on the space available. One advantage is that they have a drain hole built in to attach a drain or suction hose to for filtration or cleaning. TuffTubs makes a whole range of comparable plastic tubs from recycled plastic. The TSC price quotes I got on TuffTub sizes were very reasonable. I saw a few of them in the local store last month. They are much softer/more flexible than the rigid Rubbermaid troughs, but they are guaranteed to stand up when filled with water. TSC has a couple of brands of the metal troughs in various lengths from 4 foot to 8 foot. All are two foot wide except the eight footer that is three foot wide. The four and six footers come in either the low one foot depth or the high two foot depth. I have seen aquaculture fish rearing tubs made of fiberglass that are three foot high, but that is getting into specialized suppliers and a whole different price range. Well, let us know what you decide to go with. I am always day-dreaming about the bigger, better “perfect” turtle set up, so it’s always interesting to see how other people design theirs. Todd in Texas P.S. The Tortoise Trust has posted an article on their web site and printed in their latest magazine about constructing surface mounted ponds for turtles using Rubbermaid troughs or the equivalent and a Fluval 4 internal filter. Worth looking at to see some more ideas. “Walker, Vincent” wrote: