Light weight removable newt platform - mark II

[Mark]

It must be that time of year because everyone is redesigning semi-aquatic tanks and thinking about platforms. Not wanting to be left out I’ve gone for a new light weight, space saving approach this year. Here’s the work in progress.
Now, I’m not claiming too much design credit for this because it’s basically a table. I took a piece of 4mm acrylic plastic and simply drilled 4 holes for legs. The legs are made from a strong plastic tube approximately 1 cm in diameter. They’re attached to the base with screws, washers and rawplugs. This is the only metal in the structure and it has been covered with silicone. The top of the legs will be out of the water. A tray was then built to hold substrate, leaving a lip of about an inch at the front.

To stop the whole structure sliding around on the glass bottom I’ve popped some suckers onto the ends of the legs
.

Cork bark was then attached to the lip simply by cutting a groove into it. No silicone is required. The bark was pieced together to create a newt friendly lip along the front of the platform.

From above:

From the front:

As you can see from this angle, there’s plenty of room underneath the structure. The legs take up hardly any space. I’ll update as and when this gets installed in the tank.

 

[Fenchurch]

Great idea !
I'm reading almost all the tanks topics to prepare the arrival of my Neurergus kaiserii. I plan to design a semi-aquatic enclosure for them, and I find the idea of a platform very attractive and convenient...
So, thanks for the idea !
By !
Fenchurch

 

[Jennewt]

Brilliant, I love it! I think I would have skipped the legs, though, and just put it on bricks.

 

[Joost]

Plenty of space is, ofcourse, always a good thing to think about (and realize), but you also have to create hidingplaces. Why not hiding places and landarea in one? I use stones and mopani driftwood as landarea, and at the same time, my newts can use it also as a hidingplace under water. For me, I do like to use natural matter.
But the platform looks great anyway.

 

[Azhael]

Very nice Mark. It reminds me of the contructions i used to make with Lego when i was a kid for the poor animals that failed to scape my claws.
I bet if you cover the legs with java moss, it will look better.
I particularly like the cork bark idea, very easy and very practical, i´ll have to try that.

 

[Yahilles]

It's a very nice idea, i also like the cork bark idea very much.
I think other way to keep island on its position without loosing waterspace below it - from two sides put some threads to the opposing sides of the tank; i used it with floating islands in my orientalis aquariums.

Very nice Mark. It reminds me of the contructions i used to make with Lego when i was a kid for the poor animals that failed to scape my claws.
I bet if you cover the legs with java moss, it will look better.
I particularly like the cork bark idea, very easy and very practical, i´ll have to try that.

Your remembrances are similiar to mine, as well with yours about warhammer from other topic