Cheap and Easy 4x2x1 Cage

I've been making these for about a year now, and I think I've perfected the process, so I wanted to share.

Take a 55 gallon tank (you can get a leaky one off craigslist for next to nothing)

Cut out the center brace any way you like (I use a soldering iron)

Cut two lengths of Vinyl 1x2 trim. Verify what length you will need on the inside of the length of the tank, but it should be about 47 1/2 inches. You can buy 1x2 vinyl at most home improvement stores. Home Depot sells 12 footers for about 10 bucks

Purchase track for sliding doors and use wire brads to nail the track down to the vinyl bars. One will be nailed to the 2 inch side of one bar, and the other will be nailed to the 1 inch side. I buy mine on amazon.com for about $6 each.

After the track is installed onto the bars, attach the bars to the top and bottom lengths of the tank (I use drywall screws through the lip of the tank and into the bars. Make sure the screws don't go through and stick out to poke your critter)

Purchase a 24x18 sheet of plexiglass (I recommend at least .220) and cut it in half, so you have two pieces of 9x24. These are now your doors. Vent and lock to suit.

And there you have it. They ain't the prettiest cages you'll ever see, but they work great and cost very little. Functionally, they're as good as any PVC cage of similar dimensions, and if you play your cards right, you should be able to make this for far less than a similar 4x2x1 sliding door cage would cost to buy.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions of you need some help putting a couple together, I know my directions may have been a little vague. Below is a picture to help show you what your finished product should look like.

say you get the tank for 40$ how much was all the materials?

materials are going to fluctuate, depending on where you get them, where you live, etc. But I would say I usually end up putting a grand total of $35 on top of what it cost for the tank

also, your $40 estimate for a 55 gallon tank is high in my opinion. I personally wouldn't pay more than $25. If you get lucky, you can often find a leaky or scratched one for very little, or even for free if you happen to be lucky enough to find someone who is just trying to get rid of it.

I like those Chris. They seem very functional and the process could be used with about any size tank.

Thanks. I suppose you're right. I focus on 55s because they are ubiquitous and have a great footprint on their side, plus they're only 12 inches high so there's plenty of room, but the possibilities are pretty much endless aren't they?

this is brilliant!!! thank you so much for posting
patti

could you provide more pics?

Is there anything in particular you are trying to get a better look at?

Those are great ideas. I have been doing similar things. I use a circular saw to carefully cut the center brace out. I have done it with a 55gallon and a couple of 90 gallons though one of the 90's had a glass center I had to get it out. I also attach UTH in the form of flexwatt under each tank using metal foil heat tolerant tape. I then use a lamp dimmer from Lowes(item # 70717 about 10 bucks) for each tank so that each one can have a temp set independant from each other for different species. You have to watch the rating of those dimmers though and not put too much of a load on them. I paid $80 for both of my 90 gallon tanks together off craigslist and one held water before I did this. I am currently working on basically the same thing, but using MDF instead of the glass tanks. I had the guys at Lowes cut the MDF. They give you 2 free cuts and are a buck each after that. I also drill the plexi for vents and knobs. I have been using oak for the door tracks and ripping the grooves using my table saw, but will have to look into that track.

Heres some pics of my tanks

And the track and dimmer