So yesterday I finally took the measurements for the cabinet/dresser Basil's cage will sit in until I move. I then did some research into glass companies so I could find the absolute best deal on glass panels for Basil's new cage.
The first site I looked at was ridiculously expensive. For the seven glass panels I'd need, they would have charged me over $1000 for annealed (non-safety) glass with no edge finishing. This didn't even include shipping.
Feeling a bit discouraged but not wanting to give up, I looked at a few more company's websites.
Finally, I found one. This company would only charge me about $400 for tempered safety glass panels, with finished edges. Best of all, even with shipping it will only cost me $576 for all of the glass I need. You may think that's a ridiculous price for shipping something ground, but glass is really heavy, and this cage is going to be fairly large.
Basil's finished cage will be 35 1/2" wide, 22" deep, and 36" tall. The front will have an 8" high panel on the bottom to hold in the substrate/pond, and then there will be two large sliding glass doors above that. I am using wire mesh for the top to allow ventilation.
So $576 for the cage, $10 for aquarium silicone, probably $25 for the U-channels and extrusions, and $30 for a roll of welded wire mesh. I will have extra mesh, unfortunately, but its hard to find rolls less than 50 feet long. This leaves me with an approximate total of $640. Yes, that's expensive for what amounts to a 120-gallon tank, but when you have custom size requirements, I guess you get what you pay for.
All in all, it will take several months to finish this cage considering a) I will be working a minimum wage job, most likely, and b) I do still have bills to pay. But Basil will be fine for a few months. And in the end, this cage will be truly magnificent.
No comments:
Post a Comment