We enjoy inventing new ways to build environments for small water turtles. This time the challenge was to utilize more of our aquarium while only using several inches of water. We wanted to add lots of plants and utilize more of the volume of the aquarium without filling the aquarium with water, rocks, and concrete structures. And we wanted to use a material that like concrete is very versatile, durable, inexpensive, and easy enough for anyone to work with. We wanted to try brass and copper.

    Why brass and copper? Remember we use copper pennies in your aquariums to prevent the growth of algae. Copper is the active ingredient in most algaecides. This is important as we make the environment more complicated and harder to clean. We also wanted a material and method we can easily start, pause, stop, add to, and alter as needed. And along the way we had some luck.

    We started by making a cardboard model of the aquarium - the bottom and three partial sides. Our first try was to take an inexpensive brass bucket for a planter. We drilled holes around the top to attach copper wire. We stripped and flattened scraps of #12 and #14 copper wires. We attached the wires to the bucket and built an extensive horizontal wire trellis for the turtles to climb on. It was big. Too big! Then we cut it down but the bucket was too big. Our first try was scraped but it was very good practice.

    Then while out shopping we found two small flat sided brass buckets in a thrift store for less than a dollar each. They were a great find. We sealed them with aquarium sealant and created a hanging wire trellis for one of them. We flattened #14 copper wire to about half its original thickness for the trellis. The trellis hooks over the brass bucket. A bracket to hang the bucket on was made from a piece of brass and was attached to the glass with aquarium sealant. The bucket was planted with club moss and baby tears. Check it out.

    We were pleased with the first hanging bucket so we fabricated a trellis for the second bucket. This trellis was designed to allow the turtles to go under and inside it as a hiding place. It was planted with club moss and ivy and hung on the other end of the aquarium. Both hanging buckets were positioned to be directly under the aquarium light.

    Both hanging bucket trellises are designed to permit the turtles to climb on them. The plants will do better if they don't, but turtles do climb branches overhanging water. So we expect our turtles to climb on them from time to time. After all this is being made to increase usable space for the turtles and all plants in their reach are expendable.

    Similar brass buckets can be found in craft stores. They are sold for use with artificial plants. If you don't want to mess with live plants, artificial plants will work very well. Variations of this design should work even better for lizards, small snakes, and other climbing herps.

    It only took about two weeks for our turtles to dump the bucket shown in pic 2 into the water which made a big mess. The hooks shown in pic 3  needed to be longer. It also indicated that the design needed modified so we removed some of the bottom wires to let the turtles go under and inside it rather than push up on it. This is all part of the fun of building things for turtles. The turtles will prove what works and what needs improvement. And later the mounting hooks were abandoned for simple wire hooks hanging from the top of the aquarium.

    Then we took out the flower pot we used as a planter in Tour Two and created a trellis for it. The idea was to create something for the turtles to climb up on, to hide under, and to provide some protection for the plants. This trellis took the shape of an upside down cowboy hat that fits snugly in the pot. Our cardboard aquarium model was useful for judging the overall size. The pot was then filled with plants and the soil was covered with large pebbles.

    The trellis is intended to hold the plants out of the water and provide for easy climbing. The trellis is also designed for basking, but the turtles usually go right into the plants.  The plants are enjoyed as cover to hide in so it is working for the turtles. Of course the turtles use the trellis to avoid being captured at feeding time. Again that's all part of the fun.
 

Construction details:

    All the copper wire was scrap #12 and #14 electrical wire. After the outer sheath was removed, the insulation was removed by striking it with a hammer against a piece of steel for an anvil in the same manor used to flatten the wire. This splits the insulation for removal. Flattening gives the wire more stiffness than round wire and changes its appearance. Round wire works well too. The wire was shaped and placed using a basket weave. Ends were filed smooth and folded under. Some places were soldered using a solder that does not contain lead. Excess solder was removed and the remaining solder was painted. The copper and brass will tarnish in time and develop a pleasing patina.

    Later as you will see below, we stopped using solder on wire trellis work. Twisting wire joints is enough for our needs and simplifies manufacturing.

    Copper wire and copper tubing are readily available. Brass shapes, strips, and small sheets are available in hardware stores and hobby shops for model making. You can also find brass items at yard sales, second hand stores, and craft stores. This is very inexpensive material to work with.
 

Hanging buckets continued:

    In time the plants were changed to mostly baby tears and our two hanging buckets were moved to a vivarium for the summer. As the baby tears cascaded down they became great hide boxes. Then the baby tears reached the soil and took root. Then creeping fig vine climbed up one of them and took root in the bucket. They became part of the landscape of the vivarium.

    After another hanging bucket was found in a thrift store, another trellis was made. It was planted with baby tears and placed in the aquarium. The baby tears thrive in the high humidity of the aquarium and cascade down into the water. The small turtles love to hide under it; baby turtles love to sit on top of it. It is important to place it so that baby turtles jumping off land in the water.

    We found another brass item shaped more like a shallow basket. It is an interesting piece, but the only way we have found to use it so far is to hang it above a vivarium. It is planted with baby tears and adds to the atmosphere of the turtle room. Even though it hangs in front of a window, the baby tears do not grow as vigorously as the ones under aquarium lights.

Glass dish with wire trellis:

    We found a glass dish that we thought would make a good planter for use in aquariums and vivariums. We made a small wire trellis much like the cowboy hat one above so that the plants would extend out from the sides of the dish before cascading down. This dish was planned for use in a vivarium to create a hide box effect. The trellis works as planned, but the turtles do not use it as much as we thought they might. They still prefer the corners of the vivarium. This gives us inspiration for another design to try someday.

    Some time later this dish was replanted with a prayer plant and moved near a corner of the vivarium. The plant thrives in it and even blooms. Here the turtles like hiding under it. Being elevated prevents the turtles from damaging much of the plant.

    Raised planters without trellises are useful for protecting other plants from being trampled too.

Candle Holders:

    Thrift stores seem to have an endless supply of brass candle holders. When we found this one we had to make this planter to add to this tour. Take one candle holder, an old brass bowl, drill some holes, and screw them together. This piece is really too high for our vivarium so we added it to an aquarium with only small turtles in it. Check it out.

     Again the variations are endless. You just need some brass candle holders and brass bowls. We have a supply of them we could not help collecting.

    To make a real asian jungle vine covered planter, use several sizes of copper wire to cover a candle holder. Weave the copper wire to look like vines. You can make the branching roots and leaves out of copper wire or pieces of scrap copper or brass. But this time we will let you do the creating.
 

A Floating Island Planter:

     Our largest brass and copper project is presented in a separate tour. See Tour 19: A floating Island Planter.
 

     If we kept snakes and lizards, we would have a ball creating things for them to climb on using these techniques. Be inspired and have fun collecting and creating.

    We hope we have given you some ideas so that you have fun and your turtles have an interesting and enjoyable environment.