Concrete pool question

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mcstanton

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Hi! Haven't been on here in a while. We have a 1 1/2 year old sulcata, Shelby. Her pool was getting too small for her, so we molded one out of concrete. Does anyone know if its okay to put it in as is, or do we need to seal or paint it? We have asked pet stores, and paint stores and nobody knows.
 

Levi the Leopard

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There are some members here who have made/use the concrete ponds.

I do not use these but from what I have gathered, they are ok to use "as is". Some fill them and drain them a few times before letting the tort use it. But I only read about that here and do not know why.

Share some pictures? Then others can get ideas from your project :)
 

mcstanton

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C7BC7E61-DE5E-4913-B3FA-91B2618E7A62-2831-0000025A603A74E0.jpg

Thanks for the info. We were worried about using paint because of the chemicals. Here's a pic of her new pool.
 

Levi the Leopard

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Can I ask 20 questions about it now? LOL (I tried 3x to make pools for my torts but failed each time)

What concrete mix did you use?
How long did it cure?
What did you use to make the shape?
Do you plan to sink it into the ground?
How heavy is it?
How large is it?

ok not 20, 6 :p

Thanks!
 

mcstanton

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We used sakrete. We made a cardboard box, mixed the concrete thick and molded it by hand.its still drying. I think we should have added Portland cement with the mortar for faster and harder drying. After an hour of the concrete setting up, we used a small paintbrush with water to smooth and shape it. It is sized at 16x14, so it will fit in her 100 gallon tank. We made a sloping ramp inside so she can get in and out easily. If we do it again, we would use fast drying cement with Portland, for quicker drying.
 

wellington

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Yes, you should rinse it a few times and then your go to go. Of course be sure it is cured long enough so you don't mess up your fine work.
 

Jtort

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This is great! Any updated pics of this?
 

sibi

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I made a concrete pool using a round plastic water heater pan that I bought at home depot. I used a quick setting mix and it took an hour to dry. I had rinsed it out several times over a few day (according to mfg instructions). You're suppose to rinse it out because of the chemicals in the mix. I didn't paint it because of the chemicals in paint; however, I was fortunate enough to get cool deck mortar to coat the surface. It keeps the cement and water from getting too hot where my torts couldn't use it. It works like a charm because the pan had an outlet to drain the water incase they poop in it. You can even remove the plastic pan after the cement dries. It's a great mold. The cement is heavy but can be lifted if necessary. The pool is 18" in diameter and is about 3-4 inches deep.
 

Jtort

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Thanks sibi. Do you have pictures? I want to try this. It will probably be a while though. I'm still in the "planning" stage lol
 

OCTortoiseGuy

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I have made a few of these ponds over the years and depending on how thick the bottom and walls are depends on if they will leak through the cement (thicker is better). At 3 inch or more it should not need to be sealed. I would let it fully cure as suggested on the MFG instructions and the rinse a few time and let water sit in it for a while to see if it leaks the water. Looks great!!
 
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