Terrarium vs. Aquarium

[Abemas]

I just found a tank being used to house a lizard for sale. The listing says it is a "fish tank" and it has a glass top. Aside from them telling me its a true aquarium and not a terrarium are there any dead giveaways that I'm looking at a tank made to hold water? I know reptile tanks have thinner glass but I don't have any reference points to determine what is "thin."

Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject!

 

[BigJim]

Look for a warning sticker that says "DO NOT FILL WITH WATER" or something similar. Terrariums usually have something like that.

Aside from a warning sticker, it's pretty difficult to tell. I suppose if you could measure the glass thickness of an aquarium with the same dimensions, you could compare the glass thickness. I'd still worry about the seams though.

 

[Abemas]

I'd still worry about the seams though.

Worry about the seams as in they may not be good because it had reptiles in it?

 

[BigJim]

The seams might not be designed to hold water. I seem to remember the terrariums I've seen having less silicone on the seams. On a terrarium, the silicone only needs to hold the glass in place. On an aquarium, the silicone needs to hold the water pressure back as well.

 

[mfdrookie516]

also if it has had small animals/reptiles in it, check the silicone seams... i refuse to buy one that has had reptiles or animals in it simply because it had them in it, but ive seen a few that the silicone had been chewed up, which would definately be cause for concern later on if not re-sealed

 

[john73738]

If the thickness proves that it is truly an aquarium, and it is a good deal grab it. Just strip out all of the silicone and clean the tank throughly. I have a freind that got a 60 gal for a Bearded Dragon, when it died we set it up as an aquarium. However we did strip all the silicone and cleaned it well. That will get rid of all nastiness left by the reptile.