The only one of those questions I can answer correctly is how to secure the tank to prevent an escapee. My advice to you is to buy a Hagen tank, and an exo-terra lid (Exo-terra is part of Hagen). If you get the right size for the tank you buy, it is an absolute perfect fit. It latches around the plastic rim at the top and has 1-2 access doors on top. I've had my bp in a 35 gal with that lid since february, and she has never escaped. And I just got my tank set up for a RTB today with one of those lids. Exo-terra makes 2 types of terrarium lids, make sure you get the one with the metal bars, not the screen mesh. Don't worry, the bars are very close together.