Idea for first DIY cage

[DClark747]

Alright, guys, someone was asking me about this on Facebook, and I thought I'd post it there to see what you guys thought. I've never done any wood work, but I have worked at a hardware store, so I know my way around a workshop. What I'm about to post is just a copy and paste from what I sent to the person that I was talking to. Let me know what you guys think, because it's pretty likely that I have no idea what I'm doing.

"I haven't slept in 40 hours or so, but I'll try to explain.
I want to build a 4'x2'x1' cage out of melamine. This ends up being a nearly 60 gallon tank, which is pretty great. I'm going to build it, I think as a hinge-top, maybe with a streamlined piano hinge, or maybe several utility hinges, like the old toy boxes. I think that I'm going to cut out an area on the front so that I can put in plexiglass for viewing. Plexiglass is an acrylic so due to the light it'll stain, but not for several years, and I can just pop it out and slide a new sheet of plexiglass in. I'm going to cut out an area on the top and sides (or top and back) for ventilation, as well as heat transfer. I was going to build a removable divider into the middle of it, but I don't plan on keeping a baby in there, so a divider is unnecessary."