Cleaning Tank with UTH

[jonathon1989]

Im about to clean the tank but Im not sure how to do it with the UTH. I need advice!


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[Hermiesguardian]

Where is the uth? It should be on the outside back or side of tank. And all you need to do is a spot cleaning of food. The only time you need to do a full overhaul is if there's an emergency, like a flood or bacterial bloom.

[jonathon1989]

Its on the side of the tank. We spot cleaned furry mold and then replaced the substrate after wiping down the tank.


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[Hermiesguardian]

Its on the side of the tank. We spot cleaned furry mold and then replaced the substrate after wiping down the tank.


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Did you just add some substrate or totally replace? If it's the uth that has a self stick on it the manufacturer advises not to reuse.

[jonathon1989]

I replaced all the substrate. I did not remove the UTH.


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[curlysister]

Personally, I have never replaced all the sub. I have just added more as I upgraded tanks and as my crabs have grown. You really only need to totally replace it if there is an emergency like a bacterial bloom.

[JeffCrab]

I'm the same way. I never have replaced substrate in any of my tanks I've had. Only ever added when I've grown.

[DragonsFly]

Assuming that the UTH is on the OUTSIDE of the tank (which it certainly should be for hermit crabs), the only thing you need to be concerned about is not spraying or splashing or sloshing cool liquid on the glass that is being heated by the UTH (that can cause the glass to crack or shatter).

If you have a large tank and good volume of substrate, and it is a good mix and properly moistened, as others have said you should not need to replace it entirely and do a thorough "deep-clean" of the tank, unless you have had a serious problem (as they have said). However, I occasionally clean the glass, as it can get smeary or spackled with bits of sand and what-not and that obscures the view and doesn't look so nice when it gets to be a lot. To clean the glass on the inside of the tank, I just use a cloth with some vinegar-and-water on it, and wipe it clean, then another cloth to wipe it dry. I don't clean the area where the UTH's are, because you can't look through those spots anyway! But if for some reason you wanted to do so (something got on there that you really wanted to clean out of the tank), you can just unplug the UTH for a while until it is cool, clean the glass carefully, then plug the UTH back in. That's an abundance of caution, but considering that large tanks are hard/expensive to come by and a broken panel constitutes a freak-out emergency, I'd say better safe than sorry!