Upgrading from tote to tank

[erin.leaman]

I currently have my hermit crabs in a 32 gallon tote that sits on my bedroom floor. I have struggled with my hermit crabs surviving through molting and my own forgetfulness. My hermit crabs deserve a little respect. So, I am going to be building a huge oasis for them! I bought a tank from Amazon a few days ago and it is due to be here tomorrow! I am so excited to finally be upgrading and I'm sure my hermit crabs will be much happier. Boy, are they in for a surprise when they surface from molting! I am also adopting more hermit crabs from another person on this site (from whom I was surprised to discover I went to high school with!)
The tank's dimensions will be 4 feet long, 1 1/2 feet wide, and 2 feet tall! I plan on having 10 inches of substrate and (if I can figure out how) a deep built-in pool. I got my bend-a-branch, a fake plant, moss ball (my parents complain about smell and although it is meant for turtle water I am hoping it will work on high humidity land), and coconut bedding bricks in the mail yesterday. More decorations, such as driftwood and a glow-in-the-dark fake coral, are on the way! (The driftwood isn't due until June though )
I would love some construction suggestions and your detailed ideas and opinions! I would also like to see pictures of your habitats for some inspiration! I've been digging around the internet and found some beautiful crabitats and vivariums for other animals that I am absolutely jealous of and would like to mimic and modify. I will attach another post to this thread with the idea pictures and another with pictures of my orders on another post for the sake of organization.

[erin.leaman]

(this one I found on the HCA, I don't know who's)^^

(also from this site and the person I found it from doesn't know the original user either)^^

[wodesorel]

Fifth one down looks like curious_kitty (or something close to that). She built it into the cubby in her apartment between the living and bedroom. The plants lasted all of a few weeks before the crabs ate them (it was hundreds of dollars of special ordered plants), and she ended up tearing it all apart about two years later and rehoming all her surviving crabs (the exotics didn't make it) when they moved out to start a family.

[aussieJJDude]

I know the first 3 are all HCA members tanks. In order sugarselections, wolfnipplechips, mom23.... i remember seeing their tank many times.
You and i have similar ideas, im also hoping to do a viv in my currently under construction new crabitat... so these pics are lovely. You also hoping to include live plants as well? Been doing research on good viv plants to include.

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[GotButterflies]

I don't think that the moss ball would survive on land, but I have a moss ball in two of my crabitats. I keep them in the freshwater pools. They have survived for 5 months Your tank sounds like it will be amazing!! Can't wait to see pictures! Sugarselections has one of my favorite tanks. You should check out her current tank!

[wodesorel]

I know the first 3 are all HCA members tanks. In order sugarselections, wolfnipplechips,

*facepalm* Shoulda recognized those! I think they're all older designs that have been updated though. Sugar went to a front-opening tank, didn't she?

[aussieJJDude]

*facepalm* Shoulda recognized those! I think they're all older designs that have been updated though. Sugar went to a front-opening tank, didn't she?

Yeah i know sugar has got the new exo terra, vids og it can be found on YouTube (including her old crabitat setup)... dont worry, i thought once someone mentioned it you would recall them.



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[GotButterflies]

Here is her link on the HCA of her video for the new one: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... ilit=video

[wodesorel]

And that is something you may want to consider while designing - while you may love the look of these tanks the way they were, if the original creators have chosen to change things over time there's likely a good reason why they did so. Whether it was because it didn't work for the crabs, or there was too much upkeep, or things fell apart, learning from their mistakes will save you the headache they went through!

I know a lot of people ended up ditching built-in pools because the failure rate is so high. Since new silicon will not stick to old silicon, there is no way to get a perfect seal and it will eventually fail and flood out the entire tank, killing any molters who may be at the bottom. Plexiglass cannot be used with silicon either as plastics are made from petroleum and the oils eventually eat away at the silicon seal. It might take a few years before either ends up giving, and some people have gotten really lucky with their builds, but it is just a matter of time and when they do give out it's disastrous.

[jdauby09]

I am also in the process of upgrading mine a little at a time and I saw somewhere this person sank mason jars into the sub up against a wall so I decided to try it and my crabs seems to like it...here is mine currently but I plan on looking into shower caddies instead of the baskets...I got a bunch of fake ivy off of a relative she was going to throw away so I am gonna wash that all up really well and my 8 yr old built some houses out of his legos to put in there also...

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[erin.leaman]

I am also in the process of upgrading mine a little at a time and I saw somewhere this person sank mason jars into the sub up against a wall so I decided to try it and my crabs seems to like it...here is mine currently but I plan on looking into shower caddies instead of the baskets...I got a bunch of fake ivy off of a relative she was going to throw away so I am gonna wash that all up really well and my 8 yr old built some houses out of his legos to put in there also...

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It's beautiful! I've seen people half-sink little bubble fish bowls and put pebbles in the bottom on Pinterest. Here's a photo:

I don't think that the moss ball would survive on land, but I have a moss ball in two of my crabitats. I keep them in the freshwater pools. They have survived for 5 months Your tank sounds like it will be amazing!! Can't wait to see pictures! Sugarselections has one of my favorite tanks. You should check out her current tank!

When I opened the package (I was impatient and thought it needed water) the ball was made of felt! I can hear something rolling around inside of it though. I seriously doubt it's seeds of some sort, they sound too round and big. It's probably some sort of air freshener.

And that is something you may want to consider while designing - while you may love the look of these tanks the way they were, if the original creators have chosen to change things over time there's likely a good reason why they did so. Whether it was because it didn't work for the crabs, or there was too much upkeep, or things fell apart, learning from their mistakes will save you the headache they went through!

I know a lot of people ended up ditching built-in pools because the failure rate is so high. Since new silicon will not stick to old silicon, there is no way to get a perfect seal and it will eventually fail and flood out the entire tank, killing any molters who may be at the bottom. Plexiglass cannot be used with silicon either as plastics are made from petroleum and the oils eventually eat away at the silicon seal. It might take a few years before either ends up giving, and some people have gotten really lucky with their builds, but it is just a matter of time and when they do give out it's disastrous.

I don't plan on sinking a lot of money into live plants or anything they may destroy. I hit up Walmart yesterday for a few things I didn't want to pay shipping for and I was out and about anyways. I bought some cheap preserved Spanish moss (brand: Proflora) and some fake lilies (the kind one uses in a Styrofoam arrangement. Brand: *unsure*). I also got two giant margarita glasses that are 100% plastic and I think would they be adorable in the crabitat. I plan on putting a little moss or pebbles at the bottom of each to level them out and drape burlap (also bought yesterday at Walmart) over the sides so they can climb in an out. Not entirely sure if I want to use them as an elevated pool (risk of getting knocked over) or if I want to use them as a perch and "shell station". I have considered placing a coconut over one of them to created a cute little dome hide-out. But the hermit crabs I am adopting from DrassageQueen are 1/4 inch big (shell opening) and the last time I dried out my own coconut shell, I had an issue with mold (probably because I put peanut butter in them and hid snacks for my little scavengers)

Thank you everyone for sharing you much needed wisdom! I haven't been crabbing very long and I need as much constructive criticism I can get.

[daws409]

So you're the one getting my e lol. I tried to talk her into meeting me in Emporia but she wasn't having it. Plus you're way closer than me. No harm feelings.

I see you're upgrading to a 90G tank. That's a huge jump from a tote! Congrats!!

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[daws409]

Here's links to my setups. The last two tanks, pics need to be updated. The topper (most recent tank) has more stuff added to topper than pictured. I had to figure out a way to make it jungle like without compromising my jumbo's.

My 125G with topper: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... p?t=114078
My Bamboo tank: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... p?t=113485
My 90G: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... p?t=112709

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[erin.leaman]

This is the tank that I ordered. It was due to arrive today but it looks like it will be late and arrive tomorrow. It has a sliding door and a nice vent though. Hopefully the slow delivery means it will get here in one piece.

[erin.leaman]

I have a question: How do I post pictures from a file on a post? I would like to show you guys my progress and set up.