The Crabitat (not 100%) ("Pic heavy")

[aussieJJDude]

Ok before I include all the pics; this weekend didn't go to plan. Well, as i planned for the crabitat...

I. didn't. get. the. sand...
Kinda bummed really, but when working really bad times (throughout the day) 18 hours straight plus homework to top it off, it looks like me purchasing and setting up the tank properly will have to wait until next weekend. I know that i advocate "every grain counts", but for now the crabs have enjoyed their new digs.

OK so basically here was a major source of inspiration. armendee island, off New Caledonia. However another major source; was all the all the fantastic crabitats I drool over every day.
An awesome mangrove "forest" that I'm hoping to replicate somewhat with the SW pool. We will see how well this one will go (probably a work in progress)

Hoping to use this idea to keep the sand out of the pools or something? haha; it just looks so cool (not to mention at high tide it went up to the trees and was a fabulous place to snorkel and watch fishes swim past between the cracks)

Just love this. Mother nature is a fabulous artist... It looks real but fake at the same time..

My artistic shot (plus I love how bleached the driftwood is)

Ok, if I just had this in my crabitat I will be happy! haha

Showing the grain size (and that lovely driftwood)

I link this one as it contains an image of a seasnake - but shows the beautiful grains of sand
A seastar in the lagoon... Loving the algae on the rocks, something I wish would grow in my SW pool.

Just wanted to include this as the vibrant greens look amazing!


Ok; I think you get the picture right? Now the tank was amazing to work with (even though i do wish it was bigger). (already.) For those that doesn't know, its 5ft long x 2ft deep x 2ft high.


Edit *Link to album to keep bandwidth low*

Two of the crabs thats up... Thinking of naming the smaller one Helium and the larger one (one of the largest in the tank) Carbon/Nitrogen/Oxygen... Dunno, need to think this out more. THey more or less the same colour, which makes it a tad harder.

[JulesRolyCrab]

Wow, that beach is absolutely stunning! It would be awesome if you could replicate the trees in the SW pool, so cute. I've seen a lot of DIY mangroves on here and other sites for the crabs. Your tank is looking great (so do your artistic shots! )! Will you have to take out all the objects and pools again to add the substrate?

And your crabs are adorable, so tiny, and those eyes. Is one chillin' in the net-- 4th pic from the bottom? I actually really love the periodic table idea, it's so cute and leaves room for a whole lot of crabs, lol. The sizing for Helium is perfect. You could do a large radioactive element for the other... But I suppose the name loses it's ring when you can't pronounce it... Good luck w/ the 'tat and the crabs.

[Crabinski]

Gorgeous! You've done a great job on the redesign and I'm sure the boys are just loving it! The beach and mangrove forest pics are stunning and very inspirational for crabitat design. Did you see this recent post on how to make a mangrove tree?
It looks easy to make and great fun.

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=109442&p=991600&hilit=mangrove#p991600

[purpleperson]

Hey not sure if it's just me but I can't see any pictures other than the ones of the mangroves and such. Regardless, the pictures that I can see are great and I am sure that your tat is great too.


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[aussieJJDude]

Will you have to take out all the objects and pools again to add the substrate?

Yep...
Oh well, for some reason the SW pool had turned a yellowish tinge but I been unable to change it as I've used up all the salt that the previous owner gave me... (Which wasn't much to begin with, enough to just do the pool.) And of course, the LFS has ran out so I'll have to wait a week before they get it in and I can then "flush it out".
Plus it gives me a good time to set it up the way I like, I'm currently not happy with how it turned out to be honest.

And your crabs are adorable, so tiny, and those eyes. Is one chillin' in the net-- 4th pic from the bottom?

haha no, just some spare shells that I placed up there that i honestly forgot about. It was meant to be my shell shop but none of the crabs have climbed so far (besides the large wood piece where they try to climb as it's too smooth). Hopefully when I get it set up properly it will turn into a proper shell shop.

Did you see this recent post on how to make a mangrove tree?

Of course! Unfortunately the only bendy vines in Australia have a wire in them and I know they rust.... Lets just say I thought a bendy vine would make an awesome exit and a month later the wire in the area completely disintegrated and the only thing that was holding it together was the rubber.
So yes, something like that is the look I'm hoping to achieve. Why are mangroves "illegal" to keep in Australia?!

Hey not sure if it's just me but I can't see any pictures

Weird. did you try and click on the broken pictures to see if the links would work? Either that, or a lost my pic sharing touch on here.

[purpleperson]

Nope I hadn't tried that, but they do work if I click follow link it may just be because I'm on mobile :p I'll try again on my computer when I get the chance :p


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[JulesRolyCrab]

I'm able to view the picture on the computer, so it might just be mobile.

haha no, just some spare shells that I placed up there that i honestly forgot about. It was meant to be my shell shop but none of the crabs have climbed so far (besides the large wood piece where they try to climb as it's too smooth). Hopefully when I get it set up properly it will turn into a proper shell shop.

Whoops My bad.

[purpleperson]

okay, so i just got on my computer to see the pictures, and i think that it looks AWESOME! like really. I'm super jealous of that saltwater pool. someday I hope that my crabitat is similar to this.. cute crabs as well.

[naalide]

Great job!
Such a wonderful crabitat! Your crabs will prise you for that.

Oh well, for some reason the SW pool had turned a yellowish tinge but I been unable to change it as I've used up all the salt that the previous owner gave me...

Do you know what happened? Algae?
I had some problems with algae once, because of a lamp. The part of the visible light spectrum from that lamp was extremely good for those algae, so I changed it.

[landlubber]

It looks spectacular! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that salt water pool! Where did you get the container for it?

[marandashermies]

LOVE the pool!! Looks great! those beach pictures are really looking nice right now! We just got slammed with snow..expected to be 10in by tomorrow. ugh!

Cute crabbies too!

[aussieJJDude]

haha, thanks purpleperson . I'm sure that in the future you'll have an awesome setup, but lets be honest here. Set your bar a little higher. My tank isn't that great!
thanks marandashermies. Hopefully the snow soon eases off soon for you, I've noticed that a lot of people on here hate snow. Dunno why.?

Great job!
Such a wonderful crabitat! Your crabs will prise you for that.

Thanks. To be honest your crabitat was one of the many tanks on here that I inspired.

Do you know what happened? Algae?
I had some problems with algae once, because of a lamp. The part of the visible light spectrum from that lamp was extremely good for those algae, so I changed it.

Nah, I wish. Just me not washing the coral sand and the white rock 100%... Just some dust. (Unless it's a diatom bloom, which I doubt as I didn't use anything that could cause it.) I'm hoping in the near future to get some live rock rubble and some algae in there though.

Where did you get the container for it?

Hmm, thought I mentioned it. Anyway, custom made for the previous owner.

[Angizme]

That looks really cool, can I ask how you are heating and keeping humidity up?

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[aussieJJDude]

That looks really cool, can I ask how you are heating and keeping humidity up?

Well there's a few methods I use for heating. Currently I use:
- Heat mat around a quarter of the tank is covered with it (24/7). Provides the cooler side/jungle at 26c/78F near the mat, around 25c/77F at the front. These are summer temps, it be interesting to see what it is like in winter. However today I woke up and my room was 20c/70F and the tank was 25c/77F at the front.
- CHE (on a thermostat) which is the thing in the wire cage. let's see if I can explain... hopefully you'll understand.
Set to 30c/86F that kicks in when it drops below 29.2c/85F until it has reached 30c/86F. The reason behind this is that it only heats one spot, so higher temp was needed to ensure the whole tank was heated. Plus my aussies enjoy higher heat levels. Also when it dropped by 5c/41F "tolerance" range before kicking in, it threw my humidity out of wack (as it's 100watt). Due to the amount of power it pumps in, I had to do a bit of trial and error until i noticed that the less "tolerance" range there was, my humidity hardly got touched.
- Night heat lamp (optional). Hoping to use it more in the winter time as my room can get a bit cold (due to the amount of windows). However, it does help keep the heat up a bit and I do use it currently to have a temperature "swing" similar to the wild. (It's 50 watt)
- Daylight (50 watt). Used for viewing and for the plants (over the jungle side). Previous owner said it was UVB, but I don't think it is When it finished emitting light I'm hoping to replace it with UVB. Does help heat the jungle side by a degree or more celcius.
(- Spare infa-red heat globe from previous owner. Around 50 watt. Used as a good backup for the CHE or night heat light if needed.)
So hopefully I have enough to keep them happy.

As for the humidity itself, that's something I struggled with for the first time in forever. Before I never had humidity problems, my tanks where always in high 80's. Always had heat problems. Now, with this terrarium: a grill at the front, sliding glass doors (slight gap between the doors) and metal lid, humidity was hard to keep about 70% at times. It took a little tinkering before I found where I could have at least 81% in the jungle end and 70% in the beach end by playing around with the CHE - as mentioned. However the primary humidity "outputs" are the SW pool (a bubbler and filter in there, ensuring good surface movement) and FW pool (a small bubbler, I might incorporate a filter in it however). The jungle side has plants, which releases water into the air. I hope that once the plants grow in properly it will help with the humidity problems. Also, the jungle side has EE, so wetting it ensures a slow release of humidity (and handy to ensure the tank doesn't become waterlogged, since EE is great at wicking up water). I also have been making a nightly mist spraying the jungle side (and plants) especially near/on the UTH, as it helps evaporate into the air (and increase humidity). Of course I have humidity problems under the the CHE, where it can swing from 64 - 69% depending whether it's on or not. This is something that was bound to happen however, but the SW pool is placed under it (help warming the water) but a hermie won't be "subjected" to low humidity levels but still appreciate the warmth. (If they really want to have some "dry air" they can sit on the edge of the pool, but that is entirely their choice if they want to do so.)