Soupy Substrate

[shortcakes13]

Hi!
My substrate seems to be getting soupier each day. It’s a 5 to 1 mix of play sand and. It was sandcastle consistency when we put it in about 2 weeks ago but it seems like it’s soaking up all the humidity from the tank. Temp is about 75ish and humidity is around 80%. I have an automatic muster set to spray every 3 hours for 7 seconds. It’s barely helping the humidity, but seems to be just making the sand wet. We have a mesh top on the tank that is wrapped almost completely in plastic wrap to hold humidity (about 2 inches of opening). We have a 20 gallon tank with 2 baby crabs and one full grown. All seem happy and moving about at night.

We are in the northeast US so it’s cold and dry here. Keeping heat and humidity is a struggle.

Any suggestions to fix this right away and keep it from happening going forward?

Thank you!

[HermitGuy3]

That sounds like a flood. I would turn off your sprayer for now. Also, if you have been spraying a lot and it only gets to 80% you may want to calibrate your hygrometer:
viewtopic.php?t=92540
I heard that if you mix some more dry sand into the substrate it can help get rid of the flood. If that does not work, you might have to redo all of the substrate. Are any of your crabs down for molting?

[HermitGuy3]

Also, 80% humidity and 75F is okay.

[shortcakes13]

Thank you! I don’t believe anyone is molting right now. Sprayer went off as soon as I noticed the puddles. I’ll try adding some dry sand but I’m tempted to just start over with a fresh layer of substrate.


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[curlysister]

You can take your crabs out and put a fan on the tank, it will dry out pretty quickly. You can re-use that substrate, you don't need to totally replace it. Moisten just until sand castle consistency.
Then I would see what the humidity is without the mister. If it is holding at 80%, that's ideal.

[shortcakes13]

Thanks. Any suggestions on a safe place to put them while I dry it out? Typically I put them in a plastic tray when I clean out the tank but this will obviously take longer and need to be more secure.


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[HermitGuy3]

Do you happen to have a plastic carrier that you could fill with substrate for just a little bit?

[Graybeard]

I've tilted my tank a little bit and dug a a small hole on the low end and put a small wad of paper towel in the hole. When the towel gets soaked toss it and repeat. Depending on the type of substrate it may take a day or two but it works great

[GotButterflies]

I would personally recommend getting your temperature up to at least 80 degrees if you can. Your hermits will be happier. Get rid of the mister. Those will cause your tank to flood. Is your tank insulated? What kind of heater are you using? If you are using one that is not insulated (like one from www.beanfarm.com or www.reptilebasics.com) then you can completely cover it with insulation. I insulate three sides of my tanks during the winter. I use a product called reflectix. It looks like a car sunshade. You can purchase it from Lowes, Home Depot or even amazon. A roll of it costs $16. It's reusable. You would adhere it to your tank by using relflectix tape, or packaging tape. IF YOU HAVE ZOOMED HEATERS (OR ANYTHING SIMILAR TO THAT)...you can still use this product, but those heaters are already insulated, so you have to insulate around them. Do not cover those.

If you do not have the money for reflectix, you can use aluminum foil and cardboard or sytrofoam.

Try to save up for a glass top! That really makes a difference!

Do you have air stones in your pools? That helps boost humidity also.

Best wishes