New tank - Some questions

[bentz69]

Putting together a 10 gallon tank with 3 crabs for my kids. I bought everything I think I need and I just mixed 4 parts flukers sand substrate to 1 part coconut fiber. The mixture has a good consistency (sand castle making abilities). Am I supposed to pack it down or leave it kind of loose/fluffy like it is in the picture?

After I figure out that answer, I will update with more pics and questions while I put the rest of the pieces in

[aussieJJDude]

Its ok to leave as is, it will pack down naturally though.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Welcome!

Just so you know for the future - any old playsand you can get at a hardware store is cheaper than the Flukers stuff and is just as good. (But well done getting non-calcium sand. )

Looks good so far! Can't wait to see your progress.

[bentz69]

I think I have everything I need at this point.

Few notes. I bought the Zoo Med hermit crab starter kit https://zoomed.com/10-gallon-reptihabit ... -crab-kit/ for 60$. Then I started to do my research and realized that most of the included items were sub-standard and the included sand wasn't even the right type. Lesson learned. Nevertheless, I bought everything else separately. I did make one big mistake. I let the coconut fiber break down in regular tap water without adding a water conditioner. I strained it out and then added the sand with conditioned water to mix it. I don't plan on putting crabs in there for another week so I'm hoping that is enough time for the tap water soaked fiber to break down. Thoughts?

The other thing I don't like about this tank is the mesh lid. I think its going to make it very difficult to keep the proper humidity. I bought a piece of plexiglass and some thin rubber weather stripping to make a new lid. Hopefully that allows the humidity to stay high

I have 2 heaters that I'm placing on the rear glass above the substrate line.

Are sponges really necessary? Anything else that I'm missing? I have the water conditioner and salt water conditioner that came with the kit but its probably junk also. I have prime that I use for my fish tank.

That is all I can think of right now.

[Freckles24]

Take this with a grain of salt but I have did basically what you did with the EE and my crabs are doing fine and that was months ago but definitely wait a week just to be sure. The plexiglass lid is a great choice and is super helpful with humidityThe heaters should be fine (I have two separate ones as well) just monitor the temps and make sure it's staying stable. Sponges are not necessary and are typically avoided because the issue with growing bacteria. (And in my experience they smell awful). Yeah, most people only trust prime (me included). I also use instant ocean for the salt water.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Sponges aren't necessary at all. Depending on the size of your crabs they may require deeper pools. Many of us use tupperware containers. Just be sure the crabs have a way out - be it craft mesh, rocks, plastic plants, or whatever.

If you're concerned about the sub you could wet it with dechlor water, then bake the excess moisture off. (Kind of labour intensive I suppose, but there's not a huge amount of sand in a ten gal.)

Whether a likely danger from sub with chlorine/chloramine in it exists... With chlorinated water the concern is damage to gills or (I believe also) uptake of chlorine into the blood via the gills. Its notable that crabs can drink from moist porous surfaces. But I really have no idea if the chlorine/amines can pose risks in non-aqueous form. (Like if some amonia by-product forms at a high enough concentration that it might pose a risk.) They do ingest their sub. I think I'd prefer safe over sorry myself if I couldn't find a definite answer - because if there were somehow a poisoning risk, crabs can live a very long time & be slowly poisoned by toxins. (Hopefully someone who knows more than I can conjecture will chime in!)

And the lid is a great idea - humidity can be a pain to maintain with a mesh lid, and making one like you are will save headaches later.

Do invest in a quality marine salt... can confirm the hermit crab water conditioners are junk, and salt/trace minerals found in the salt water are super important to good crab health.


EDIT: Never mind about chlorine in the sub - after searching tap water, I found a thread where wodesorel explained it will break down safely due to the acidity of the cocofibre. So no worries.
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=115046&p=1043242&h ... e#p1043242

[wodesorel]

Chlorine evaporates in 24 hours, and chloramine breaks down into ammonia and chlorine when exposed to low pH, which EE is. Within a day or two is should be perfectly safe to use with the crabs. I have forgotten to dechlor the sub many times over the years and had no problems using it immediately, if that makes you feel any better!

[bentz69]

I put these 2 heaters on the back of the tank last night and they quickly got up to 95 degrees. I checked with a heat gun. But the internal tank temp is still hovering around room temp which is 70 and hasnt increased in 24 hours. Are these heat pads junk?

The plexiglass worked great. Misted the inside of the tank, placed the plexiglass and 12 hours later the humidity is still at 90.

Ill just leave the sponges out for now. I was just reading the the crabs like to crawl on them and drink from them. Is that true or just more false reporting?

[NLindsey921]

Yes those heat pads are junk. Most of us use ultratherms. You can order them online at reptile basics.

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[aussieJJDude]

They dont really drink from them. If they are natural, they do enjoy snacking on them.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Small heat pads have wimpy outputs, and generally don't have what it takes if your house isn't really warm. Ultratherms can be insulated, making them more effective, whereas it's unsafe to insulate most other UTHs.

You could try insulating the top of the tank & sides that don't have heaters on them, to see how warm thst gets things. Thinking back to using a zoomed on my 10gal, I'd expect you'd only get up to about 75° that way... so it may worthwhile to take 'em back.

[bentz69]

Yea these heaters arent up to the task. Ill look elsewhere.

As far as the humidty is concered the plexiglass over the mesh is definitly working but it may to much. Since I added the plexiglass, the humdity has been around 95% for 36 hours. Im assuming thats too high? If so, how can I regulate the percentage to bring it lower? Will I have to experiment with leaving the lid partially open? Suggestions?

Another thing, Im guessing the tank is going to start to smell since its always damp. Is that true? Possible to avoid that? How about the potential of mold since the substrate is always wet?

[NLindsey921]

With humidity there is no such thing as too high. The higher the better.

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[aussieJJDude]

You may find that the tank needs to settle - when it first set up, it can fluctuate/ high readings of both humdity and heat. Leaving the plexi ajar will help if you want to lower the humdity to a lower level (like 80, which is less likely to cause mould growth)

Have you calibrated your humidity guage yet - may have, but worth to ask... the analog tend to miss read

Mould wont happen on the substrate, since sand is (basically) inert and EE tends to be highly acidic which retards most mould growth. Dampness usually is 'combated' by airing out the tank - like adding food or replacing water - and also by leaving a small part of the lid open for gas exchange.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Plus, if after a while you decide the humidity is too high (like, if condensation is 'raining' on your sub, and you think it's making it too wet, for example) you can create vents by drilling small holes in the plexiglass where you think its most needed. But like aussieJJDude said, waiting for the tank to settle is a good idea.