55 gal upgrade thread!

[ciaraalston]

Hey y'all!
So, i have all but ONE thing for my 55 gal upgrade! Unfortunately, i failed to realize that it's shipping from Beijing, so it won't be here until mid august!
Since i'm waiting, I decided that i'll post my individual items that i'm adding to kinda explain all my DIY stuff just in case someone wants to know! I read a ton of old threads while deciding what to buy, so i am thankful that people in the past explained their tanks out. Plus an added bonus is that if i messed anything up y'all can catch it and critique me before it's added. I'm going from a 20 to a 55 so this is a big change for me!
I'll switch over to my phone so that it's easier to add pictures and such.
If you want to see the end result and final pictures of the tank, just follow along

[ciaraalston]

Substrate-
I'll be adding around 12 inches to start, since it settles after a month or so. I want plenty of substrate so that later on when my crabs are bigger I don't have to add more. I'm using eco earth and sand. I've got 9 bricks of eco earth (it was $12 for 9 With free shipping on amazon, or $10 for 3 at petco so I went with amazon!) I'm sure I won't use it all, but I'll have extra if I need to set up another tank in a jiffy.
I was thinking I'll need about 3 bags of sand to mix in.
I'll also be adding some crushed oyster shells and some leaf litter to the substrate as well.

Water bowls-
I decided to go with Stella's idea with the craft mesh. I'll double them up with some gravel between so that water changes don't affect molters or anyone tunneling underneath!
Here's a picture while the silicone was drying:


Hamster wheel-
I bought this hamster wheel and added mesh to the inside. I plan on hanging it from command hooks on the side of the tank. I don't have a pic of the mesh added, but here's the wheel I ordered:



Heating-
I mulled over this decision for quite a while. I couldn't decide over a regular UTH or heat tape. I eventually decided to give the heat tape a try. I already have a thermostat to plug it into. I had to trim it just a bit, so I took a pic to show how that's done. You don't want any black exposed, so it's best to cut in the middle of the white area if you have to.


Shell shop-
Of course I couldn't find a shower caddy for my tank, but I found a cute basket at dollar tree. I had some burlap I'm not using so I went ahead and wrapped it. I used hot glue but that will probably fail due to heat and humidity so I'll reinforce with zip ties before I install it.
Be careful with burlap though. They'll munch on it so you want to make sure it's safe for them.


Lid-
There's several options for a lid for a tank. You can go with just seran wrap, plexiglass, a screen mesh lid, etc. I'll be attempting to use an egg crate light diffuser. I'll have to wrap the top with seran wrap to keep humidity in.
Here's what it looks like:


Moss pits-
I have ordered 3 different types of moss so that they have variety. I might add some in the shell shop, but I'll definitely have some in their coconut hide, and these clay pots. One is really small, and one is a bigger size. I wrapped them in jute twine to they can climb them


I'll also have their hanging cocohut, some fake plants, cholla wood, and nets for them to climb. The back of the tank will be covered with grass mats that they can climb.

I'm super excited about this tank! The time I've waited for everything to come in is just building up anticipation. Lol. Let me know what y'all think!

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[piratetoothgir]

I love how creative you are with your choices, everything looks great!



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[ciaraalston]

I love how creative you are with your choices, everything looks great!



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Thanks!
Not all ideas are mine, I've definitely poured over every old thread I could find for ideas and advice. And I kinda tweaked them to work for me. I especially am grateful for your water bowl pictures!

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[angelbearpuppy]

I love all your ideas. You make me want to upgrade. And I can't right this moment. Maybe by winter

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[ciaraalston]

I love all your ideas. You make me want to upgrade. And I can't right this moment. Maybe by winter

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Petco is having their dollar per gallon sale

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[angelbearpuppy]

Yeah just have to see what I can squeeze in my next paycheck. Maybe get tank now.....then each paycheck something else

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[ciaraalston]

Yeah just have to see what I can squeeze in my next paycheck. Maybe get tank now.....then each paycheck something else

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That's what I did! I bought the tank. Waited a check. Then each check after I bought one item. It's agonizing waiting, but it's nice knowing that you're getting exactly what you want and still staying in budget.
I'm all about saving money and budgeting. This entire 55 gal upgrade including the tank cost me about $200.

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[angelbearpuppy]

Yeah just have to see what I can squeeze in my next paycheck. Maybe get tank now.....then each paycheck something else

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

That's what I did! I bought the tank. Waited a check. Then each check after I bought one item. It's agonizing waiting, but it's nice knowing that you're getting exactly what you want and still staying in budget.
I'm all about saving money and budgeting. This entire 55 gal upgrade including the tank cost me about $200.

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Oh wow. Maybe that's what I will do. Their enclosure is kind of small. Its been doable but small. They could stand for more room.....tempted....looks at dresser and begins calculating

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[ciaraalston]

Yeah just have to see what I can squeeze in my next paycheck. Maybe get tank now.....then each paycheck something else

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

That's what I did! I bought the tank. Waited a check. Then each check after I bought one item. It's agonizing waiting, but it's nice knowing that you're getting exactly what you want and still staying in budget.
I'm all about saving money and budgeting. This entire 55 gal upgrade including the tank cost me about $200.

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

Oh wow. Maybe that's what I will do. Their enclosure is kind of small. Its been doable but small. They could stand for more room.....tempted....looks at dresser and begins calculating

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

Hahaha girl yes! I had to steal a coffee table from the father in law to put this one on! But I saw some ideas of stands that are fairly cheap.
There's are just cinder blocks and plywood. They actually look decent! But if you don't like you could drape a sheet over as like a curtain to hide the stand. Always options girl, always options

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[angelbearpuppy]

Lol.....alright maybe I will be stopping by pet co this weekend and a tank may or may not accidently fall into my shopping cart

That's what I did! I bought the tank. Waited a check. Then each check after I bought one item. It's agonizing waiting, but it's nice knowing that you're getting exactly what you want and still staying in budget.
I'm all about saving money and budgeting. This entire 55 gal upgrade including the tank cost me about $200.

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

Oh wow. Maybe that's what I will do. Their enclosure is kind of small. Its been doable but small. They could stand for more room.....tempted....looks at dresser and begins calculating

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

Hahaha girl yes! I had to steal a coffee table from the father in law to put this one on! But I saw some ideas of stands that are fairly cheap.
There's are just cinder blocks and plywood. They actually look decent! But if you don't like you could drape a sheet over as like a curtain to hide the stand. Always options girl, always options

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

[ciaraalston]

Lol.....alright maybe I will be stopping by pet co this weekend and a tank may or may not accidently fall into my shopping cart

Oh wow. Maybe that's what I will do. Their enclosure is kind of small. Its been doable but small. They could stand for more room.....tempted....looks at dresser and begins calculating

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

Hahaha girl yes! I had to steal a coffee table from the father in law to put this one on! But I saw some ideas of stands that are fairly cheap.
There's are just cinder blocks and plywood. They actually look decent! But if you don't like you could drape a sheet over as like a curtain to hide the stand. Always options girl, always options

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

Sent from my LGL157BL using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

[Hermiesguardian]

Hey y'all!
So, i have all but ONE thing for my 55 gal upgrade! Unfortunately, i failed to realize that it's shipping from Beijing, so it won't be here until mid august!
Since i'm waiting, I decided that i'll post my individual items that i'm adding to kinda explain all my DIY stuff just in case someone wants to know! I read a ton of old threads while deciding what to buy, so i am thankful that people in the past explained their tanks out. Plus an added bonus is that if i messed anything up y'all can catch it and critique me before it's added. I'm going from a 20 to a 55 so this is a big change for me!
I'll switch over to my phone so that it's easier to add pictures and such.
If you want to see the end result and final pictures of the tank, just follow along

Upgrades are always fun! I'm curious why did you order the tank from beijing? There are great ways to get a used tank locally. We just got my husband a 75gal for $40. He wants to get fish.

[ciaraalston]

Hey y'all!
So, i have all but ONE thing for my 55 gal upgrade! Unfortunately, i failed to realize that it's shipping from Beijing, so it won't be here until mid august!
Since i'm waiting, I decided that i'll post my individual items that i'm adding to kinda explain all my DIY stuff just in case someone wants to know! I read a ton of old threads while deciding what to buy, so i am thankful that people in the past explained their tanks out. Plus an added bonus is that if i messed anything up y'all can catch it and critique me before it's added. I'm going from a 20 to a 55 so this is a big change for me!
I'll switch over to my phone so that it's easier to add pictures and such.
If you want to see the end result and final pictures of the tank, just follow along

Upgrades are always fun! I'm curious why did you order the tank from beijing? There are great ways to get a used tank locally. We just got my husband a 75gal for $40. He wants to get fish.

I got the tank locally for $50
the order from Beijing is the grass mats that I'm hanging on the back wall

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[aussieJJDude]

Only thing i would suggest is a couple of weights - of some sort, rocks will do - to keep the eggcrate down, otherwise the crabs will likely end up out of the tank.

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