my crabitat build photo journal!!

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:33 am

For lighting consider either high output T5 flourescents or a metal halide. These will do two things, one, contrubute to the heating, and potentially provide any live plants with much needed photons.

I already bought this light supply kit from AH supply.. I have two 55W kit.. do you think it would be enough light for the plants? or would you still recommend the metal halide? their website is this:
http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

Also - rather than misting with timers, get a humidity controller instead and mist when needed, and not when it is not needed.

This is very good point. currently the timer I bought has minimum time set in 1 min(too much misting), so I was thinking of getting a new timer from MistKing that operates as little as 1 sec...but the issue is that misting time still needs to be tested to get the optimal balance with fan that will be on at all times. But humidistat would make the life heck a lot easier! I just spec few, and here it is:
- http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref= ... av=temhu06
- http://www.drillspot.com/products/59579 ... roller?s=1
- http://www.drillspot.com/products/43711 ... er_Control
I am thinking the Dayton brand one... but Omega one looks pretty good with easy LED readout. what do you think on these?

I agree on the fans - the crabs like them and it cuts down on stale air spots. I use a silent -X computer fan - dead quiet, it is also 12 volts so no real electrical hazard there.
Check out the guys over at nanotuners.com or nanocustoms.com (same company) they have all sorts of light kits and fans - and they are real smarties when it comes to solving some tricky environments problems. They are really reef tank guys - but they can be convinced to help with other things.
Keith

have you looked into herp environment control system?
http://www.petstore.com/Digital_Aquatic ... CO-vi.html

I tried to buy one initially, only to realize that the system with RH and temp probe is out of stock- this product is relatively new, but Id love to get my hands on this system when they come back in stock.

kgbenson · Post by **kgbenson** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:46 am

curious_kitty wrote: I already bought this light supply kit from AH supply.. I have two 55W kit.. do you think it would be enough light for the plants? or would you still recommend the metal halide? their website is this:
http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

I may be wrong - but unless you stick to really low light plants, I don't think you are going to have enough PAR. You will need to have the plants fairly close to the lights.

I would go for T5's, if HO and if they have good individual reflectors.

Otherwise if you are talking plants, copy the hydroponics guys and go halide.
And that balance will change with the seasons, ambient humidity etc.

{quote] But humidistat would make the life heck a lot easier! I just spec few, and here it is:
-http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref= ... av=temhu06
- http://www.drillspot.com/products/59579 ... roller?s=1
- http://www.drillspot.com/products/43711 ... er_Control
I am thinking the Dayton brand one... but Omega one looks pretty good with easy LED readout. what do you think on these?

I am not sure - I suspect that they are not going to do well in a small area like a terrarium. I could be wrong though. There is one from herps now that I have not used but have heard decent things about:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/246145/product.web

I am supposed to be a beta tester but have not received a unit yet. It looks promising, but humidity testers can be tricky.

Keith

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:41 pm

argh, i wonder why I didn't think about this before. I do have a thermostat that will be attached to heating cables(that will be on surrounding walls), and it has a temp probe(but it'd be nice to have a day/night temp controller)
--> http://www.4hydro.com/growroom/capTMPdne.asp

here is the humidity controller
--> http://stores.northcoasthydroponics.com ... Detail.bok
--> http://www.4hydro.com/growroom/titanEOS1.asp
--> http://stores.northcoasthydroponics.com ... Detail.bok
--> http://stores.northcoasthydroponics.com ... Detail.bok

or a controller for temp/humidity that doesnt have day/night option
--> http://www.planetnatural.com/site/air-2.html
--> http://stores.northcoasthydroponics.com ... Detail.bok

if you think any of these listed above is worthy of trying, let me know which one.
i wonder how important it is to drop temp between day/night?

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:44 pm

you are going to be beta tester?? that's awesome.. when would you be expecting to receive the item to test? I realize this isn't going to be a cheap to have a terrarium built-in, so I think i might as well plan ahead to put in some sort of controller type to regulate temp(preferably day/night), and humidity(regulate misting).. i hope I don't spend more than $200 on the controllers though as it doesn't even include the fans and misting system I've already purchased

kgbenson · Post by **kgbenson** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 2:04 pm

curious_kitty wrote:you are going to be beta tester?? that's awesome..

It will be when the units are finished . . . .

when would you be expecting to receive the item to test?

I was expecting the thing in February, so far they are still working on them.

[/quote]I realize this isn't going to be a cheap to have a terrarium built-in, so I think i might as well plan ahead to put in some sort of controller type to regulate temp(preferably day/night), and humidity(regulate misting).. i hope I don't spend more than $200 on the controllers though as it doesn't even include the fans and misting system I've already purchased

[/quote]

I think it will be in the 200 dollar range - unless you want it to email you . . .

Keith

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:23 pm

ok, after carefully going over the needs, I think I will go for the humidity control only for my misting system for following reason:
1) fan is going to be on at all times at lowest speed setting(I really have to have the air circulation in there)
2) since fan is on all the time, I don't need separate controller for the fan.
3) I will probably consider looking into some sort of HO lighting system, that would provide a supplemental heat in addition to my heat cable(set at 75F) to raise the day temp to 80. Lamp will be working on the timer, and when it turns off at night, it will help drop the temperature to 75F(heat cable only).

I really wanted to have some sort of stand alone product to do temp.humidity control, but a decent controller under $200, is hard to come by..... also I already bought thermostat for heating cable

sucks.

Green Air brand appears to have a good rating for their product, and they've been around for awhile, which is a plus- for product support.
i think i am going to get this one to control my misting system:
http://www.specialty-lights.com/702375.html

*update*
ok, i just found so so review on this humidity controller on amazon

also, people seem to think that humidity controller with remote probe is better tan having the controller unit sit at the surface level. I agree. I might just try to play around the humidity level with seconds timer from MistKing to see if I can come to happy balance before trying out a humidity controller...... does anyone have used these controller devices and have had good results?? Herps environmental controller is so new, I wouldn't know if it will work

http://www.amazon.com/ZooMed-HT-10-ZOO- ... B0019IHK9Q

this one you suggested, might be worth trying? maybe just for misting, and separate fan(for cooling)? $69 is hard to beat

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:05 am

Ok, I got my 6" Hole saw on tuesday, but haven't started it because I get home around 6pm.. I will update on my progress with pictures on Saturday! pretty exciting!! i am going to grab more foam sprays at Homedepot today too.lol

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 1:21 pm

curious_kitty wrote:Ok, I got my 6" Hole saw on tuesday, but haven't started it because I get home around 6pm.. I will update on my progress with pictures on Saturday! pretty exciting!! i am going to grab more foam sprays at Homedepot today too.lol

Can't wait to see how it turns out! what you have planned is really ambitious and I hope it works out!

have you figured out what to do with the shelves? I don't think that you would have to make any holes in the shelf units themselves because they ahve slits in them. But I am curious how you would support them up? are you drilling someting into the back wall? I cant do much except try and swap out the current suction cups with better ones. I have a small tat and its all glass...I thought about using fishing wire to hold them up as well...since I can tie things to the top of the screen.

all the best and good luck on Saturday!

hlhiggs87 · Post by **hlhiggs87** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:52 pm

I'll check tomorrow for pictures. I'm so excited to see what kind of progress your making!!

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 4:43 pm

ok, uploading pictures now. Ive been up since 8am this morning, fan is in place, tubing for misting system is in place, I am now on scuplting foams on the wall with cork bark. Unfortunately, I ran out of foam sprays!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but I do have to wait till first layer of foam dries... so its ok. my arm and shoulders are soar though. i just took my 3rd tylenol extra strength

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:03 pm

This is fan after it was installed this morning at 8am. There was 1/2" plywood between the walls, and that took about 4 hours to cut- lets just say my 6" circular hole saw that i ordered was NOT sufficient for my 8" fan...... so it was me and drilling taking turns with my DH.

Fan turned on. IT RUNS!!!!!!!! so the air is getting pulled out through the fan. fresh air will come in from the front glass sliding door.

This is what the fan looks like on the other side. Air comes out from this wall. I bought this fan because it allows you to vary the speed of the fan. It will be on at all times at the lowest setting.

ok, this is my favorite Indo. He is very very purple.. somehow I can't capture his purple color with my phone camera(sorry, i left my high quality Nikon at work. I will try to get better pic. also he is shy, so it was soo hard to get a nice pic. this was a lucky shot). You can see my viola on the right- he is pale lavender(one of my more pale ones). they are both from LHC..

see what i mean? SHY!!

After i fell in love with this indo, I decided that all the mess, and pain I went through this morning, was worth it.

ok, back to the photos on the crabitarium
this is how it looks as of now at 6pm. I am waiting for some of the foams to cure. the shelves are styrofoams, and will be covered later with my black foams(for waterfall/pond uses).

with colors being all washed, and light, its hard to see the shelves. but there are two levels(one on main floor, and the other by the window). white tubing that you see on right side of the wall is for misting system. I have a water reservoir/container that fits into one of my top drawers for easy access for refill.

this is the window side. I am guessing that you can probably see better once I start to cover the foam/structures with cocofiber paste and plants.

sugarselections · Post by **sugarselections** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:08 pm

Everything looks fantastic!

I love your purple Indo. He looks so sweet.

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:16 pm

sugarselections wrote:Everything looks fantastic!

I love your purple Indo. He looks so sweet.

Thanks, Sugar~. he is smallish medium size, and usually spotted hanging out with the other tiny indo(who was missing in action while I was trying to snap photos). my arm is soo soar

kgbenson · Post by **kgbenson** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:16 pm

everything seems to be coming along nicely - this is going to be one very cool enclosure.

Keith

curious_kitty · Post by **curious_kitty** » Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:43 am

Thanks keith~ we made an emergency run to HD last night, and got more cans of foam sprays. I still haven't used my black pond/waterfall foam sprays, because I am still waiting on my branches to arrive next week. I also bought some ferns, and moss- they will prob get chowed down, but I can change out the abused plants freely. so no worries...
I am still pretty far from finishing. I feel I don't have enough of cocopeat paste mix, and will need to buy 2 more gallons of TiteBond III glue(i only have one gallon) next week. I am still waiting for my bromeliad to show up.
and I will need to order some custom size glasses next week .

blue tubing that you see on the right hand side is for bubblers for fresh/salt water.