Tank Remodel - Way over due!

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 8:20 pm

Hey everyone! I wanted to share my tank remodel that I did around Christmas, which is what I mean by over due. I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but I have done a lot with my 29 gallon tank. This includes a false bottom, constructing an awesome hide out, constructing platforms, making a sliding glass top, and making my bubbler. This first post will just be pictures of just the tank, and when I find more time, I will post my pictures about my other projects that I did.

Here it is, my crabitat, and I am sorry for the annoying reflection/glare from the glass.

Full tank

Top left

Top right

Left side

Right side

And in another angle

Shell shop and crabs! Meet Ollie and Sebastian.

I am warning you now, I will have more pictures of all the projects I did for the tank, so get ready for more pictures! But what do you guys think of my remodel?

rml6f4 · Post by **rml6f4** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:18 am

I think it looks beautiful! I love the coconut mat structure. Where did you get that net on the right side?

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:23 am

What a cuuute tat! It has a jungle campsite feel to it!

What is holding up the net?

Crabbers unite!!!

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:18 am

Thanks! The net was made by my sister. She crochets scarfs, hats, sweaters, rugs, and so on. She is really good at it, so I asked her to make a hammock net for my crabs, so she made that! It is being held up with suction cups, I found them at Wal-Mart with the Christmas lights. They are made to hold led lights. I don't know if they sell them after Christmas. But they are very handy, and they actually stay on the glass. Here is the link:
http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Club-Pack- ... 10&veh=aff

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:21 am

And I'm sure I could have my sister make more of these nets, and sell them online, or even just from HCA. Would that work? Could I sell them on HCA, or maybe Etsy? I could take special requests, and my crabs love the net she made for me, so I'm sure other crabs would too! What do you guys think?

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 11:34 am

The hard part will be setting the right price. If your sister is stuck sitting around making 50 nets, she will want compensation for her time! It would be great because shipping the nets would be cheap. I'm sure a lot of crabbers will want to order nets because the right ones arent always easy to find.

Crabbers unite!!!

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 11:59 am

That is a good point, I wouldn't know what to price them at. But I may start a thread about seeing if anyone would want to buy any of these nets. They would all be custom, and I'm sure my sister would love the idea, considering she doesn't have a job right now.

Crabinski · Post by **Crabinski** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:46 pm

parker_roo wrote:so I asked her to make a hammock net for my crabs, so she made that! It is being held up with suction cups, I found them at Wal-Mart with the Christmas lights. They are made to hold led lights. I don't know if they sell them after Christmas. But they are very handy, and they actually stay on the glass. Here is the link:
http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Club-Pack- ... 10&veh=aff

I snagged a few 10-packs of those mini-suction cups: that slot in the middle is perfect for netting, vines and small stems!

Absolutely love the cocomat shell shop platform. What do you have underneath the cocomat? It is plastic canvas? Did you just silicone the sticks to the base? I'm curious because I've been thinking of making a corner structure in my 29g, using wooden Jenga pieces for the legs, thin wooden dowels for the triangular frame, double-layered plastic canvas over the dowels and then either cocomat or plastic "grass" as a topper.

megmaholm · Post by **megmaholm** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:48 pm

It looks great! I really love that net. Your sister is talented

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:31 pm

Crabinski wrote:Absolutely love the cocomat shell shop platform. What do you have underneath the cocomat? It is plastic canvas? Did you just silicone the sticks to the base? I'm curious because I've been thinking of making a corner structure in my 29g, using wooden Jenga pieces for the legs, thin wooden dowels for the triangular frame, double-layered plastic canvas over the dowels and then either cocomat or plastic "grass" as a topper.

Thank you! To make it I used thin plywood that I got at a craft store, and I drilled holes near the corners, then I got some sticks and used aquarium silicone to glue the sticks in those holes I drilled. I let the top of the stick poke out some, so that I could glue both the top side and bottom side for support. Lastly I bought some of the hermit crab climbing background from Petsmart, cut it to the size of the plywood, and glued it by putting patches of glue on the corners, sides, and middle, and laid the "climbing background" onto the patches of glue, on the plywood. I originally had two of them, but I took one out to make room for the net. But this is what it looks like:

Crabinski · Post by **Crabinski** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:46 pm

Thanks for the info, parker

. Ingenious and super easy! I'm heading to Michael's today for supplies to create new MES (Mouse Entertainment Systems) for my mousie girls and will pick up additional stuff for the shell shop I have in mind.

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:32 pm

Okay, now I want to share one of my projects that I did, my hideout that I made. I am very proud of this project, it is a mountain with a cave. Basically what I did was made the basic structure of it out of a cut out tissue box, a Chinese take out bowl, and wire. After that I used the magical Great Stuff insulating foam. I covered the basic structure with the foam and let it dry, and it expanded so much! Here is the picture after I used the foam and let it dry.

Next I used a serrated knife to carve it to the shape I wanted.

Then I added some acrylic paint to paint the carved foam.

And lastly I stuck some fake plants in the foam, and glued some rocks to the mountain. And here is the finished product.

And here is a picture of my lovely Ollie chilling in the cave part.

My crabs love climbing on it, hiding in the pants, and hiding in the cave. And I have an opening against the side of the glass that allows me to look in and see who is hiding! But, unfortunately, yesterday, I caught Ollie picking and eating at the foam. But it could have been because she was stuck, so I moved her and cut off the part she was eating, and I'm hoping she doesn't eat any more.

I hope you guys like it, and that it may inspire or help you with any ideas for making your own hideout!

KellyCrabbieLove · Post by **KellyCrabbieLove** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:10 pm

How did you seal it?

parker_roo · Post by **parker_roo** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:29 am

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:How did you seal it?

Could you be a little more specific? I am slightly confused at the question. I just used the Great Stuff foam, which expanded and sealed all the gaps and cracks. Once I did that, I carved it into shape, painted, and decorated.

thermidor · Post by **thermidor** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:26 am

I think the question is, did you put any type of sealer on the structure, like shellac, etc. Because it looks super-cool but probably won't hold up to the crabs from the picking and the nails climbing-and it may not be safe to ingest.

But I think if it was sealed and allowed to ventilate for quite a while, It would be awesome. VERY creative!

HCA: Hermit Crab Association