New Fountain for Winter?

[DragonsFly]

We really need moving water to keep humidity up in winter, and the best humidity-upper I've found is a fountain. I've been thinking of changing from our old plastic ("resin") one, though (mostly because it is tall, and I need to make the substrate even deeper as our big guys keep growing, which will eventually mean that one won't fit in the tank)--what does anybody think about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291865220994?_t ... .S2.R3.TR5

Are there worries about the ceramic; maybe toxins in the glaze or other issues you can think of?

[DragonsFly]

bump

[Crabinski]

I've never installed a fountain as I've heard way too many stories about the sand tracked in by the crabs clogging the filter or pump and/or the fountain running amok, flooding the substrate. Have you tried bubblers in both pools? Adding them really boosts the humidity, they're easy to install and maintain and are inexpensive to boot.

[DragonsFly]

Yes, that's what I have over the summer (and when it is really humid, I have to have those on timers so they don't run all the time). In the winter, when our house air gets super-dry from the heating, though, the best thing is a running fountain. I've never had any trouble at all with the little tabletop fountain I've been using, it's perfect--the only thing is, like I said, that it is tall enough that, if I add substrate (which I think I really ought to do) with this upcoming re-do, I will have to either keep a corner lower than all the rest, for the fountain's bottom to be "sunk" into, or find a less-tall fountain. That's why I was looking at this one; I asked and they said that the basin was about four inches deep, so that should be a bigger basin than the current fountain, too, which is only about 2 1/2 or 3 inches deep, and eventually won't be wide enough for the jumbo to actually get into, either.

[DragonsFly]

Nobody have any thoughts about safety of this kind of ceramic in the crabitat?

[DragonsFly]

Really? Nobody? Nothing?

[Gryfinthegreat]

As someone who lives in Minnesota I understand the issues of a cold weather region with dry winters. From what I have read as long as you can anchor it down and make it easy for the crabs to escape and not drown it should be fine. I am not 100% if there are different types of ceramic coating some of which are harmful to pets or not but most water dishes and decorations are ceramic so my best guess is it's more than fine.

Edit: Clean it daily to prevent clogging!

[Rawrgeous]

As far as I know there are no ceramics we believe to be harmful at this time.

[mool]

I haven't heard of any ceramics being harmful either. Some ceramic items from yesteryear had lead in the glaze, but I think that's been outlawed for many years now.

If you are already familiar and comfortable with using fountains, I say go for it! Don't put any climbing structure over the fountain to prevent one from falling and injuring itself and/or cracking the ceramic.

[DragonsFly]

Thank you, thank you! I really didn't want to spend that much on something that might hurt the crabs! But I really did want a shorter fountain, so I could go ahead and deepen the substrate everywhere for the jumbo (and probably soon-to-be other jumbo), and this was the only one I could find with both a deeper-and-larger basin AND still shorter than the one I already have. Thanks again!

[mool]

Welcome back to the forum by the way!!

[DragonsFly]

Well, I decided to just go with the "tried and true" fountain I've been using for several years. The ceramic one is pretty pricey, and although the basin is bigger and deeper, I don't think it has any way to baffle the crabs away from the pump--I would have to create something, and that would make the basin's effective crab-accessible area smaller; plus it might be so heavy that it would literally be a pain to take out and clean on a regular basis. I guess I'll just keep scouting flea markets every now and then for a "resin" one with a bigger/deeper basin than the one I've been using.

For now, I found I was able to add a couple more inches of substrate and still use that fountain, so we should be good for this winter, anyway. Everybody pretty much spends the whole winter underground now, anyway, so it shouldn't be a crying need for a much larger basin, at least for a while.

Thanks anyone who chimed in, anyway!