Should I build my own aquarium?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:39 pm

I hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I have an idea for a crabitat that I'd like to build. I want it to be a long tank (at least 3 feet long) and on each side I want there to be a water-tight slope that gradually drops to a depth deep enough for all of my crabs to submerge in (like a miniature shoreline). One side of the tank would hold fresh water and the other salt water. The area between the two would be filled with a substrate. The floor of the water areas would have to be somewhat coarse so that the crabs could climb back out of the water easily.

I was thinking about constructing something like this by attaching plexiglass to the inside of a large aquarium. But then I realized that I could probably save money on a large aquarium by constructing one myself. Has anyone else here ever done this? Does anyone know of a safe adhesive that I could use on the glass? I'm sure one exists because something has to be holding together the store-bought aquariums. Does it even sound like a good idea at all or should I stick to the petstore for aquariums?

cranlsn · Post by **cranlsn** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:51 pm

It's an interesting idea at the very least!

Aquarium sealant is what's used for aquariums. It's available at most places that sell aquariums. I've used it for other projects (supports for second levels). It's pure silicone I believe.

As for the size of your tank....go check out a 40 gallon breeder to see about what you'd be starting with. It's a tank that is 36" long x 18" wide and 16" tall. Depending on how gradual your slope was you might not have a lot of real estate left for substrate (which wouldn't be all bad if you don't have too many crabs).

Before you go ahead and start anything, make sure to draw up plans, investigate the costs and look at it from all perspectives. One thing I can think of right away...how would you drain stagnant water and/or clean the pools?

Somebody here made their own square 20 gallon, so their experience might be a good start to look at for you.

Let us know what you decide! As I said, it at least sounds like promising idea!

ripshaw · Post by **ripshaw** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:36 pm

been there done that. BAD IDEA. check it out:

on the right side in the front you'll see the built in water bowl i constructed. i took a strip of plexiglass and bent it into an arc with a heat gun and then glued it into place with aquarium sealant. it took 3 tries i believe before i finally got it water-proof (and that sealant takes 48 hours to cure each time) my plan was to slant the gravel so the crabs could climb in and out easily. guess what, as you can see from the pic, gravel has a mind of its own. the other problem was changing out that water. you have to use one of those pumps like you use to change out an aquarium, what a pain in the butt! after all the hours of work i later ripped out the peice and went back to my store-bought water bowl lol. it sure looked cool though, just not well thought out.

also dont try using sealant to glue gravel peices onto the plexiglass so the crabs can climb easily in and out either, that doesnt work. the little gravel pieces constantly come loose. and using fish net doesnt work either because it sucks the water right out of the bowl and into the substrate

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:26 pm

So then I'll need to install pluggable drains for the ponds. I think I can do that. Would it be safe to have rubber plugs in there?

And instead of gravel, what else could I put on the slope into the water? Could I clamp a peice of a climbing mat near the top of the plexiglass? The mat would be underwater so would it need to be replaced occassionally?

I'm going to price plexiglass tomorrow and I still plan on going ahead with the building. Even if I don't manage to create something suitable for hermit crabs, I could use it as a greenhouse for my other obsession: desert foliage.

I also want to build a loft area if possible, and below it, a dark hiding place. How high should something like that be?

The tank is probably going to be 12" x 36" x 12". This is what I have planned so far:

The blue shows where the water will be and the brown represents a climbing net to get up to the loft area. The slopes probably won't be as steep as they look right now.

ripshaw · Post by **ripshaw** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:06 pm

you are still going to need to figure out how to clean those water bowls even if you can drain them. they tend to get slimeyish after awhile. perhaps you could ask the people at the hardware store if there is a way to like prickle the plexi to make it rough. or if you can manage to cut small slits of plexi to glue horizontally along the plane like steps that might work, but that would be extremely hard to score and break in strips and you'd probably go through a lot of plexi trying lol. its a tough dilemma which is why i gave up.

stay away from coconut climbing mat if thats what you were referring to. that stuff molds terrible. other people seem to use it OK but thats been my personal experience, I'd never use it again lol. as far as your loft goes the height is up to you. I do have one recommendation though, make it removable. there is nothing worse than trying to scrub around glued in chunks of plexi, and if its removable the substrate is easier to change out as well.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:55 pm

That's a good idea about making the loft removable. I'm going to do that.

I also am going to try to make the ponds removable. I'm going to try gluing plexiglass at a slant and then making water dishes the same shape to lay on top of the permanent plexiglass pieces. Then I can remove and scrub the ponds as needed.

I still need to buy the materials, though. I tried today but my local Home Depot doesn't cut plexiglass and the precut ones weren't the sizes I want. Tomorrow I should have more luck.

The neat thing about this is if I can get it to work, I can tear it apart and then rebuild it as needed. I'm moving to Phoenix within the year and it'd be so much easier to transport a pile of plexiglass and a few tubes of sealant across the country than a huge glass tank.

ripshaw · Post by **ripshaw** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 9:04 pm

if you want your plexiglass cut for you go to lowes. however you can buy a glass cutter and do it yourself for a couple bucks and its not all that hard. just score the plexi against a straight edge and then snap it. you'll also need to invest in some sand paper or a sander to make the edges nice

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:59 pm

Here's the info and plans on the 20 gallon square tat I built: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... highlight=

Here's a bit of input I have.

First off, sounds like a great idea, and if you think you can pull it off, go for it.

Secondly, I don't think you need a fancy aquarium vacuum to get the water out. A turkey baster would do the trick, it'll just take a few aspirations (suckings). I would try to aspirate dry, then wipe down with paper towel to wipe off any residue/slime.

Thirdly, you may want to think about making the "tubs" just go straight down, and using those plastic slanted rocks that are so popular in crabitat corners as a "shore."

Alternatively, if you put a slanting piece of glass or plexiglass, you could painstakingly coat it with river rocks or even large aquarium gravel. You would attach this all with aquarium sealant (or GE 100% Silicone - same thing just cheaper - as long as it IS NOT Kitchen/Bathroom Silicone caulk).

Good luck!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:33 am

I went to Lowes today but the guy in the glasscutting area pretty much told me I had a stupid idea and then ran off to help some other customer with garage doors. I didn't have time to wait around another hour to get his attention again so I grabbed a new bag of sand and left. Now I have to try a hardware store in North Providence (very annoying because I don't drive and have to take the bus everywhere and the closest reliable bus stop to my apartment is a half hour walk.) The Lowes is in Massachusettes and I was lucky to have a ride there today.

Someday I'll get this plexiglass... Grr.

Lol, I was thinking about using a few face clothes to emtpy the ponds for a while. A baster is a great idea.

I've never seen plastic rocks for corners before but I'll look them up in a minute. They'd make life easy.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, it's all been really helpful.

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:53 am

You might have better luck at a glass / mirror place. And there's no reason to tell them what you need the glass for. Just give them the dimensions.

I can't say much about plexiglass, but if you use real glass, I would suggest "double-strength" (aka 1/8 inch) glass for the sides, and possibly 1/4 inch for the bottom (may be over kill, but I went with that to be on the safe side).

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:55 am

You might have better luck at a glass / mirror place. And there's no reason to tell them what you need the glass for. Just give them the dimensions.

I can't say much about plexiglass, but if you use real glass, I would suggest "double-strength" (aka 1/8 inch) glass for the sides, and possibly 1/4 inch for the bottom (may be over kill, but I went with that to be on the safe side).

ripshaw · Post by **ripshaw** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:47 am

i cant believe lowes would treat a paying customer so poorly. stupid stupid! anyways mormegil made a good point about the glass/mirror place. id suggest making the actual tank out of glass and then inserts from plexiglass. you can buy heavy duty plexi but its expensive. and i also just wanted to reiterate that individually gluing gravel pieces anywhere with sealant is not the best idea. they pop off and are impossible to scrub around.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:42 am

One time I walked into a Lowes or Home Depot (I forget which) and employee pointed me in the direction of the gardening supplies before I had a chance to say a single word to him. He then said something to the effect of, "What else would a girl like you be here for?" Another employee near us had a good laugh over it. I know it's not fair to the glasscutting guy from yesterday, but I still suspect that had my fiance asked for the plexiglass pieces for me, he wouldn't have been questioned on what they were for.

While in the store, I noticed some material in the ceiling tile area that looked like a window screen but with bigger holes and made of plastic. Would something like that do well in the ponds, or would it be a safety hazard? The crabs would definately be able to grip it.

nora · Post by **nora** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:55 am

There are plastic stores that will cut any thickness of plexi for you. You may be able to even get them to seal your pieces together. I needed a box type frame for a piece of artwork and they had no problem in constucting it. I don't remember the cost,although the artwork was huge.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:58 am

I looked into doing this one time, and when I compared the cost of the glass alone (not counting the time and effort) to what a tank would cost, it was much cheaper and easier to buy the tank from the reptile section of the petstore. Then, I found a 20g on Freecycle, and a used 55g at a fish store for only $20. Can't beat that!