Recommend things to me

This is where you discuss the conditions of your crabitat -- temperature, humidity, substrate, decorating, etc.
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Plasmoc
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Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Sun Sep 22, 2019 11:54 pm

Hi! I want to get a bigger tank but am having trouble. It needs to fit on a 24” L x 11.75” D cabinet, so I want to go tall but I need to be able to get inside easily for changing food/water.

I like the reptile tanks with doors on front, but they aren’t deep enough for 6”+ of substrate and reviews say they don’t hold humidity well.

Any suggestions? I was hoping for at least a 20 gallon, preferably more.

Also, any suggestions of what to put in said new tank are appreciated! My biggest just outgrew the big cave I have (he’s too wide to get trough the door because he likes a wide shell) and I’ve had trouble with climbing things - a rope net molded, a suction cup net kept falling down, coconut mat fell over and a crab hid behind it, etc


Thanks!


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Scarletfire
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Scarletfire » Sun Sep 22, 2019 11:56 pm

How many crabs do you have, and how big are they?

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Topic author
Plasmoc
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:08 am

Two crabs, they’re small-medium. I’m printing out the template to measure them tomorrow better.




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gunstreet.girl
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Location: Hull, Quebec, Canada

Re: Recommend things to me

Post by gunstreet.girl » Mon Sep 23, 2019 6:14 am

When you say reptile tanks with the doors on the front, I assume you’re referring to Exo Terra tanks (or similar)? If so, many of us use them successfully (in fact, both my base tank and topper are Exo Terras). To allow for deeper sub, cut a piece of plexi to the desired size and place it along the inside front of the tank in front of the doors. I cut mine approx 14” and the sub at the front of my tank is 9-10” deep. No problems. To retain humidity, seal the vents with duct tape or electrical tape, and cover the mesh lid with plastic wrap/plexi/glass.

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DragonsFly
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by DragonsFly » Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:04 am

Go as big and tall as you can, if you are limited to that footprint (and keep numbers of crabs as low as possible, to limit possibilities of crabs encountering molters underground!). I can't reach down inside my 120 high if I'm standing on the floor, so I just got a little step-ladder from the hardware store and leave it near the tank.

I never had good luck with suction cups, either--it's too humid in the tank, I don't know how anybody keeps theirs up! I had slightly better luck with the "locking" kind, but even those were iffy. Now I hang things using zip ties from the cross-brace or from other things (cholla decor, etc.). I've seen some of those "Command" hooks in some people's tanks; that's another option (although again, it seems like the humidity might make that challenging, too).

As for mold, it helps to soak things like rope net in MSW and dry THOROUGHLY before you put it in the tank; but the only thing that eventually completely solved my mold problem was using a little fan in the tank. The crabs loved it, too--they will sit in front of the fan when it is on and enjoy the breeze. If you think about it, tropical islands probably NEVER have still air, so air movement in the tank is probably a real boost to their well-being. I keep it on a timer so I can control how often it is on, because it can affect the humidity. I usually run it at the same time the bubble pools and/or fountain are running, because those add humidity.

Instead of cocomats, I like the cork bark sections--you can prop them against a tank wall at an angle, so they provide a nice place to hide behind as well as climbing opportunities on both sides.
--{}: Dragons Fly Farm --{}:
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton


Topic author
Plasmoc
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:34 pm

Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:23 pm

These are all great suggestions thank you!!

Plexiglass & sealing the edges with tape for a Exxo Terra tank (that is the kind I meant) is an interesting idea, I might try that. How often do you have to replace the tape? I wonder if sone type of waterproof tape would work and be safe enough.

I love the cork idea, where do you get organic cork boards from? I’m untrusting if companies for this lol.

I never know what to tie the zip ties too, I’ll need to get some taller cholla etc





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gunstreet.girl
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by gunstreet.girl » Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:37 pm

Plasmoc wrote:These are all great suggestions thank you!!

Plexiglass & sealing the edges with tape for a Exxo Terra tank (that is the kind I meant) is an interesting idea, I might try that. How often do you have to replace the tape? I wonder if sone type of waterproof tape would work and be safe enough.

I love the cork idea, where do you get organic cork boards from? I’m untrusting if companies for this lol.

I never know what to tie the zip ties too, I’ll need to get some taller cholla etc





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I use a combination of waterproof electrical tape and black duct tape (or gorilla tape? Can’t remember at the moment, but can check when I get home from the office) - I’ve actually found the duct tape to stand up better. I don’t really know offhand how long each lasts, i just check regularly for lifting and patch as required (not frequently).

Re: the cork, a few reptile product companies make cork board and cork flats specifically for use in terrariums/vivariums. They’re not cork like you would think of for use in a cork board to which you would pin things, but rather pieces of cork bark. You can also get cork rounds (bark removed from around a branch), the larger diameter ones are excellent to use as hides for larger crabs. Cork is a fantastic natural resource - the trees require stripping to survive, so cork harvesting (done properly, of course) is to the benefit of the tree. If you have access to a well stocked pet products store they’ll likely have cork products in the reptile section. If not, you can search online for reptile specialty shops (amazon also carries some items, but I’ve found that, in Canada at least, the prices are nearly double what they are at a reptile shop, and the reptile shops are often smaller companies which will take special requests for size, internal diameter, etc if purchasing corks rounds/half rounds).

As for hanging items, I’ve also not had any luck with suction cups. Humidity plus heavy super-active crabs is a recipe for disaster in my tanks. That said, i have two bathroom corner caddies in my topper with large suction cups (one of 2 shell shops, and a moss pit) - I used aquarium silicone to attach the suction cups to the walls of the tank, rather than trusting the suction cups to do their thing. Then I ran fishing line from the corners and attached to the bars of the tank lid for extra security in the event the silicone fails (one side of each caddy is on the same wall as a UTH, and I worry that the heat might weaken the silicone over time).


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Topic author
Plasmoc
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:47 pm

Wow I never thought of that I might need to try silicone in the new setup. I had a large corner caddy with 4 big suction cups and it’s help up great for I think 6 months but it’s just started slipping downward so I had to remove it.

You can see a bit of it in this photo where my guy tried to escape today Image He definitely wats a bigger tank! I shifted stuff around and gave him a hamster wheel to explore in the tank for now.



Image


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Topic author
Plasmoc
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:48 pm

Oh, and there are big pet stores where I am but I’m so allergic to cats & dogs that I try to avoid them when possible lol


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DragonsFly
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by DragonsFly » Tue Sep 24, 2019 3:24 pm

If you do decide to do the silicone thing, bear in mind that (as I understand it) you can't just do that with crabs in the tank. The fumes are highly toxic; you need to take them somewhere else, and let the silicone cure until all the smell is entirely gone (1-2 days, depending on humidity), before you put them back in. On the projects I use aquarium silicone with, I always do them outside and leave the project for several days (I can't stand the smell either!).
--{}: Dragons Fly Farm --{}:
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton


Topic author
Plasmoc
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:34 pm

Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:53 pm

Thank you for letting me know I didn’t realize silicone would have to air out for a few days, I thought just one day! I would do the silicone before adding the substrate & decor & crabs to the tank, but it’s good to know it’d need to air out for that long.

I’m having trouble finding a tall tank that’ll be accessible and will fit in the nook we have. Might need to move the whole tank setup!


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DragonsFly
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by DragonsFly » Tue Sep 24, 2019 7:28 pm

What size tank are you looking for, and where are you?
--{}: Dragons Fly Farm --{}:
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton


Topic author
Plasmoc
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:34 pm

Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Wed Sep 25, 2019 12:52 pm

I was hoping for a 20-40 gallon tank, tall, that’s fit on a 24”x11.75” cabinet that had a swing door so accessible from the front. Quite a tall order I know. I can get a bigger cabinet, but it can’t be much bigger as this fits in a nook between a window and a column. It’s the only area in my place that’s not directly under a vent / in front of a window / next to a TV, or too close to laundry / cooking fumes. I assume close to a tv / washer is bad because of electrical / noise and because the washer would put out soap fumes


Topic author
Plasmoc
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:34 pm

Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Thu Sep 26, 2019 12:45 pm

I’ve been researching toppers too, but don’t understand he works. How is access gained to feed/tidy up with a glass topper. Eg would it be possible to get a 20 gallon tall and modify that as a topper for my 10 gallon?

I see a Zilla vertical tropical terrarium that’s 12” L x 12” W x 18 H. My current tank is 20” L x 10w x 12” H. I wonder if the terrarium could be flipped upside down, skip the screen, center it so only 1” gap on frog & back and use plexiglass to cover the 2” gap and add stability to seal it all together with silicone? Does this sound super crazy?



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Topic author
Plasmoc
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Re: Recommend things to me

Post by Plasmoc » Thu Sep 26, 2019 12:46 pm

That would expand from 10 gallons to30 gallons I think.



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