Substrate and Humidity Problems -- How To Fix?

[KaraJo]

Ok, so I have calci-sand in my 10 gal, but I've come ti find that it just isn't deep enough. I've spent a lot of money so far on it, so I was wondering if maybe I should either mix some play sand in with it, or push it all to one end and put EE in the other?? I also have a humidity problem. I have a heat lamp on top of the aquarium because I was having trouble getting the temp up, but now the dishes dry out way too fast, and I am worried about there not being enough humidity for them. My tank is only 10 gal, so there is not a lot of room for a bubble pool or anything like that. I keep a sponge in the freshwater bowl. What should I do about this?I am planning to get a bigger tank as soon as I get the money.

[JediMasterThrash]

Heating lamps are not bad, in fact I think they are more effective and natural than UTHs. You just have to be careful to size the wattage to your tank and to keep an eye on humidity.The fact that your water bowls are drying out fast is a good thing. That's the lights doing their job. By evaporating the water bowls, they add all of that water into the air and really increase the humidity (as long as the cover isn't wide open so it all escapes out the top).I hate to say it, because I know how much it costs (I still have 80lbs of calci-sand from several years ago I never used!), but calci-sand is not a recommended substrate for hermit crabs. Get a brick of EE/FB, and/or get some playsand. You don't have to oven the playsand first. I've been using playsand direct from the bag for years without having any problems with bacteria or mildew (obviously visually inspect the bag first to make sure the sand looks clean).Keep the playsand/EE semi-moist at all times (but not damp) by regularly pouring 1/4 water into the corners (maybe once every week or 2). This will keep the humidity up, even with the overhead lights.If you want to add a bubbler to your 10g, it's easy and small. Just buy a small 5-10g aquarium air pump, some tubing, and an air stone, and put the airstone in your waterbowl. If the pump is below the level of the waterbowl, use a backflow-valve too with the tubing.And sanity check your humidity guage from time to time. You should be able to lift the cover and stick your nose into the tank and smell. It should smell moist and warm. If the humidity gets to 90%, the sides of the tank will fog.I don't recommend kritterz or exo-terra analog humidity guages. Both are prone to +/- 20% errors! I have however had good luck with flukers analog and digital guages.