HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm finally getting around to setting up the new 55. I'm wondering what ideas you all have for getting high enough humidity in it. I have alot of problems with keeping up humidity in my apartment.Currently I use a mister in the 29 gal. You can adjust the duration of spray and how often it sprays. It works pretty good you just have to keep a close eye on it so that it doesn't oversaturate. I was curious about bubblers and waterfalls. I don't know anything about them. I also saw humidifiers. So do you have any thoughts?*EDIT*- Oops, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention and posted in the wrong forum. Sorry

I've used DIY humidifiers and they work well but as you mentioned, you do need to monitor for oversaturation. I switched from a vase to a jar when the first wasn't doing the job and found the second worked a little too efficiently. My sand wasn't dripping with water but was much wetter than I would've liked and I suspect it caused the passing of a molter I found whose exo wasn't hardened. My advice there is to couple it with other forms of address and don't depend on a mister/humidifier/bubbler alone.Check your substrate, fluff if possible, invest in a good lid and keep the tank out of cold areas and drafts that can encourage condensation.

I have great success with waterfalls, using them in the 75 and 55. They keep the humidity at a constant 90, where I like it. Plus the crabs like to climb and drink from it too.

I have the Exo-Terra waterfalls which are a self contained unit you just plug in and add water. I got mine at pet stores, but you can find good deals on E bay for them.

I actually have three UTHs on my 75 - one on the back and two on the side. How many you should have would depend on what tank size they are rated for. I love being able to have all three on (like right now) or easing down to two in the spring/fall and just one in the summer.For humidity, I really believe in the power of press and seal or saran wrap! Sealing over any gaps between the lid and the tank seems to have a good effect on my tank. I also have a bubble vase (a vase with an airstone in it), and I find that keeping the moss in the moss pits and the hemp climbing net damp does a lot for the humidity as well: moss pits and nets the bubble vase

Yes, indeed! This is how I made my bubbler. I don't have any issues with mold - maybe because the air pump is constantly introducing external air into the tank? First, here are the supplies you'll need:1 air pump (if you have two tanks, you can get one with two or more "nozzles" for attaching hose - in the fish aisleair tubingair stone(s) - I have one longish one (~4") at the moment.a vase or some other vesselstones, shells, etc. or some kind of netting to keep crabs from drowning.These are my directions. Start by stringing air tube through a hole in the screen lid or some other small gap in the lid of the tank. Run air tubing through the screen lid. Option 1: Then, attach the end that is in the tank to the airstone and set it in the vase. (My airstone came with a suction cup, and that is sometimes attached to the vase, sometimes not, depending on how wild the crabs get.) Pack the area around the airstone in the vase with stones or shells. Fill with dechlor water (salt water makes the crabs happy, but it also gets salt all over the glass of your tank!) Filled with aquarium stones and water. Option 2: string the air tubing that is in the tank through a mesh net (like from a tomato or apple bag) and then attach it to the airstone. Set the airstone in the vase. Secure the net over the top of the vase with a rubber band or some hemp twine. Fill with water. Vase with netting on top. Then attach the other end of the tube to the air pump and plug the pump in. You should see bubbles. If the pump is loud, you can try setting on different surfaces; some surfaces vibrate more than others. air pump Anyway, it seems to do the trick for me. My humidity is usually right around 85.I don't remember what the supplies cost, unfortunately, but I found them all at Petsmart.

Happy to help! Sorry about the mile long post before. When I was planning to build mine, I had a lot of anxiety about it, but it was really not bad at all, so I wanted to show you that it wasn't difficult to make.The air pump I have in the picture is on four little black rubber feet. It sits outside the tank, and draws air into a tube, then sends the air through the tube and out an air stone on the other end. They are usually used to aerate fish tanks, I think.The one you're asking about kind of sounds like this one.