Might finally get my first hermit crabs

[IvynaJSpyder]

I've been poring over caresheets and topics to get a better idea of crab care. I have been keeping reptiles for over a decade now, and tarantulas more recently, so I have a lot of general animal experience. (It's a bit of an obsession, haha)

I just got a 75g with stand for free from my neighbors, and now I'm looking into turning it into a crab paradise and hopefully adopting a bunch of PPs from a forum member I have a ton of driftwood and misc bioactive materials from other viv projects, so I'm really excited to build something for em.


One question - I know to use sand and coco coir for the substrate, and to soak it with salt water (instant ocean or similar brand) But what if the sand in the bags is already sort of wet? I worry if I add too much more water I'll get flooding problems. Can I just mix in only the salt stuff itself so it doesn't get too wet?

[piratetoothgir]

Hello, and welcome to the HCA!
Congrats on your interest, you should enjoy it!

It does sound like you are starting off strong, that's a big tank, to begin with!
We do have regular adoptions here, so you won't have too much of a wait for that.
I cannot wait to see what you create with your supplies, everyone has a different way of expressing their creativity!

Personally, I would not add a bioactive material to a hermit crab tank, as they will need to dig down, and that may become disturbed.
You can do isopods for a living bioactive cleaning crew, those guys are wonderful to have around.

For your question, you want the substrate at sandcastle consistency, so it mustn't be dripping wet.
If you are using PlaySand, and it is already somewhat moist, I would just mix the two until you reach the wetness that you need.

Good luck with your new tank, and crabs!

[GotButterflies]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

I would not recommend adding just the marine salt in. You would need to mix the marine salt with dechlorinated water according to the directions on the box or bag. You could then add that to your EE / coco coir, and then mix that with your sand. You want to mix the two so that you can squeeze it into a ball and no water comes out of it. HOWEVER ~ Mixing your substrate with MSW is only personal preference. Here at the HCA, we recommend fw or msw. I hope that helps answer your question

[IvynaJSpyder]

I got the substrate in! I ended up using marine salt and dechlorinated water for the coco coir, the sand was already 'sand castle' consistency.

Right now I'm just making sure I can get the right temps and humidity levels.

[GotButterflies]

Nice! The background is so pretty!

[aussieJJDude]

Looking really good so far. Subbing to see where this goes

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[ciaraalston]

Looks great so far, love that background! i'm also following to see end results. Good luck!!!

[IvynaJSpyder]

Thanks! The BG is a perk of working in a print shop, lol


So I remember I have a spare 2.5 G laying around, so I was thinking if sinking it into the substrate for their saltwater pool and adding ramps.

But for keeping it clean, should I go for a regular filter, or a protein skimmer, or what? I don't know a thing about saltwater tanks so I am a bit overwhelmed by all the info out there.


Edit: Oh, I see some people actually silicone in pieces of glass to separate out an 'ocean' section right into the tank, that seems like a fun idea too...

[soilentgringa]

Thanks! The BG is a perk of working in a print shop, lol


So I remember I have a spare 2.5 G laying around, so I was thinking if sinking it into the substrate for their saltwater pool and adding ramps.

But for keeping it clean, should I go for a regular filter, or a protein skimmer, or what? I don't know a thing about saltwater tanks so I am a bit overwhelmed by all the info out there.


Edit: Oh, I see some people actually silicone in pieces of glass to separate out an 'ocean' section right into the tank, that seems like a fun idea too...

I wouldn't do a 2.5g tank for two reasons:

If it leaks your tank will flood and be at risk of a bacterial bloom.

It takes away from necessary substrate space that they need to molt.

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[IvynaJSpyder]

Is that really a big risk...? With the leaking, I mean. The tank is pretty securely siliconed, will the crabs destroy it or something?

I've seen some cute vids of hermits swimming around in the bigger pools so I'd be sad if I couldn't D:

For now I'm still just testing out layouts and such. I need to get more hiding caves, and something to hold a moss pit, and something for extra shells. Might also invest in a topper if I can find an exo terra for a good price. (I think the medium tall would work?)



Any suggestions for a good saltwater pool if the tank is a bad idea?

[aussieJJDude]

I think SG is getting at is that crabs dont really spend a lot of time in water - especially PPs - so having such a large pool is really a waste.

Silicone can fail, and improper handling of glass tanks can cause this- like picking up a full tank, or pouring water out of it.



If you do go down this route, you don't need anything fancy like protein skimmers, live rock or the like. Filtration is totally optional, but would reccomend an airstone to keep the water moving a bit.

Edit: any exoterra tank thats 18 inch wide should work, so med range and up would be a good start!

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[IvynaJSpyder]

Ah, I gotcha. Thanks, I will look into something smaller


And I had the idea to just build a topper instead so I have more control on the size, and probably save a lot of money. Sort of like a normal aquarium canopy but with glass doors to see in?



I mocked this up real quick, it's another 18" of height.

I can add some vents on each side for air flow as well.

[mjjluver]

very nice start of a tank!
you might lose humidity if you have large air vents
probably good to keep the 2.5 gallon as a spare isolation area
can't wait to see what your final crab paradise looks like, and it's new occupants when you get them!