Questions about pool builds

[Pumpkincrab]

Hi!

I'm still working on setting up a 29-gallon captive-bred tank (which I'll hopefully be able to get in the spring/early summer...so somewhat soon!)
I, however, have a few questions about the pools:\
1. Is this silicone (https://www.petsmart.com/fish/maintenan ... hod=Search) safe to use in hermit crab's pools? I would assume so, but you can never be too safe.
2. Are water test strips (for pH, Nitrate/nitrite, carbonate, general hardness) recommended? Does anybody on here test their water? If the measurements were "not good", how would they be changed/any resources on this? I've been watching this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvBcrxy8Ic) video on it, which is great, but I'm still confused. I want my water- especially for the captive-breds- to be beneficial and healthy.

3. Decoration- at my local pet shop, I got multiple small chunks of dragon stone (I think that's what it's called.) I tried boiling them, but they still made the main tank's water pretty dark and gross. What can be done about this? Any stones that are better, that can be used in their water pools?

Thank you!

[wodesorel]

Yes, the silicon is safe. Just make sure to follow directions on how long to let it cure before using.

Test strips are going to give you a very good idea of what's going on. The liquid tests are considered more accurate though. (I think they're more fun, too!) For crabs, the easiest and honestly best way to deal with water quality issues is to change the water out. Trying to stabilize a problem never works well in a full aquarium let alone a tiny crab pool, and what you're going to see in a crab tank is almost always going to be caused by tracked in waste or food that needs to be removed anyway.

The ridges and holes in dragon stone is caused from pockets of clay, which is what you're seeing cloud the water. It needs to be soaked to rehydrate the clay and washed multiple times to get it fully cleared. It's a pain but it can be done! Otherwise, any aquarium safe stones will work for hermits. If you wanted something natural looking and textured for easy gripping, the Seiyu stone I've had so far has been easier to clean.

[Pumpkincrab]

Ah. Thank you SO much, Wode! Maybe I'll wait on any water testing equipment for now, until the tank is fully established (which is a WAYS off)

I'll be sure to follow your directions on cleaning the stone- and I'll check out the seiyu stone. Where did you get yours?