HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi all. A bit of a mystery surrounding the freshwater dish in my crabitat. I've gone through two now and keep having the same issue. No matter how often I fill up my fresh water, it always empties within a very short time (30 minutes to an hour) - this is even during the day, when my crabs aren't even out! I have no problem with my salt water pool. I originally thought it had to do with my first dish, so I replaced it with the same shape and brand as my salt water one - the Fluker's Corner Bowl. It too emptied really quickly. I tested it to see if there was a hole, by leaving it on a plate overnight and no water seeped out. Does it have to do with how I'm placing it in the tank. It seems to be level? Does it relate to the substrate around it? Should it be buried more or completely above ground? (I usually place it in a little dug out area, so the rim is closer to the ground). Should I be careful to avoid any substrate surrounding the rim? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Tres weird . Is the FW bowl closer to the tank's heat source than the SW? In my tank, both pools are buried (only about 1/2" rests above the substrate); the SW pool is very close to the Ultratherm wall and is the one that evaporates more quickly but nothing like what you're experiencing!

Tres weird, indeed!! Both bowls are equidistant from the heat source (they are at either end of the front of the tank and the UTH is on the back wall in the middle). I just recently unburied the FW bowl, resting it flat on top of the substrate, and that seemed to help a lot. I just can't figure out why being buried would absorb the water quicker? I don't love having the bowl so high off the substrate, but I'll make a little ramp for the crabbies. I'll keep experimenting with different placements.

Substrate acts as a wick, especially sand. So if the substrate is up to the edge of the water then it will suck all the water out and into the tank. It can become a major flood risk if it keeps happening.

wodesorel wrote:Substrate acts as a wick, especially sand. So if the substrate is up to the edge of the water then it will suck all the water out and into the tank. It can become a major flood risk if it keeps happening.

This makes a lot of sense. The water loss has all but subsided since I moved the dish higher off the substrate, and made sure to keep the rim clean. The bottom of the substrate in that corner was getting really damp - so I mixed it all around today with some newer substrate. Seems to have helped as well. Thanks for the response !

Funny you posted this! I recently had the same issue in my deep fw pool!

I kept filling it...And filling it...And filling it! But not the sw. I took it out (it is a kritter keeper, so not easy to do!) And put a brand new one in...And same thing happened!

This is my thoughts: dechlorinated water evaporates a lot faster than tap, since there are no minerals or metals and stuff to keep it down. Does that makes sense?! The crabs play in the sw a LOT more than the fw so I know it isn't splashing out. So I have just accepted it.

I did also take one and filled it and set it on the kitchen counter and it never leaked AND still evaporated! I tried to set it on the floor first, and the cats kept drinking it!