HCA: Hermit Crab Association

OK, so I now think I see the reason for false bottoms - and let's make sure I understand the process:

1. PVC pipe cut down to size (1" or so) lining the very bottom, placed right on the glass in an upright position (Do you need to attach it to the egg crate, or just free standing?)
2. egg crate on top of that - cut to size to fit the tank
3. weed block on top of that -- zip tied to the crate??
4. plastic canvas on top of that -- again, zip tied to everything?

and then start adding the substrate.....is that correct so far?

Then, as I understand it, any excess water would flow down to the false bottom and not cause bacterial bloom or flooding which could drown your crabs.....again, correct so far?

OK, so then my question is: what if you DO notice that the bottom is starting to fill with water? What do you do about it at that point? Just leave it? Siphon it out somehow? Clean the tank? How would you get the water out?

Oh sorry I forgot to add that part...you notch out a corner to put a longer piece of the pipe that is cut on an angle at the bottom so you can stick a tube down to siphon the water out when needed just make sure you have something to cover the top of the pipe so no crabbies can get into it and fall under the false bottom...oh and notch the bottom of the pvc legs so water doesn't get trapped in them if you do have flooding

Stay at home mommy to 4 kids (Ana 11, Joseph 9, Alizabeth 6, and Christian 2) 8 cats, 5 hermits, 4 little molly fish, 3 ferrets, 2 parrakets, 2 Oscars, 1 red eared slider, 1 cockatiel, 1 goldfish and 1 bone headed pittbull.

I bought a super cheap manual siphon pump at Rural King for I think $7 to use to get water out, if I ever need to. To me the pipe sticking up is kind of an eyesore in my tank, so I bought a fake vine and tried to cover it as best I could. And I wedged a scrap piece of coconut climbing background in the top to keep my teenies from falling in. My guys love hanging out on top of the pipe.

Does anyone have pics they can share? I think I get what you're saying, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, LOL -- would love to see both examples, pipe sticking out of the top (as in, how high does it go in your tank? Up and out to the top?) AND pics of the notched PVC....thanks!

My pipe comes up pretty high, almost to the top of the tank, which I probably didn't have to do but the crabbies just view it as another climbing spot so I'm glad I did it. Here are a couple (bad) ones of how it looks in my tank:





This isn't my pic, but my drain pipe is notched similar to this..If I recall I think I went with slightly bigger notches, but I don't think there's a wrong way to do it:

That's how I notched my legs so water wouldn't get trapped

Here's a picture of my pipe...I also kept mine long



Stay at home mommy to 4 kids (Ana 11, Joseph 9, Alizabeth 6, and Christian 2) 8 cats, 5 hermits, 4 little molly fish, 3 ferrets, 2 parrakets, 2 Oscars, 1 red eared slider, 1 cockatiel, 1 goldfish and 1 bone headed pittbull.

You guys are awesome--thanks so much!!

can someone link to the specific weed block product that you used?

Also, the thing that we are calling "egg crate" here - did you get that in the lighting/ceiling department?

And, with what tool(s) did you notch the PVC?

Last question, what did you place on top of your long pipe so crabs wouldn't get in? (Megaholm, I see you have something shoved in there -- is it cocofiber? I'm assuming lots of it, so the crabs can't just pull it out or anything)....thanks!

I used the weed block we had in our workshop so I can't help ya there but I'm sure someone can. And yes egg crate is in the lighting/ceiling area. This was by far the hardest one for me to find. I found it at lowes for $40 and about had a heart attack. Thankfully I went home to regroup and found out Home Depot had it for like $13. Sorry I haven't learned how to do links but if you google this or go to their website and search this it comes right up: and I used a cap to block off my pipe. They sell them for a dollar something in the pipe section. You just have to look bc the caps are small and you can walk right past them.


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http://m.lowes.com/pd/Jobes-60-sq-ft-Ba ... ic/3653912
This is what I used.
For notching the pvc I tried using the hacksaw to just cut slots into it but I wasn't positive it would let all the water out so my dad notched it with a pair of tin snips.
I just blocked mine with a rag right now because I forgot to get a cap :-/

Stay at home mommy to 4 kids (Ana 11, Joseph 9, Alizabeth 6, and Christian 2) 8 cats, 6 purple pincher hermit crabs, 4 little molly fish, 3 ferrets, 2 parrakets, 2 Oscars, 1 red eared slider, 1 cockatiel, 1 goldfish and 1 bone headed pittbull.

CrabbySquirrel wrote:Last question, what did you place on top of your long pipe so crabs wouldn't get in? (Megaholm, I see you have something shoved in there -- is it cocofiber? I'm assuming lots of it, so the crabs can't just pull it out or anything)....thanks!

Just a piece cut from a coconut climbing background (like this: http://www.petco.com/product/12007/T-Re ... Redirect=1) I had one that was getting moldy so I cut a small piece off it and used it. Worked like a charm, and it's easy to pull out if I need access. You could use a PVC cap but my husband told me once they're put on they're pretty much impossible to get off, so I would avoid that.

Hubby notched the PVC pipe for me using his bench grinder. I think anything sharp would get the job done. Just don't cut yourself.

Thanks, all. I have some leftover coconut fiber climbing wall stuff, so it seems like that will be a good idea....

Oh, and I'm guessing that everything should be tied together before adding substrate, am I correct? As in: weed block attached to the egg crate, and plastic canvas attached to the weed block. Although it will probably be a pain, is that supposed to be accomplished with zip ties? That's what I thought I saw in the other thread....

That's how I ended up attaching everything together but I'm sure there are other ways. Zip ties, while extremely useful, can be quite a pain.


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Kellycrabbielove had the best way for getting all 3 together the easiest. She told me to use the plastic thread that's like gimp to lace all the plastic canvas pieces together then layer everything and use the zip ties around the outside edges. I ran out of cash when I was getting the stuff so I couldn't get any and I really wish I could have cuz zip tying the middle is a major pain.

Stay at home mommy to 4 kids (Ana 11, Joseph 9, Alizabeth 6, and Christian 2) 8 cats, 6 purple pincher hermit crabs, 4 little molly fish, 3 ferrets, 2 parrakets, 2 Oscars, 1 red eared slider, 1 cockatiel, 1 goldfish and 1 bone headed pittbull.

TheLilMommaB wrote:Kellycrabbielove had the best way for getting all 3 together the easiest. She told me to use the plastic thread that's like gimp to lace all the plastic canvas pieces together then layer everything and use the zip ties around the outside edges. I ran out of cash when I was getting the stuff so I couldn't get any and I really wish I could have cuz zip tying the middle is a major pain.

Stay at home mommy to 4 kids (Ana 11, Joseph 9, Alizabeth 6, and Christian 2) 8 cats, 6 purple pincher hermit crabs, 4 little molly fish, 3 ferrets, 2 parrakets, 2 Oscars, 1 red eared slider, 1 cockatiel, 1 goldfish and 1 bone headed pittbull.

I would have sent you some. Lol I have plenty.