HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey all. I'm all over the forum tonight lol. Anyways, I have acrylic trays that I use as second and third levels. They're currently on little acrylic legs, but they are starting to lean. I was thinking about hot gluing some strong magnets on the outside of the acrylic trays and attaching them to another magnet outside the tank. Kind of like magnaturals, but DIY lol. The crabs wouldn't be able to reach the magnets or the glue. Would this be safe to do? And would the glue hold up, or would sealant be better? Thanks!

I'm curious about the DIY magnets like the magnaturals. Do u have a link for that or will u be creating your own? I would love to see what u do:) One thing I have learned about hot gluing anything and putting it into the tank is that it will not last :/ so maybe using aquarium safe silicone would be the better way to go and it would be safe for the hermies:)


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Kermie16 wrote:I'm curious about the DIY magnets like the magnaturals. Do u have a link for that or will u be creating your own? I would love to see what u do:) One thing I have learned about hot gluing anything and putting it into the tank is that it will not last :/ so maybe using aquarium safe silicone would be the better way to go and it would be safe for the hermies:)


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I would be making my own. I was thinking about getting those industrial magnets and using those. I'll keep you updated with any changes

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Silicone will not last on acrylic and plastics. (Been ther, done that)... You could make like a "magnetic platform" in which the trays sit on. Or depending on the strength of (magnets)/(width of glass/acrylic)/(location of the levels) you could place a magnet on the outside, and then one on the inside of the tray.

Have you thought of making a PVC stand? A few "T" peices, straight, corner... bit of cutting.. you have a stand?

aussieJJDude wrote:Silicone will not last on acrylic and plastics. (Been ther, done that)... You could make like a "magnetic platform" in which the trays sit on. Or depending on the strength of (magnets)/(width of glass/acrylic)/(location of the levels) you could place a magnet on the outside, and then one on the inside of the tray.

Have you thought of making a PVC stand? A few "T" peices, straight, corner... bit of cutting.. you have a stand?

I have been considering putting one inside the tray and one outside. The magnets I've been looking at seem strong enough for that. My worry there is exposing the crabs to the metal on the magnets. I thought maybe creating like a hot glue case around the exposed metal. Or maybe gluing coconut fiber to hide it. I'm not too sure yet I don't think I want to use silicone now that I've thought about it or build a new structure. I want to try and keep the tank disturbance to a minimum

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So this is the system I came up with. I used ceramic magnets, one inside the tray, one outside the tray, and one outside the tank. It's holding up okay, as you can see I still have the legs. I can pull the tray away from the tank wall but then it goes back into place.
Since the magnets are ceramic, I wouldn't think they would cause any problems with the crabs or the humidity

That is awesome, did you make the acrylic trays or buy them

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kieagcarm wrote:That is awesome, did you make the acrylic trays or buy them

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Bought them! I sure wish I was talented enough to make acrylic trays lol. They're right from Amazon, inter design clarity organizers. They come in a bunch of sizes

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Interesting! Please update and let us know how they are holding up:)


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DarthCrabber wrote:
So this is the system I came up with. I used ceramic magnets, one inside the tray, one outside the tray, and one outside the tank. It's holding up okay, as you can see I still have the legs. I can pull the tray away from the tank wall but then it goes back into place.
Since the magnets are ceramic, I wouldn't think they would cause any problems with the crabs or the humidity

It's been about a month. I'm looking to do something similar in my tat. I've heard a lot about magnaturals, but they're expensive... How are your magnets holding up?? Also, what size and brand are they?

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daws409 wrote:

DarthCrabber wrote:
So this is the system I came up with. I used ceramic magnets, one inside the tray, one outside the tray, and one outside the tank. It's holding up okay, as you can see I still have the legs. I can pull the tray away from the tank wall but then it goes back into place.
Since the magnets are ceramic, I wouldn't think they would cause any problems with the crabs or the humidity

It's been about a month. I'm looking to do something similar in my tat. I've heard a lot about magnaturals, but they're expensive... How are your magnets holding up?? Also, what size and brand are they?

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They're holding up well! They definitely help a lot with the leaning legs, but they wouldn't be strong enough without the legs. I'm not sure the exact magnets, I just went and picked them up at Walmart. I also have a magnetic dish by Pangaea, it's a small reptile dish, like 2x3 inches but it holds up well and my crabs like to sit on it like a ledge. Idk if Pangaea makes more magnetic dishes, but the one I got was $14, so waaay cheaper than magnaturals.

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Okay, thanks!

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