90 gal basic setup

[Scarletfire]

I'm currently waiting for my stand to bw picked up, and to clear an area to set it up... but in the meantime, I have a two setup questions, but it guess it's mainly preferences. The tank is 48" long, 18" wide, and 24" tall.

1.I bought two 5.5 gals (16" x 8" x 10") for the fresh and saltwater pools. Is there a preference for a) sunk in, or b) above? Any additional pros/cons to add?

Sunk in
Pros:
- saves upper space for climbing
- looks very natural

Con:
- limits digging space. However, there is.. Still a lot of tank

- sand is limited to 10" high


Entire tank on sand
Pros
- easier to reach in and do maintenance
- reduces risk for flooding during water changes due to easier access to tanks

Cons
- if crabs dig under, it could shift the weight and potentially crush tunnels. However, this could be addressed by adding pvc pipe support pillars.
- doesn't look natural, even if bridges were added

Actually thinking through this, is it best to have the tank half under the sand (sand level up to 10", with tank top 2-3" above sand? This may bring the best of both worlds.

2. Is it better to put a) both fw and SW on one side of the tank side by side or b) fw and SW on opposite sides?

Opposite sides
Pros
- minimizes crabby mixing of water
- balanced weight
- symmetrical looking (anesthetics)
-minimizes crabby mixing of SW into fw

Cons
- one less wall to mount decors to
- need to open tank covers on both sides for eater changes

Same side
Pros
- the side without the tanks will have additional glass space to mount climbing fun stuff

Cons
- not natural looking without a middle brackish tank
- higher risk of crabby mixing of SW into fw
- will only be able to see into one tank from the side
- not aesthetically pleasing (not symmetrical)
- unbalanced weight, with sand being heavier than water.

Going through pros/cons, would a) be the better option? Not sure if there are any other considerations.



Thanks for reading through this!


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[Hermiesguardian]

Wow. You have really thought this through. I have a 90 gal. I use tupperware containers, doubled, buried in the sand. My plan for my next upgrade, whenever that is, would be to have them on surface to provide more digging space. If you're using 5.5 gal tanks for pools I would think you can't double up, so you can only put them on surface. I would think they'd be heavy enough to sink a bit. Then you might disturb molters underneath when removing to clean. How big are your crabs? Do they need such large pools? My pools now are side by side. Next tank I'm going to put on seperate sides. Just for something different.

[Scarletfire]

Wow. You have really thought this through. I have a 90 gal. I use tupperware containers, doubled, buried in the sand. My plan for my next upgrade, whenever that is, would be to have them on surface to provide more digging space. If you're using 5.5 gal tanks for pools I would think you can't double up, so you can only put them on surface. I would think they'd be heavy enough to sink a bit. Then you might disturb molters underneath when removing to clean. How big are your crabs? Do they need such large pools? My pools now are side by side. Next tank I'm going to put on seperate sides. Just for something different.

It won't be a removable pool; itll be a functional fw and SW tank with filters, inhabitants, and all. I've wanted to do that when I started early in the year, but it didn't feel like there was much support for an integrated system at the time. It's much easier to maintain water condition with a larger volume of water, thus 5.5 as opposed to the 2.5 gal.

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[aussieJJDude]

Imo, do what is easiest for you. Keeping it to one side can be a lot easier for maintainence, and allow a 'crabby beach' using gravel/pebbles to help reduce the amount of sand getting tracked into the dishes.

And it doesn't look that bad either - keep all the water on one side. Plus if the tank is viewable on one side, it allows further viewing options for 'pool windows'.

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[ROSIEonFIRE]

If it were me I'd probably put them on one side against a corner. Cant wait to see how this turns out!

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[The HermitIX]

i've been contemplating the same thing about putting two 1 gal in a 29 gallon tank. i figured half submerged really would be the best for space and access. Although for water changes i was planning on using a water siphon so i would never have to remove the tanks once they were added

[GotButterflies]

In all three of my crabitats I have my pools above the substrate and next to each other I like providing more molting space for my crabbies. I also find that with toppers it is easier to have the pools on the same side for water changes