HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Jennifer_lynn89 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 18, 2023 10:49 am

Hello all, I'm about to be a new crab owner and have been preparing. This site has been a great help. However something I would like clarity on is substrate.

1. I purchased Fluker's Hermit Beach Sand and also blocks of eco earth. I've seen about the 5:1 ratio, but do I actually physically mix the sand and eco earth together? Do I need eco earth with Fluker's Hermit Beach Sand since that has more in it than just play sand I'm assuming. I was going to put in the 6in of Fluker's Hermit Beach Sand and then make piles of eco earth around the surface, but now I'm confused if I'm supposed to actually mix the 2 together.
I personally wouldn't recommend using Fluker's sand for your crabs, it's not only expensive, but I believe it's not good for their long term health. I would recommend going to your local hardware store and getting 50lbs of playsand for $5, it's much cheaper, and works just fine for your crabs! It's what I and many other crabbers use with zero issues! You don't have to use Eco Earth, it's just commonly used to help boost humidity within the tank. Some people use just playsand, and some people use just EE, I use a mix of both! You can layer the substrate or mix it, I prefer to mix it all together, but that's just me! The 5:1 ratio was made up by someone and you don't have to use that ratio, you can do whatever you want really, as long as it's sand castle consistency, not too dry, and not dripping water it's good!

2. Also, I started soaking my eco earth. How long do I wait until it goes in the tank? Should it be wet, moist, slightly moist, or completely dry?

Jennifer_lynn89 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 18, 2023 10:49 am

Hello all, I'm about to be a new crab owner and have been preparing. This site has been a great help. However something I would like clarity on is substrate.

1. I purchased Fluker's Hermit Beach Sand and also blocks of eco earth. I've seen about the 5:1 ratio, but do I actually physically mix the sand and eco earth together? Do I need eco earth with Fluker's Hermit Beach Sand since that has more in it than just play sand I'm assuming. I was going to put in the 6in of Fluker's Hermit Beach Sand and then make piles of eco earth around the surface, but now I'm confused if I'm supposed to actually mix the 2 together.
I personally wouldn't recommend using Fluker's sand for your crabs, it's not only expensive, but I believe it's not good for their long term health. I would recommend going to your local hardware store and getting 50lbs of playsand for $5, it's much cheaper, and works just fine for your crabs! It's what I and many other crabbers use with zero issues! You don't have to use Eco Earth, it's just commonly used to help boost humidity within the tank. Some people use just playsand, and some people use just EE, I use a mix of both! You can layer the substrate or mix it, I prefer to mix it all together, but that's just me! The 5:1 ratio was made up by someone and you don't have to use that ratio, you can do whatever you want really, as long as it's sand castle consistency, not too dry, and not dripping water it's good!

2. Also, I started soaking my eco earth. How long do I wait until it goes in the tank? Should it be wet, moist, slightly moist, or completely dry?
The packaging says 30 minutes per brick and that's what I did, I mixed it up when I started, and came back to mix every 10 minutes! It should be moist but not dripping water, I ringed mine out and then put it straight in, then I moistened my sand and mixed it together! This worked very well for me! I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with 100lbs of sand and 3 bricks of EE, which is about 7 inches of substate, it was a lot of work to mix that all together, so of you can, I would mix in smaller batches and then add to the tank! Many people who use the 5:1 ratio do five cups of sand in a tub and then a cup of EE, mix that together, and then put that in the tank. If you do this, you just repeat the process until you have 6 inches of substrate (patted down)!

hermitsinnc wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 18, 2023 2:04 pm

Fluker's is the only brand of hermit crab sand that is considered safe. It's totally fine to use straight out of the bag, but you can add some EE if you have it and want to use it. The 5:1 ratio that some groups recommend is playsand to EE, but Fluker's is already mixed. Just make sure you moisten it to sandcastle consistency!

(Fluker's is much more expensive than playsand/cocofiber, but it isn't generally considered harmful.)

Jennifer_lynn89 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 18, 2023 2:48 pm

The money isn't an issue but I read it's good to change out your substrate every 30 days or so (yes?) so I'll just buy play sand with my next round, or at least start to integrate it in as I scoop out the crap.

KyMart wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 18, 2023 8:15 pm

Most crabbers never replace their substrate, just add more as needed (when the crabs grow, or the sand shrinks ). Unless there is a bacterial bloom, flood in your tank, or issues regarding substrate (people have had weird things happen!), there's really no need to change it all out! How many inches of substrate do you currently have in your tank, and how big is your tank?!