best way to introduce new substrate?

[Guest]

i talked mom into letting me go crab shopping today, and on the list is a block of eco earth. my sand can get pretty dry, so i figure this will be a good way to help that. it'll be hear in three days or so, and im not sure what the best way to introduce the crabbies to a new substrate. my idea is to mix the eco earth and sand into the half and half mixture, but only on half of the tank and leave the other half the familiar sand. should i do that so they can get used to it, or just go all out and replace all of it with the half and half? any other cool advantages of half and half besides humidity?
thanx!!

[hermiegirl]

Some people like the half and half route. I personally like only using EE. It holds the humidity up, it's lighter, and it doesn't get everywhere like sand does. I've done both sand and EE, and I can't wait til I get two molters up so I can switch my tank to EE. As far as introducing it, it's not like you're introducing a new crab. Just put them in an ISO or covered tub while you work, set the tank back up after you remove the sand and put in EE, and then set the crabs loose. They'll have a blast. Mine always like when I change out the EE cuz it's play time.

[Guest]

k, sounds cool i think im going to go half and half, they seem good in the sand, i dont think i want to get rid of it completly. a mix of plant junk and sand and all that sounds like what they would hit in the wild, so half and half sounds close. now i just need to wait for it to get here XD