Questions

[Kaitlyn L]

Hello!
As some of you may know I got a new tank for my crabs it has just been sitting around as I've really been doing my research for this one. It is 60 litres (21x12x10). I decided to go with an aquarium this time as more space, as well I got quite a lot of stuff with it, but there are still some things I need to get. I have a few questions to ask c: I live in the basement in my room with my crabs if that helps any.

Do you think it would be beneficial to build them a 2nd level?
I've been looking at LED aquarium lighting systems, but would it be better to get a heat lamp? If I insulated the heat pad would that be enough to keep the heat? Right now with just one light on the heat stays at 80F with 1 UTH on the side. The heat really doesn't drop below 75 at night as I keep the UTH on and the heater in my room
What is the best humidity and temp gauge?
Is there any cheaper ways to make moss pits and shell shops without shower caddies?
I thought of another question the tank has an all metal lid this wouldn't be safe in a basement would it? In other words should I switch to a different lid?


I'll probably have more questions, but this set up is going to be delayed due to going to Mexico, and I just wanna make sure I do this one right. Right now the exoterra has been stable, so I'm not too worried about them.

[megmaholm]

2nd levels are always great, if you can make it work! More climbing room for crabbies then.

Personally, I think it's good to at least have a heat lamp as a backup - In my 55 I was running 150 watts between 2 moonglow bulbs, and had an UTH on the back. My UTH died yesterday without warning, and without the heat lamps the temp would have fallen quickly. I would try and see - if you don't need the heat lamp, awesome, but this time of year with temps getting cooler it's hard to say for sure.

A lot of people like Acurite temp/humidity gauges; they're about $10 at Walmart. Like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/AcuRite-Digit ... r/16888914

I always vote that shower caddies are the best, since they have suction cups and that's an easy way to get them off your substrate, but really any container would work for a moss pit/shell shop. Just make sure they're able to get in it. My Walmart has, in the kitchen organization area, a 3 pack of small white baskets for around $2. I use one for my big shells, and it works great. You could drill holes if they don't have any already, and use suction cups to hang on the side of your tank.

[Kaitlyn L]

Thank you for replying! Yes I was looking at acurite and I can get mine at lowes here. Would you need 1 or 2 of them for a 20 gal? And then my other question above. I want to make this crabitat better for them this time!

[megmaholm]

No problem I think one would be fine in a 20. I just have one in my tank, and I keep it in the center. I try to keep it far enough from the heat lamp that I'm not getting an inaccurate reading, but that's about it. No matter what you go with, I highly suggest calibrating it (instructions here: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 26&t=92540) because hygrometers are never 100% spot on.

By metal lid you mean a screen/mesh lid? That shouldn't be a problem, but I would suggest wrapping/covering it with something to hold in heat and humidity. I keep my lid covered with foil, with cut-out sections for the heat lamp. You could always get a glass lid, or acrylic, but a heat lamp can crack the glass or warp acrylic.

[Kaitlyn L]

It's a full metal screen lid no mesh in it at all. I was thinking of just shining a light on the side of the tank as having foil on a full metal lid would cause a fire I think

[megmaholm]

Mine is metal screen as well and the only thing that has happened is my heat lamps have baked the color off the metal. I just have the foil cut out around the heat lamp so the foil isn't touching it, and so far so good! No worries about a fire

[Kaitlyn L]

Here's a few things that I was looking into:

Aquarium light
day light if I go with heat lamps
night (red 50W) I think 100 might be too high I'm not too sure D;

I do have a moonlight exoterra bulb that 25W still that might work.

I was thinking maybe a lamp stand, but I'm not too sure D;

[Ryry]

I use a black/blue moon light and I like it. I leave it on pretty much 24/7 and turn another lamp on for heat/light during the day.

[Kaitlyn L]

Yeah that's what I was thinking, but not too sure

[megmaholm]

The moonlight bulbs are the best! Anything I can leave on 24/7 makes me happy, haha.

100 watts MAY be too much for a 20 gallon combined with an UTH, but you never know. You could always get a fixture that has a dimmer, but be aware that a lot of those sold at pet stores won't support that much wattage. If I'm remembering right about my first setup, which was 15 gallons, I used a 60 watt red bulb as my only heat source and it did okay. With my 29 gallon I bumped up to 120 watts of moonlight bulbs, again without an UTH, and that kept the temp nice and toasty.

Also, the heat bulbs you linked are basking bulbs, which I would try to avoid - they put out a concentrated 'beam' of heat and don't evenly heat the whole tank. Something like this or this would probably be better; this would work for just during the day.

[Kaitlyn L]

Heres what I have right now on my exoterra

26W
25W
15W
Then an 8W Reptitherm UTH

[Kaitlyn L]

Should I keep any of these as mom might let me set up the tank this week c:

[megmaholm]

I don't see any reason not to keep any of them - they could be handy as a backup. The 1st one (UVB bulb) doesn't look like it heats, but it would be good for daytime viewing. If you're putting it on a screen lid, though, that will filter the UVB by about 50%.
I don't know anything about the Ion bulb, but again, it can be used as a daytime viewing bulb.
I of course like the moonglow bulb since it can be left on all the time; it definitely won't hurt to keep and obviously can help boost your temps a little.
The UTH is pretty low wattage, but it won't hurt to insulate it and put it on the side/back of the tank.

It's really up to you what you want to keep/use. Everyone's setup will vary a little depending on their conditions, so you may just have to play around and just find what works best for you.

[Kaitlyn L]

I am getting a higher wattage uth that's 26w

[megmaholm]

Ah, got it! That will certainly help. If you use the 26w plus the 8w, you may be able to get away with a lower wattage heat bulb, or eliminate it entirely.