Tank has been acting weird...

[Teedeums]

For the past few days I've been having trouble with keeping the heat and humidity up at the same time. I searched everywhere on the site, and I tried any of the tips I could, but lately to get my humidity up, the lamp has to go off, which brings down the heat and within an hour it goes down to 69 degrees, so I have to turn it back on and that brings the humidity low. The conditions used to be perfectly stable just leaving the heat on 24/7 and giving the tank walls a good spray once every two days, but for the past few days the tank has been going crazy. Both my thermometer and hydrometer are calibrated, and I don't know what is going on! I can't just stay around the tank all the time, I have school and when we visit my grandparents and go to church on the weekends, I can't just say "I have to stay home to watch the heat and humidity". Are there any little or no cost ways to help this?

If you want to know what I do for heat and humidity...
-tank is insulated with cardboard
-there is a large moss pit
-I have a heat lamp, and I know for a fact it isn't drying everything out by itself, humidity quickly disappears even when I turn it off
-I now spray the tank three times a day early morning, evening, and before I go to bed
-I refill fresh and salt water almost daily now, because I have found the bowls clean and dry to the bone since Monday
Thanks in advance for any advice!

[YYWW]

Is the lamp pointed at a side of the tank? Is the beam centered at the sub?


Crabbers unite!!!

[hermieluv1]

It has to be evaporating somewhere. Either from a direct heat source or into the air, like an opening in the lid or tank. What do you have for substrate? Do you think adding some ee would help keep some of the moisture in the sub? I know my guys love to eat it out of the sand and I replace it periodically.

[wodesorel]

How long has the tank been set up? The thing to remember is that all the moisture that gets added into the substrate will slowly be released into the air - that is usually enough to boost humidity levels to optimum or even to too much for several weeks and sometimes even months. We tend to overwet substrate a bit during set up which is usually fine for the crabs, and will boost the moisture level in the tank. It won't last forever though, so once it dries out too much it won't be able to do the same kind of job as it was while it was still very moist. Spraying will help, but lightly spraying won't be adding enough to keep it going.

We're also entering the driest part of the year for homes in the North, since the furnace has been running for at least a couple of months at this point which causes severely low humidity in the air in our homes, which then sucks all the moisture out of the crab tank. Sealing it up better can sometimes help, but adding in more water daily may be the only way to combat it. I'm up to a gallon of water per day for the humidifier on my 135 gallon! Setting a fogger or humidifier to trickle in moisture is really the easiest way to prevent low humidity and save yourself the headache, but it's not always an option for everyone.

You should be able to go heavier with the spraying so that the substrate is on the wetter end of sandcastle consistency. If you can get the sub wet enough - while still be cautious not to flood it - you should be able to get away with once, maybe twice a day spraying. Seal up any openings on the tank as well for now, to hold that excess moisture in. Temp is going to be really important since it is so cold and you do not want to drop it below around 72 or so, or it will start having effects on the hermits.

[Teedeums]

Thanks!