75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

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imallsmiles1431
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75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

Post by imallsmiles1431 » Sat Jun 13, 2015 5:47 am

Hey all!
My crabitat flooded, and this is the redo- staring the false bottom!

Sorry in advance for the poor quality, my phone was broken token so I had to use an old camera...

Here we go!

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The empty tank

I decided to do a more "DIY" version of a false bottom- instead of using egg crate (ceiling light plastic) I decided to use a plastic Coke-a-Cola crate.

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The crate, weed block, and zip ties

First, I wrapped the crate in the weed cloth
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Wrapping the crate


My dad helped me cut a hole for the pipe and modify the end of the pipe so that water could still flow into it without it being lifted from the ground

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Then I created a plastic embroidery mesh "box"for it. I'm actually really proud of it Image

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The holes in the mesh were bigger than usual, which helped a lot.

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Plastic "rope"

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Nice sturdy needle

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The box- I wish i didn't have to bury this beauty!

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I secured the sides down so no curious crabbies would get stuck

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I bought a siphon to suck up the water, but the output hose was too short. Fortunately, I also picked up some tubbing and a connector.

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Next, I started mixing my sand and coconut fiber.

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Before mixing

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Some of the "mixed" buckets- I made more

I also expanded my compressed Forrest moss

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Finally, I started adding the sand to the tank!

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The false bottom is in!


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Sand in!

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Empty 2.5 gallon freshwater pool

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Empty 2.5 gallon salt water pool

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All together!

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Beach side- compete with sand castle!

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Forest side


The crabs are happy as can be!

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Image destroyed sand castle

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shell shop

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Saltwater pool

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Freshwater pool- don't worry, I added more water after the picture

Imagediy fan for humidity control- mine is currently 87% (with the fan on)

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Moss pit

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Titanium says "hello!"

Thanks for viewing! Comments and constructive criticism welcomed!
Mary Nerys
12 HC's: 2 E's, 10 PP's. 15 Betta fish: 12 females, 3 males.
1 Leopard Gecko. 1 Goldendoodle dog.

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KellyCrabbieLove
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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Re: 75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

Post by KellyCrabbieLove » Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:52 am

Your false bottom needs to span the entire bottom of your tank. It should only be about an inch tall when complete so you don't lose molting space. The water will collect under the entire bottom and you can suck it all out. Otherwise it will still sit in the sand at the bottom and flood since the tank is not on a slant for it to drai n to the side where you have your siphon.

I'm sorry! False bottoms suck to make.
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#1 rule of crabbing - crabs are weird.
#2 rule of crabbing - see above

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imallsmiles1431
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Re: 75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

Post by imallsmiles1431 » Sat Jun 13, 2015 1:20 pm

Ok. *sigh*... Will it flood again?
Mary Nerys
12 HC's: 2 E's, 10 PP's. 15 Betta fish: 12 females, 3 males.
1 Leopard Gecko. 1 Goldendoodle dog.

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KellyCrabbieLove
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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Re: 75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

Post by KellyCrabbieLove » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:25 pm

It very well could. If the conditions that caused the flood aren't fixed it will more than likely flood again. I have had 2 floods and lost 5 crabs because of it. I know how much it sucks.

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#1 rule of crabbing - crabs are weird.
#2 rule of crabbing - see above

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Topic author
imallsmiles1431
Posts: 132
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: In the TARDIS

Re: 75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

Post by imallsmiles1431 » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:43 pm

Ok, but what I did will help a little, right?
Mary Nerys
12 HC's: 2 E's, 10 PP's. 15 Betta fish: 12 females, 3 males.
1 Leopard Gecko. 1 Goldendoodle dog.

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soilentgringa
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Re: 75 Gallon Crabitat Rebuild

Post by soilentgringa » Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:13 pm

imallsmiles1431 wrote:Ok, but what I did will help a little, right?
I feel bad because you worked so hard but in my opinion it is better to not have the false bottom at all and use smaller tupperware containers as pools than it would be to leave it like that. The space that your little coke crate box takes up greatly reduces your crabs molting and digging space, as do the two large tanks for pools. I'm sorry, I can see how much work you put into it Image

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