New to the forum, and building new crabitat.

[Hdale85]

Ok I placed an order for that Hydrometer/Temp probe and also an 11x47 ultratherm UTH from that place. Unfortunately it's going to take a couple weeks to gather everything we need. I feel bad because they are living in those little wire cage things that they sold us with the crabs. We got the larger sized cages but still. I hope they make it as I'm working as fast as I can to get everything I need for them. I'm thinking maybe I can just get the sand in the tank, and the heater and such, and maybe put them in and add the decorations and stuff later. We have a few little huts and things to hide in. I just want to give them the best chance of living at this point.

[Hdale85]

Also I think I'm going to order this light fixture and a 48" UVB bulb. Maybe I can sell these 36" bulbs somewhere? Idk.....Maybe I'll donate them to the reptile rescue next time I go out that way.

http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-2x54 ... /52123.htm

[soilentgringa]

Sounds good! Just remember that when they become large/jumbo sized they will need a few more inches of sand, as it should be at least 3X deeper than your largest crabs' shell.

We redid our 40 and 55 at the same time and were planning on filling a used 75 I was waiting on.

My 9 year old was trying to push a cart with 450lbs of sand in it across Home Depot. That was NOT fun to bring them all in the house. At all. I currently have bags of sand and eco earth leftover because the 75 ended up cracking

After 350 lbs of sand, my arms felt like they were going to fall off and I was gonna die so I don't blame you for not wanting to get too much at once.

[Hdale85]

The 75 cracked from putting sand in it?

[Hdale85]

Oh I keep forgetting to ask. I have a like 6 stage RO system. It removes all contaminants (including Chlorine) and then it adds back in beneficial minerals in the last stage. This should be good to use for my salt and fresh water right? It's what we've been using and tastes better than the best bottled waters. Has a PH of around 8 and that's all good minerals since I use a mineral filter at the last stage.

[soilentgringa]

The 75 cracked from putting sand in it?

Nah. While it was being delivered.

[Hdale85]

Got some pools created out of the mini paint roller trays.


Finishing up the stand tomorrow and got all the sand and what not. I need to glue in the corner brackets still though.

[Hdale85]

Almost got the frame of the stand done, have to add a few more boards.



Also got the corner guards installed and they are drying

[Hdale85]

Here's the heater taped on, I put this bubblewrap type insulation wrap behind it. It's like bubble wrap lined with space blanket material, I had it laying around from another project.


Here's my wife mixing sand!


Putting the first load of mixed sand in


Here's the tank complete (for now)


I know it's missing a lot still, but I hate them being in the little mesh carriers they were in so I figured it was better than what they had for now. At least here they have the 2 water sources, lots of sand, a couple hiding spots etc. We'll be getting some cholla wood and nets and what not in the next week or so.

Here's a couple pics of the one crab. The one that's in a bit rough shape (lost a leg and too large for his shell I believe) is hiding inside the spiderman shell there. As soon as he vacates and our new batch of raw shells come in (ordered 30 or so off ebay) I'm going to pull all the painted shells out. Hoping in the 30 that we ordered this little guy will find one he likes and swap and hopefully his health will improve.

[soilentgringa]

Your tank is looking great!

[Kermie16]

Wow! You guys did a great job in such a short amount of time!! Looks like your hermies we're excited about their new tat also! Love the stand you built for it!

[Hdale85]

Well the one that didn't seem to be doing so well dug itself a hole overnight, so as I suspected he was likely trying to molt which is why he was trying to hide in the other shells.

Thanks for the compliments guys! It was pretty tiring doing all that sand and stuff haha. Basically all this last week I've been putting it all together.

How deep do they usually dig down? I can still see the top of his shell a bit. Seems the humidity is right at ~81% or so. That room stays pretty warm right now so it's at like 80 degrees without the heater being used. I imagine after we replace the window in there and get central air I'll need to use the heater.

[Hdale85]

Here's the top of the hole he made



I can't see him anymore so it seems like he had just started digging it not long before I saw him the first time and he's gone down deeper now. I hope he survives. Does my sand seem wet enough? It holds together if you pack it tightly but it still sticks to them a bit and such?

Also how long does it usually take them to molt? Just wondering when I should start worrying if he made it or not, and when I know he didn't and should dig up his remains?

[soilentgringa]

They take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year depending on size. Smaller crabs maybe 6-9 weeks.

Sand should be sandcastle consistency. If you poke your finger in it, the hole should stay.

Now all you need to do is find some deep water dishes so they can submerge and put up some second levels and lots of things to climb on!

[Hdale85]

They'll stay under the sand for up to a year?

Also did you not see the water dishes? They are quite deep, probably 6" or more deep.