HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hdale85 wrote: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.

No, the picture I saw just had two half logs and food dishes and what looked like two water dishes at the end but there was no way to tell how deep they were.

The other pics wouldn't show up, they had the "broken" symbol on my phone, they may show up on my computer.

Hdale85 wrote: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.

Omg great idea! I'm about to do a 20g tank for 2 crabs and need ideas...thanks for sharing! Did u glue the rocks to the "ramp"? If so what did u use?


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That is what I mean when I say the "broken" symbol.

Hmm strange, yes I just glued them down with aquarium grad silicone. It holds them pretty good. They "Trim paint trays" from walmart, were like 2 bucks a piece. They are probably 5" or so deep.

http://alaskahermit.com/information-cen ... rab-pools/

this is where I got it from.

The pools look great! Like the gradual walk-in for the hermies! You guys are doing a great job putting everything together. Can't wait to see how everything looks when it's all done

So what do people cover the screen top with to help normalize temps and humidity? Mine is fluctuating a lot. The tank is setup in my daughters room which stays quite warm due to the sun exposure on these old crap windows (which we'll be replacing soon anyways) so I'm hoping to try and seal up the top some and use the heater and the bubblers I added to keep humidity more steady in the tank so we can keep her room cooler as well.

Before I switched over to a glass hinged top, I used duct tape on both sides of my screen top and left a little strip opened to allow for air circulation . I have also used Plastic Saran Wrap the same way with a towel on top. Of course you don't want to put anything between your light source and the screen top so you could just cut the plastic around where your light source is to avoid possible fire.

That room has pretty good natural light, so currently we don't have a light source granted we likely will get one as this is certainly a work in progress ( more likely I'll DIY a light source as I DIY everything). I'll probably tap in some foil or something for now and then order this this weekend

https://www.amazon.com/Perfecto-Manufac ... ***+canopy

Can humidity be too high in the tank?

Hdale85 wrote:Can humidity be too high in the tank?

Nope! I occasionally open the tank top for air circulation or to drop the humidity a bit. I think the only concern with higher humidity would be possible mold. We installed a 5in fan in the tank to help with air circulation and decrease mold.

Mold should still be pretty unlikely since I used all salt water for the mix though right? My tank is sitting at like 85 degrees and 88% humidity right now. I need to get a dimmer or temp controller for the UTH though as it eventually gets up to like 90 in there but if I vent the top too much the humidity drops a ton.

Hdale85 wrote:Mold should still be pretty unlikely since I used all salt water for the mix though right? My tank is sitting at like 85 degrees and 88% humidity right now. I need to get a dimmer or temp controller for the UTH though as it eventually gets up to like 90 in there but if I vent the top too much the humidity drops a ton.

Will need a more experienced crabber to correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe mold is still a possibility due to the moisture and heat in general. May not necessarily stem from your sub. Could be from foods buried by the hermies, the wood structures, moss (which happened to me), etc. I've learned through the HCA that if you soak your wood structures in MSW, then let them dry completely either by letting them dry out in the sun or baking at low heat (mine were done at 275 deg for 90 mins) and letting them cool, it decreases the chance of mold growth.

What's MSW?

Hdale85 wrote:What's MSW?

Sorry! It's Marine Salt Water - the same salt water you put in the salt water pool