HCA: Hermit Crab Association

im in the middle of building a crabitat. it is 72" tall 45" wide and 36" deep. I need help with deciding how i am going to seal it. I was thinking of using a two part epoxy. Just need to know what brand to use. I need cheap but good. Also from the given measurements, how much do you guys think i will need. 1 gallon? 2 gallons? Also, are there any good epoxies at the hardware stores. I'd prefer to buy locally than buy online, but i will if i have no choice.

I have never built a tank before and i dont know if that is safe or not. All i know about this is that aquarium silicone sealant is safe for hermit crabs and i think i have heard of people using that. Or they epoxy it and seal it with the silicone. But good luck make sure to post lots of pics i cant wait to see it!

Pretty much what ErikRasmussen said, silicone the joints & epoxy all the rest. Depending on how much layers you apply & thickness, 2 - 4g sounds enough IMO.

Any idea what brand would be good for the tank and for my wallet?

EdisNiksic wrote:Any idea what brand would be good for the tank and for my wallet?

For that, I have no idea as I don't live in the US.

what about a fiberglass resin? would that work and be safe?

EdisNiksic wrote:Any idea what brand would be good for the tank and for my wallet?

I'm not sure about good for the wallet, but "Envirotex" works great!

Any clue about the fiberglass resin?

this is what i found. Any good?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006VY ... IRF9P54IWN

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OD ... PDKIKX0DER

A lot of people use pond sealants! That's what I'm using for my ~230 gallon plywood tank I'm building. They use it a lot in plant/frog tanks.

kip.rogers357 wrote: I'm not sure about good for the wallet, but "Envirotex" works great!

Is that hermit safe?

bump

Yep, I used Envirotex Lite for my display case. You can purchase it in gallon-sizes online, or in itty bitty boxes in most craft and small hardware stores. I'm not sure how cost effective it would be for doing huge areas. You might be looking at $100-$250 on just the sealant. Any two-part epoxy is safe - the most commonly used for builds not involving hermit crabs are marine epoxies like System Three and West System, but again because of the cost it only works out if you're doing something big. I think you'd need at least 2 gallons, probably more like 3 or 4 if you do it right and do at least 2 to 3 coats. I used over a 1/2 gallon just on my base, which had three coats and is 2 feet by 4 feet. I have a gallon kit upstairs for the next project which cost me $80, free shipping.

Yes, fiberglass can work and is probably your best option, actually. It's much cheaper for doing large areas, and it will help with the structural integrity. You have to use a two-part resin for it to be crab safe. The single-part resins cure by evaporating and it can take months before it stops! The two-part cures using a chemical reaction and turns into plastic when it's done.

DON'T mix silicon with resin or epoxy. Resin and epoxy are plastic based, and silicon doesn't stick to plastic and vice versa. Use one or the other if you need a solid seal or you want it to stick permanently.

No matter what, you're most likely going to be looking at a couple hundred dollars just to make it waterproof. If you're doing something built-in or having it close to a wall, it'll grow mold on the outside wherever there is a leak from the excaping humidity/water over time. Worse, if there is a leak in the sealent and moisture gets through, it will rot the wood underneath and cause the rest of the sealant to start pulling free. You can go with cheaper options, but expect it to fail in a few years. Just depends on how permanent you want this to be!

wodesorel wrote:Yep, I used Envirotex Lite for my display case. You can purchase it in gallon-sizes online, or in itty bitty boxes in most craft and small hardware stores. I'm not sure how cost effective it would be for doing huge areas. You might be looking at $100-$250 on just the sealant. Any two-part epoxy is safe - the most commonly used for builds not involving hermit crabs are marine epoxies like System Three and West System, but again because of the cost it only works out if you're doing something big. I think you'd need at least 2 gallons, probably more like 3 or 4 if you do it right and do at least 2 to 3 coats. I used over a 1/2 gallon just on my base, which had three coats and is 2 feet by 4 feet. I have a gallon kit upstairs for the next project which cost me $80, free shipping.

Yes, fiberglass can work and is probably your best option, actually. It's much cheaper for doing large areas, and it will help with the structural integrity. You have to use a two-part resin for it to be crab safe. The single-part resins cure by evaporating and it can take months before it stops! The two-part cures using a chemical reaction and turns into plastic when it's done.

DON'T mix silicon with resin or epoxy. Resin and epoxy are plastic based, and silicon doesn't stick to plastic and vice versa. Use one or the other if you need a solid seal or you want it to stick permanently.

No matter what, you're most likely going to be looking at a couple hundred dollars just to make it waterproof. If you're doing something built-in or having it close to a wall, it'll grow mold on the outside wherever there is a leak from the excaping humidity/water over time. Worse, if there is a leak in the sealent and moisture gets through, it will rot the wood underneath and cause the rest of the sealant to start pulling free. You can go with cheaper options, but expect it to fail in a few years. Just depends on how permanent you want this to be!

Cool! I'll have to consider it when pricing the pond sealant!

thank you so much everybody, especially wode. Ill go with the fiberglass resin since it is a bit cheaper. ill post pics as soon as possible. Got most of the structure done, just need to make the door, shelves for the shells, moss, and leaf litter, and i need to figure out exactly how I'm gonna do the pools.