HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So, for my birthday, I really begged my parents for a larger tank, so as to upgrade my 9 crabs from their 40B. I was only looking for a 75 gallon, but lo and behold, while searching on craigslist, I found a phenomenal deal of a 90 gallon tank, stand, lights, and glass top for $275. I got it for $225. Unfortunately, my clumsy self broke one of the glass tops, so that will have to be replaced. I am likely to be given loads of money for my actual B-day tomorrow, which I plan to spend upon my precious guys. Here's some pics of the tank, stand, and lighting:

The glove's for size reference

Daylight



Night moonlight



Cool, ethereal glow



I plan on about 10 inches of substrate. I plan on having a lexan (similar to plexi, but less liable to warp) divider halfway. One one side, I'll have a 5:1 ratio of sand and eco, and on the other side, vice versa, essentially giving me a "forest" side and a "beach" side. I hope to increase the size of my pools, and have bubblers in both this time. I also hope to add a lot more cholla wood, and a lot more plastic and silk plants.

Any suggestions/ideas are welcome. I hope it turns out as well as I hope

Congrats on the new tank, i think it was a total steal!
Looking forward to the updates.

Happy birthday - - I hope you have a great one.

Happy birthday!!!!!! How's the crabitat coming along?

I picked up some supplies yesterday:

6 bricks of coco fiber
150 watt ceramic heat emitter
18x24 acrylic sheet
acrylic cutter
2 1.5" diameter by 24" length pvc pipes
6 pack of clear medium command hooks
"clear" silicon
18x36" deep flora cling

Progress made:
1. Stand has been sanded and primed
2. Acrylic sheet has been cut to 10" tall
3. Tank has been thoroughly cleaned with a bleach solution followed by a distilled water rinse
4. PVC pipes have been cut in half, covered in silicon, and then pressed into tub of coco fiber (will serve as supports for second level)
5. Piece of twine has also been covered by silicon and coco fiber so as to serve as a decorative vine
6. The "clear" silicon, which was clearly labeled CLEAR, ended up being white, so I'm definitely making Home Depot giving me a replacement

The silicon mess-up set me back, as I was planning on siliconing the acrylic divider in and letting it dry overnight. I hope to wrap the project up by mid-week. I'm also expecting more b-day money from relatives, so I'm hoping to get glass tops, cholla wood, and better pools with that money.

What? There has been updates but no piccies??? haha, I love to see what is happening.

Lol, sorry, I kind of forgot about this. And it was supposed to be a build thread Oh well, there wasn't that much to build, so here's some pics:

haha, don't worry. Your forgiven!
I let you off this time, since it is such an awesome tank!

Where did you get the ropey vine on the left going up to the one bin? And also the rock looking thing on the right? Gorgeous tank!

Sweet tank! Nice layout!


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hermieluv1 wrote:Where did you get the ropey vine on the left going up to the one bin? And also the rock looking thing on the right? Gorgeous tank!

I made the ropey vine myself. I got a piece of twine, untreated of course, covered it in some brown silicone from the hardware store (make sure it isn't a mold-free kind, as those can have toxic chemicals), and then covered it in some coco fiber. It's more for aesthetics, but I do believe I saw my littlest girl attempting to tight-rope it .

As for the rock looking thing, I assume you mean the cork bark panel. I got that from petsmart for like $10 or so. It's just some natural bark that they shave from cork trees. It looks very naturalistic, and the trees actually regrow the bark in ten years or so. I really like it, because my piece has a little hollow on the back that the crabs love to hide in, and it also provides for some awesome climbing space and they LOVE to sleep on it.