HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I took advantage of the Petco $1 per gallon sale and am upgrading my 10 gallon to a 29 gallon and hoping you can answer a few questions.

How much sand/substrate will I need? Anyone know how many bags of sand & bricks of substrate?

I was thinking of ordering this top:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUFTYXS/ref ... RVU2IJ0G9V

I'm almost positive that it'll fit but anyone have this and can confirm?

Also, I'm planning on doing 1/2 the top in plexi glass and the other for the heater. Anyone have a hood they can recommend? Ideally I'd like one that does the automatic on/off based on temperature.

I've picked up a corner shell caddy to make a moss pit. What type of moss is best?
I ordered a large grape wood branch for climbing and I'll get some netting from the Etsy seller that was recommended. I have shells on the way from Deltona.
I purchased two reusable containers from the Dollar Store to use as pools and have the bubblers for them.

Where is a good place to get vines/plants?

What else am I missing?

Thanks for all the help!!

I would say plan on 2-3 bags of sand and a couple bricks of EE. You can't have too much substrate, and it'll be nice to have more on hand once the sand inevitably settles.

Screen lids are pretty forgiving - if it's designed for a 29 gallon, it should be fine. I do have the same lid, but for my 55. It's a little large but lid clamps solve it and I don't have any issues.

No suggestion on a hood, so hopefully someone more knowledgeable can step in.

Moss is personal preference - I like organic orchid sphagnum moss from the orchid section at a place like Lowe's or Menards. Don't use sphagnum peat. Some people like the bricks of moss from Petsmart that I think are forest moss like this.

Congrats on the new 29g! I took advantage of the Petco sale for a 29g for my guys, too, and am in the process of mapping out the layout and assembling the items.

Can't help on the lid (ordered a 30" Marineland Hinged Glass lid from DrsFoster&Smith and an 11x23 Ultratherm from Reptile Basics) and will be using the 20" aquarium hood currently on the 10g just for lighting purposes. My substrate is going to be an EE-heavy one with only bag of playsand but the ratio @megmaholm cited sounds right.

Your best bets for plants and vines are dollar stores, Walmart or, my all-time fave, Goodwill (or other thrift stores). I picked up several tank items, including a very nice ivy spray and a mixed leaf spray, at Goodwill last week for under $6. The only plant(s) I still want to get are relatively short plastic ones to add to the FW and SW pools; these I've seen at PetSmart for $2-$3 each in the aquarium section.

How are you fixed for hides? Those can easily be made from empty yogurt or margarine cups and small clay flowerpots (from Goodwill again) make terrific natural-texture hides. Mesh bags of river pebbles can be found at the dollar store and can be attached to the exterior of plastic items (using aquarium silicone, under $5 at Home Depot) to make a more natural climbing surface.

Post pictures of the crabitat as you go along. Several of us have threads about our ongoing projects so it's fun to see what others are doing and cheer one another along!