HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I scored this sweet tank for only $200 from a friend who's moving and needed it gone ASAP he thought it was just 100 gallons but the measurements 72x18x28in add up to 157. Only thing is the stand he built for it is 4ft tall and the tank is 28in tall which would make it nearly impossible for me to get in and do my daily cleans. I do have a 4ft long coffee table I could use, but the tank is 6ft long. Would putting a 6ft board between the coffee table and the tank support the 1ft that would be hanging off both sides? I'll be adding to this thread as it comes along!

I think the question should be can the coffee table support the tank and all the substrate?

If you're unable to reach a conclusion, I'll gladly take that problem off your hands haha.

That would be unstable and probabky wouldn't hold the tank up. You're best off either moddifying the current stand OR making a whole new one which can support the weight of the completed tank.

Congrats on the score!
Since Chelsea716 has ninja'ed me & said what I had to say; I have nothing to say...

So this is what I came up with to support the sides hanging off the coffee table

200lbs of sand added and I think I'll need at least 100 more
The 10gal in there is gonna be my salt water pool. I'm going to put a filter in it.
Do I cycle the fresh dechlorinated water first and then add the salt?

Your better off cycling it with salt water, there is no point cycling it and getting the bacteria colony up when you will add salt and kill it - which will produce more ammonia! I take it as you are going to do a fishless cycle to get it going?

Commenting so I don't lose this thread; I'm very interested to see how this turns out.

aussieJJDude wrote:Your better off cycling it with salt water, there is no point cycling it and getting the bacteria colony up when you will add salt and kill it - which will produce more ammonia! I take it as you are going to do a fishless cycle to get it going?

yup, I might add a fish or two.. I wonder if the crabs would try to hunt them though.

MuseCrazy wrote:yup, I might add a fish or two.. I wonder if the crabs would try to hunt them though.

Umm, not trying to bust your bubble but have you ever kept fish before? Specifically marine animals?
When keeping fish in that small of an environment, one should have a knowledge of pico tanks. Plus you will be dealing with a bigger swing in parameters as hermit crabs are messy creatures.

aussieJJDude wrote: Umm, not trying to bust your bubble but have you ever kept fish before? Specifically marine animals?
When keeping fish in that small of an environment, one should have a knowledge of pico tanks. Plus you will be dealing with a bigger swing in parameters as hermit crabs are messy creatures.

My mom has kept them before so she can help me out. The 157 came with all the testing solutions I'll need to monitor the cycling, and I just joined a marine aquarium forum so that's where I'm getting my info. It's just a thought at this point lol. I had a yellow tailed blue damsel in mind cause they should be fast enough if the crabs do try to hunt them. But what kind of filter should I use, is the real question.

MuseCrazy wrote:My mom has kept them before so she can help me out. The 157 came with all the testing solutions I'll need to monitor the cycling, and I just joined a marine aquarium forum so that's where I'm getting my info. It's just a thought at this point lol. I had a yellow tailed blue damsel in mind cause they should be fast enough if the crabs do try to hunt them. But what kind of filter should I use, is the real question.

Your mum has kept fish before, or a reef/marine tank before? Keeping a SW & a FW set up is completely different and have different demands. I would advise you to start up a large marine tank - like 40g and up - so you can get an idea on what it is like and how to keep everything under control. Then after that, I would go into the pico/nano world and see if you can keep a yellow clown goby in there successfully; then move onto the crabitat and see if you can keep that stable.
If i was to put anything into a SW pool, I would keep guppies and/or mollies that has been "trained" to live in SW water. That way, they will keep on breeding and replace any losses due to crabs.
What worries me the most is that you will want to use a filter in a SW setup and thinking of including fish. SW tanks fair much better without filtration - especially if there is live rock present - and just require a sump - or in this case, part of the tank used as the sump. However if you going to go fishless, then any filter tank can withstand the SW without rusting is good enough. If possible, I would go into the dreaded pet store and ask for their advice, then do some research on what will work the best for you.
I hope I don't sound mean, I just want to point out that keeping a SW tank - minus the LHC - is time consuming. I would love to keep a marine tank, however the cost & upkeep is out of my budget to keep everything running smoothly IMO. I would recommend at least 200 + hours of solid research before you even think of adding fish; however that is just me & I know we are all entitled to different opinions.

aussieJJDude wrote: What worries me the most is that you will want to use a filter in a SW setup and thinking of including fish. SW tanks fair much better without filtration - especially if there is live rock present - and just require a sump - or in this case, part of the tank used as the sump. However if you going to go fishless, then any filter tank can withstand the SW without rusting is good enough. If possible, I would go into the dreaded pet store and ask for their advice, then do some research on what will work the best for you.
I hope I don't sound mean, I just want to point out that keeping a SW tank - minus the LHC - is time consuming. I would love to keep a marine tank, however the cost & upkeep is out of my budget to keep everything running smoothly IMO. I would recommend at least 200 + hours of solid research before you even think of adding fish; however that is just me & I know we are all entitled to different opinions.

She has kept a SW set up before. Years ago though I was like 5. There will be 20 crabs using and dumping their poop in the pools, I don't think the sump method would be efficient in transforming the ammonia fast enough. Is that what you use in your pool? I really just want to get a good cycle going so I only have to do the 20% water changes like you the fish is just an idea.
There was that other member on here that had marine hermits in their salt water pool but I forgot who it was so I can't bombard them with questions.

Sweet Pea wrote:I think the question should be can the coffee table support the tank and all the substrate?

I second that! I had a 29gal 'tat on a coffee table and even that caused the entire top of the coffee table to crack and split down the middle.

Well looks like the 2 bricks do a good job supporting the 2 ends. I'm more worried about the tank bending in the middle... It's going to be holding 500lbs of wet sand if I'm going to get my goal of 12in