HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Get grandma's stock pot. Say a little prayer of appology to her, and then swear your husband to secrecy to never ever tell your mother what you're doing with the inhereted cookware.

Add 2 gallons of water

Add 2 pounds of kosher salt

Boil for 15 minutes

And then boil for 15 minutes

And then boil for 15 minutes

And then scrub down the kitchen for an hour to get rid of all the salt spray.




Seriously though, this method has been 100% effective at curing mold on wood items in my crab tanks. I stick it in the sun to fully dry before putting it back in, and with the big pot I've been able to fully soak anything I need to, though sometimes in stages!

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My ancestors watching me leave everything to my pets.










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JoeHermits wrote:My ancestors watching me leave everything to my pets.










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Yes, exactly! LOL

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I just quickly bought some Morton kosher salt but it says it has yellow prussiate of soda as an anti caking agent. I thought kosher wouldn’t have anything added. Is it ok to use for boiling wood? I also have some sea salt but I thought it might have other stuff in it hence the reason I bought kosher.

Does that also work to kill insects/eggs? I'd rather boil than bake and my freezer is full...

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VickieG wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:58 am

Does that also work to kill insects/eggs? I'd rather boil than bake and my freezer is full...

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Yes! And it's often better than freezing if you live anyplace where it also freezes in winter - bugs have ways of surviving cold temps.

Very nice.

What is that wood your boiling? I rather like the random twists and turns

CombatMist wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:57 am

Very nice.

What is that wood your boiling? I rather like the random twists and turns

Jungle Vine from Galapagos brand! Love it so much.

wodesorel wrote:Get grandma's stock pot. Say a little prayer of appology to her, and then swear your husband to secrecy to never ever tell your mother what you're doing with the inhereted cookware.

Add 2 gallons of water

Add 2 pounds of kosher salt

Boil for 15 minutes

And then boil for 15 minutes

And then boil for 15 minutes

And then scrub down the kitchen for an hour to get rid of all the salt spray.




Seriously though, this method has been 100% effective at curing mold on wood items in my crab tanks. I stick it in the sun to fully dry before putting it back in, and with the big pot I've been able to fully soak anything I need to, though sometimes in stages!

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I tried this method with a moldy chonk of driftwood (I forget which type exactly) and after a couple minutes the water turned a dark brownish-red. What does that say about the wood?


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That it has a lot of tannins, and it is a normal thing to have happen! When I boil mopani it stains the pot enough that I have to polish it clean afterwards.

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Mobani, that's what it's called! Good to know, thank you


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Any alternatives with less salt?

Salt is used because it’s effective while being crab-safe. I don’t know of a good alternative. I’ve had luck using half the salt Wode uses (and I usually just soak my wood without boiling) but her method makes for better mold-proofing


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I have wood pieces I've treated 8 years ago that I've never had to touch again by doing this. I've also salvaged items that were covered in mold by scrubbing with hydrogen peroxide to remove the heaviest growth and then boiling this way. Previous attempts that used less salt or the soaking method and weren't as successful in my tanks and required retreating, but I've always had issues here with mold growth so I tend to just go nuclear from the start to save on time and money, though a 3lb box of food grade salt is around $3.

Yeah, I’ve never had issues with mold (at least not on wood) so I’ve never felt the need to go nuclear


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