HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Current status:
Terranium - complete
Saltwater - hardware complete, need to get macroalgae
Freshwater - Completed! just need to do maintenance to ensure the hairgrass carpets.

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About the Pinchy Palace Journal:

This thread is about the crabitat upgrades of my hermit crabs. The current 50 gal is as posted below, and this thread is currently tracking the development of my new 90 gal. Hopefully, people following the thread will learn from my mistakes and hopefully will have less frustration when they plan to develop something from scratch like me, or looking to upgrade their current set-up. This thread is also for my sanity and to look back on where I was, where I am, and where I plan to be going.


Background:
Spring 2019, I embarked on a journey to develop a crabitat and adopt hermit crabs. I thought, 50 gal is much bigger than the 30 gal I had before for shrimp. 50 must be big enough. Little did I know, this is addicting. First 2 crabs, then suddenly 5, then I thought, I can't turn any crabs. Thus my journey did continue.



Progress:
- Setting a location -Sep 24, 2019
- PVC stand for in-tank tanks - Sep 24, 2019; Oct 14, 25, 2019
- Removing calcified deposits - Oct 10, 2019
- Re-sealing tank - Oct 10, 14, 16, 2019
- UTH and insulation - Oct 22, 28, 2019
- Pools - Oct 30; Nov 1, 2019
- Egg crate - Nov 1, 29, 2019
- Lights - Nov 3, 2019
- Bracing - Nov 4, 5, 23, 25, 2019
- Lid - Oct 30; Nov 4, 22; Dec 1, 2019

Compilation of Things I learned along the way:
- If you remove the black top rim, make sure you brace it!
- Reptile stores have cheap driftwood compared to your local fish store
- Tape doesn't stick to silicone. Make sure you scrap and clean it thoroughly.
- Suction cups WILL fail, it just depends on "when"
- Triple check anything you order, particularly if it's a custom sized anything, for example, dimensions and quantity of glass
- If you ever use clamps, check to make sure it will fit in the room you're using it in
- If you use silicone, use a caulking tube as opposed to squeeze tube. The squeeze tube can break at the seams, particularly when the nozzle is skinning over, meaning you need more force to get the stuff out. This made a huge mess for me, particularly as I got silicone on my hands, and my hands touched everywhere trying to position the glass in place. There was a LOT more scraping that I wanted.
- You have time when working with silicone. Don't rush, but don't take too much time.
- Tarp everything off when working with silicone. It made clean-up very easy.
- Scrap away from you, and keep your opposite hand out of the working area.
- It's much easier if you design everything on paper before you buy even one thing.
- And it's much easier to cut and attach everything egg-crate related before you put it into the tank.
- Use longer zip ties than you think you need. Your fingers will thank you. An additional inch on the tail makes a huge difference.

Materials list:

General
- Permatex Clear RTV Silicone Adhesive – Home Depot
- Mono window and door sealant, clear – Home Depot (Note: NOT the pro version)
- 4” scrapper – Home Depot
- API freshwater testing kit (note: this can be used for saltwater too, but ammonia is unreliable at 0 – 0.25 ppm)
- 2 pcs egg crate (2 ft x 4 ft) – Home Depot
- SunBlaster T5HO 48” (note: would get LED, but T5HO was all they had in stock) – local nursery (Terra Gardens)
- 4” zip ties – Dollar store (Oomomo)
- 8” zip ties – Walmart
- THG heat tape (4 ft long x 12” wide) – local reptile store (All Reptiles)
- 3-pack organizer – Dollar store (Dollarama)
- Digital thermometer and hygrometer – Home Depot / Amazon
- iPower temperature controller – Amazon
- Blue LED USB computer fan – pulled out from laptop cooler
- 4 ft long glass lid, divided into 4 pieces – local glass store (Ming Ming glass and mirror)
- Acrylic lid handles – local fish store (Angelfins)
- Shower door vinyl seal – Home Depot
- Clear corner guard – Home Depot
- Tamiya basic tool set (side cutters) – from my Gundam hobby set – Amazon
- Aquascaping tools – Amazon
- Crafting mesh – Michaels Art Store (Note: some stores discontinued the product. I stocked up when I first saw the clearance sticker)

Terranium
- 4.5 bags of King playsand (20 kg each) – Home Depot
- Terranium moss – local reptile store (Tails and scales)
- Dehydrated sphagnum moss – local reptile store (Northern Gecko)
- Bromeliad (1 died, 2 survived my kittens during quarantine) – local nursery (Terra Gardens)
- 2.5 bricks of EcoEarth – donated by ex-crabbers
- Medium sized hamster wheel – PetsMart
- Driftwood – local classified ads, branchy wood is from reptile store (All Reptiles)

Freshwater pool
- 5.5 gallon tank (16” x 8” x 10”) – Local fish store (Big Als)
- Flourite dark (3.5 lbs) – Local fish store (Big Als)
- Java moss – donated from fiancee
- Phoenix moss– Local fish store (Shrimp Fever)
- Rotala indica– Local fish store (Big Als)
- Dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis acicularis)
- Seachem Prime – Local fish store (Big Als)
- Seachem Flourish – Local fish store (Big Als)
- Seachem Excel – Local fish store (Big Als)
- Seachem Stability – Local fish store (Big Als)
- Ramshorn snail – donated from fiancée
- Corner sponge filter – Local fish store (Flourish Aquariums)
- Air line – Amazon
- Air pump, dual output – local fish store (Dragon Aquarium)

Saltwater pool
- 5.5 gallon tank (16” x 8” x 10”) – Local fish store (Big Als)
- CaribSea Ocean Direct 5 lbs– Local fish store (Big Als)
- 2pcs live rock– Local fish store (Big Als)
- OceanFree Surf Clear surface skimmer – Local fish store (Flourish Aquariums)
- Submersible pump (80 GPH) - Amazon


Beginning of the 90 gal.
I found a used 90gal on Kijiji, bought 2, 5.5 gal for pools, and a new stand as I couldnt find the others of that size. The 5.5 gal will sit flush against the two sides of the tank. The stand was just fabricated last week, so I finally have it in hand.

This room/den was originally a storage room. I made space for where the 50gal currently sits, after taking a few days to decide whether the right or left side was better. Little did I know, both sides will be taken.



If you've seen my other threads, yes, I have a 10 gal just in the middle. I'm still waiting on 2 to come up before they're moved to the 50 gal. They've been down since mid/end July. I can't wait to take it apart. I almost trip on the airline/wires every other day.

I'm off to buy another rubber mat before the tank is set in place this weekend!

Love it! Yes, they are addicting and no size tank is ever big enough. Lol

This is how I do things too! I always tell myself I’m going to take it slow, and before I know it I’m neck deep and loving it!

90 gallon is my dream set up right now. I’m working on learning how to filter and manage the water pools so I feel comfortable when we can upgrade.

Your set up looks amazing. I can’t wait to watch this journey unfold!


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I want to see more !

Welcome to the addicting world of crabbing! Can't wait to see the finished product!

I'm actually still figuring out where the stuff I displaced is going to go haha. I have a bit of a trip hazard outside the Pinchy Palace that I want to address first.

There's a bit more room to walk in now that I moved the ISO a bit more over. I want to move it under the 90 gal tank, so my currently empty 30 gal can slide under the 50. I laid down a heavy duty foam mat to assist with levelling before I put the tank on the stand, and to preserve the floor.
90 gal. That bag of sand was from a funny conversation a work where someone was retiring and asked what my motivation to work was. My reply: "Well, I have crabs now... they need sand for their house, food, water, things to climb...". I proceeded to get a donation of one opened bag of play sand after they commented that the stuff they need is like a kid. Which reminds me... I bought a jar of baby food that's been in my purse for a week. For the crabs. Not a baby like a regular person. I digress.



I'm debating whether to re-seal the tank. Currently, the top 2" leaks water, and there's a lot of yucky stuff under and on the seal. I scrubbed everywhere with vinegar already, so it will kill any mold issues. However, it aesthetically looks horrible. In addition, the top black rim can pop out anytime now, so it makes me seriously consider just removing it, scrape all the silicone out, and do a complete custom DIY lid on a now rimless that will present an opportunity to add a topper easily. This will be a lot of work that I don't know if it'll be worth it.





I picked up hornwort from a nearby lake that I was thinking will be good for plant culture. It was extremely green after the anchor dragged a bunch up. I got from rinsing - > bleach dip - > hydrogen peroxide dip - > visual inspection, and still saw a lot of algae growing. That ended up in the compost.

On another note, I picked up a sponge corner filter for the freshwater pool which will be protected by egg crate. Shrimps will be able to access it, but not crabs.



In consideration of the 5.5 gals, I want to place the pools on a stand so if pinches dig under, it wouldn't collapse under empty space. Not likely to happen, but I don't plan to do a tank rework in at least a few years, more than enough time for the pinches to dig a mile of tunnels. I drew up my dimensions, and sent it to a steel fabricator to quote. Regular steel was going to be a $75 each, which is super expensive for what it is. Went to a few home stores. All kitchen shelves I saw only supported 2 kg at max, and a stool was too lopsided. I'm against any metal or wood under the sand as I can't see the structural condition of it. I'm currently contemplating 1" pvc pipes with a ceramic tile on top. For a total of... $10. The case for using PVC and a tile is that there's a lot of sand still going to be under the tile and in between the pvc; the structure would not need to support 21 kg by itself.



As for the 50g, here's a picture of the bugger on the lid climbing along the seal. No idea where he's going, but he has a destination.

The bromelia had enough of no fertilizers and crabs climbing on it, tracking sand in. It's now fading, but it's been around for a good few months. I'll need to figure out good ferts from Aussie's guide.

Which reminds me: picked up 4 net pots from a local hydroponic store. They're made with lip, so just perfect to sit on a ring for the pots to be easily replaced as needed. Alternatively.. I could use them to grow Kale if my set up fails and I wallow in misery.

All sides minus the back was scraped with vinegar to remove any calcium deposits. I scraped it before outside and flushed with water to get the larger deposits a month ago. This time, it's to do the final touch and greater details. Yes, I need a ladder. It's too darn big to reach in.

Now that I'm ready to re-seal, the top goes off. Took the scraper along the edge to attack the Silicone. There's quite a lot of Silicone to deal with and remove.





One crab decides he's sneaky by hiding under a leaf while watching me deal with the new home.


It's a break for today. Bottom of the tank is all the silicone removed so far. A lot of stuff under the Silicone was easily scraped off. I'm glad Im doing this.

The back and bottom seal still needs to be removed. When the tank is ready, permatex RTV Silicone will be used.

Looking real good. Interested to see where it goes!

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Looking amazing! Please keep posting, it's going to be AWESOME when you are finished. It's good to feel in good company with the tank/crabitat addiction. I just got started a little more than a month ago and I already have a 10, 20 and 40 breeder, and If I had room that 40 would have been a 75. I love watching others in thier build progress and it is great to see goo ideas and how others set things up.

Resealing is taking much longer than expected, especially the bottom seal, which was much more intact than the sides. I decided to go rimless, which means a lot of scrapping to ensure the top 1" which was gunked up with silicone for the black rim, is secure.

Sealant will end up to be Mono door and window. Local hardware store didn't have GE. For anyone who wants to do this... The main thing is that the Silicone must be pure Silicone, and that no mold inhibitors are added. Meaning, the cheapest caulk is part silicone/part acrylic. The most expensive caulk has mold inhibitors. Your choices are now some basic silicone for doors/windows, and construction sealant,whichever you can get for cheap. As for the amount of Silicone you need, take the length, depth and width of the tank, convert to feet, and multiply by the width of the glass (in mm) . I personally will need (4ftx2 + 2ft x4 + 1.5 ftx2) x (8 mm) = 152 mL of sealant. One squeeze bottle is only 83 mL, where a caulking tube is 290mL. I opted for the tube as it's significantly less expe \nsive based on the quantity I need.



I purchased corner protectors, originally to add a ledge to hang crabby stuff from Xenocrab's DIYpost. This will end up being the top rim and inside surface to add a smooth sliding surface for the lid. The lid will slide long the corner protectors, and adhesive cabinet door protectors on 4 corners will act as the "guide". More to come closer to the end of the project for this.

For the pools, I bought a pvc pipe and connectors. Anyone else doing this, just make sure your connectors are not threaded.

This being the first time re-sealing, couple of things handy I wish I knew before I started
- it's okay to pick at the sealant. Don't try to scrape everything at one time.
- Using a utility knife does wonders. Use this to get St the sealant if scraping doesn't make it come off. Also super handy to finish the corners and inside edges
- 100% acetone. Nail polish remover professional grade is good to use as a finisher to remove the last of what you can't see.

One corner taped. I ended up re-finishing all the edges again because it didn't look clean enough. The bottom. Bag under the tank is all the edges minus a few pieces on the ground I haven't vaccumed yet.

Every side and corner is now vaccumed, taped and acetone,ready to go for sealing tomorrow. Or tonight if I feel like it.


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Before moving the tank back into place... The back heat tape and insulation needs to be installed.

A couple things:
- Check out your small local reptile store if you have one nearby. I ended up picking up some low pieces of wood, which would've been expensive at the small local fish store.
- Also, the reptile store gave me some snake skin for free!
- tape doesn't stick onto only Silicone, as I learned when trying to tape the heat tape to the top of the glass. This would've worked fine with the black plastic rim; going rimless, it's even more imports t than ever to ensure all old Silicone is removed, even from the top edge. I'm glad I didn't try to put the corner protectors on yet.

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A saw and 4 hrs later, first stand is made. Turns out that the stand was too high. But hey, better than too low.

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Two pools will be located on the same side. I did two separate stands just so I don't need to make a new one in case I was to destroy everything and re-scapem

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Insulation is finally on! Next up, back and side egg crate and to iron out the lid.

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