HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Xenocrab and I spent the weekend upgrading.....AGAIN! PetSmart had a deal we couldn't pass up. 65 gallon tank, stand, two glass lids, and light for $199 if you are a member of the rewards program.

We ordered two Ultratherms, 11x35 for the back and 11x17 on one side from Reptile Basics last weekend. We used Reflectix for the first time on the back. Piece of cake to install compared to the insulation board we previously used.

We used four 50 pound bags of Playsand mixed at an approximate 5:1 ratio of Eco Earth. It took approximately two gallons of dechlorinated salt water to get it to sandcastle consistency. That gave us about 12 inches of substrate.

We custom built the background from egg crate, crafting mesh, fake plants from Hobby Lobby, and cholla from The Cholla Queen. Xeno made the braided jute and hemp climbing ropes, decorated the hanging dome and flower pot. We are really happy with how it turned out. We are waiting for the temperature and humidity to balance out before adding the tenants. At least it will at look nice for a day or two!












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WOAH! Lookin' good! I want a tank like that! Lol! When I'm older I'm getting a room dedicated to my crabs.

Wow! It looks great! How do you keep the egg crate against the tank? Is it the substrate holding it down? Just wanted to know for when I upgrade how to do it. And you can buy the egg crate at Home Depot/Lowe's right? Thanks!

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Thanks, we love decorating tanks! I think they keep getting better and better each time!

To answer your questions. Yep! The weight of the substrate holds the bottom. We use Flukers bamboo tension rods to hold the top against the glass. We get our egg crate at Lowes. Everything is zip tied to the background before we put it into the tank. So far the crabs haven't figured out how to tear anything down...yet! Well they pick at and/or eat the cholla and sometimes they fall down.

Where did you get the ropes? They look so nice! I'm trying to find some that won't mold because of humidity...

Xenocrab made the ropes.

Congrats on the upgrade, i like the supports you did on the background with the tension rods. My crabs would love perching on them. Haha

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That giant teddy bear cholla on the left under the mosspit is an awesome piece! How much did that run y’all and what was the description on it?

Motörcrab wrote:Thanks, we love decorating tanks! I think they keep getting better and better each time!

To answer your questions. Yep! The weight of the substrate holds the bottom. We use Flukers bamboo tension rods to hold the top against the glass. We get our egg crate at Lowes. Everything is zip tied to the background before we put it into the tank. So far the crabs haven't figured out how to tear anything down...yet! Well they pick at and/or eat the cholla and sometimes they fall down.

Ok great, thank you! I found the rods on Amazon and put them in my cart for when I'm ready. You have so many great ideas. Hopefully your crabbies will give you at least a day before they mess everything up lol.

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aussieJJDude wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2020 10:23 pm

Congrats on the upgrade, i like the supports you did on the background with the tension rods. My crabs would love perching on them. Haha

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Thanks, we can't wait to add everyone to it! Our crabs love the tension rods! We wrap them with hemp or jute rope and they love to hang out on them, even the babies. They also make great places to attach ropes and other stuff too. The only downside is that the Flukers rods only stretch to 15". With this tank being 18" wide we had to make spacers so the rods would work.

Motörcrab wrote: Thanks, we can't wait to add everyone to it! Our crabs love the tension rods! We wrap them with hemp or jute rope and they love to hang out on them, even the babies. They also make great places to attach ropes and other stuff too. The only downside is that the Flukers rods only stretch to 15". With this tank being 18" wide we had to make spacers so the rods would work.

My crabbos wouldn't even use the rods, haha, just thw boxes on the background. I think they work well for the setup, just a shame that they dont make bigger models.

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Just amazing! You two just come out with the best setups, every time! Love it! I know I bought a ton of those rods on amazon when they were on sale and they won’t fit my 120, I have a few in my 55 that I need to re-wrap. I need to do the zip ties all the way across, like you guys did. I did one on each end and it came undone. Can you post some close ups of how you did the extensions?

When we wrap the tension rods we will use a big zip tie at the end to hold the rope tight. We will wrap it 3 or 4 times then add the zip tie. Then just wrap the center of the rod tight. You can even spin the rod to pull the rope tighter. When we are at the other end we use another large zip tie to hold it.

For wider tanks We make spacers on the back ground so the tension rods will reach. Depending on how wide your tank is you may be able to zip tie two tension rods together to make one longer!

We have been stocking up on the tension rods!

How are the crabs liking it? Did you put them in yet?

Motörcrab wrote:When we wrap the tension rods we will use a big zip tie at the end to hold the rope tight. We will wrap it 3 or 4 times then add the zip tie. Then just wrap the center of the rod tight. You can even spin the rod to pull the rope tighter. When we are at the other end we use another large zip tie to hold it.

For wider tanks We make spacers on the back ground so the tension rods will reach. Depending on how wide your tank is you may be able to zip tie two tension rods together to make one longer!

We have been stocking up on the tension rods!

My guys have been spinning them and undoing them! Lol! I’m going to have to try how you did it, thank you.