custom pool and dechlorinating water questions

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Mon May 11, 2015 8:27 pm

ok so first of all im pefer to make my hermit crabs' pools because anything decent is super expensive/not the right size/not deep enough/needs modofying anyway because it does not have a good way out or is slippery with nothing on the bottom good enough for them to sucefully walk on so that being said here is homemade pool mach 1 --> http://imgur.com/D4xThvY and http://imgur.com/E266qmHso what i liked about this container was it already had a natural slant but now having it in there i dont like how the sides are taller than the rest of it as u can see and i dont think my babies like it either. i glued the tree and some aqurium gravel to the bottom and with the canvas they have no problem getting in and out but i know this can be better and i have no filtration system so i have to change it alot and its getting rough doing it and im worried in the long run expensive. so i was looking through the archives and i found this picture on a journey through pools http://home.comcast.net/~JediM...ium/im ... ols.jpgand i wanted to use the idea the idea of having the canvas on all edges and some rocks weighing it down at the bottom. so i pretty much know what i want to do here are my questions i want to use this beta cube--> http://m.petco.com/product/118...CoreCat=OnSiteSearch first off, i would remove the white lid so there is a perfect opening, my concern is the 5.5 in. is deep since there is no slope. i know it needs to be deep enough they can fully submerge but there is no slope so that makes me nervous. yes i would use the canvas in a way it would create a little bit of a slope but im still unsure. i would glue another tree in there like the one i have already so they can climb and have a place to hide in there and i would add a vine and drape their wall net against it like the other one so they can climb all the way up but i just want to be reasured i really dont want them to drown. second im worried it doesnt have enough walking space on the bottom if you know what i mean. so like the one i have right now is a little longer, kinda like a rectangle so theres a little room to walk. but this is a cube and i dont want them to just get to the bottom and that be it wall to the left right back and front to room to walk a little. (by the way this concern is more for my bigger crabs, i could see the little ones having the time of their life) third, how would i filter this. it is a half gallon and i keep reading about how to filter gallon tubs and higher but i honestly dont have room for something bigger. at least not for a while until i upgrade the tank. i keep reading about air stones and im still not sure what those are and im just all sorts of confused about filteration and how to maake one what to do what would work for smaller than a gallon. how i would hide the wires...although i did read about using duck tape somewhere on here. but other than that ya im very very confused. i just dont want to be changing this thing every coulple days which is why im willing to invest in a filteration system of any kind. but i also cant afford anything top of the line you know?lastly aside from the pool i have a dechloriating water question i read no matter what t is it has to remove chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals. but i saw something about ammonia detoxifier and that confused me does it need that? also i read a thread on here about the great stress coat experiment and it made it seem like u can use that as a dechlorinator...or do u use it in addition to? but i also read stress coat was bad and im confused now about it. here is the one i have http://imgur.com/te1XlFI , http://imgur.com/wfsJm9a so i want to know if i can use that as a dechlorinator. i have not been dechlorinating my water because i use bottled water but then i read its not always dechlorinated its just bottled tap water unless it says the source it was bottled at and i looked at mine and saw i used 2 diffrent brands and one was ok but one was not it was filtered so i rather just start dechlorinating it all i rather they be healthy and not die because of my mistakes. so yes please adress all my questions if possible i know i had alot im sorry for the bother and long post but thank you for the help i really want to be the best mom for my hermit crabs. Those are all my question. <3

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue May 12, 2015 7:36 am

In regards to your dechlorinator question, yes the product must remove or neutralize chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals if it does not do all three then the product is a waste of money.I have personally tested using Stress Coat as my sole tap water conditioner and much like JMT found it had no negative effects on my hermitcrabs after two years it actually appeared to give them some benefits.The whole Stress Coat is bad because it will clog your hermitcrabs gills when they drink water conditioned with it is a falsehood that started as rumor and then became mainstream knowledge simply because it was wrongly promoted as truth or fact and it sadly is not.This is why JMT performed their experiment and then I wanted to be completely sure and as with any credible results they can be easily replicated over and over and were with my group so I have no problem with saying that Stress Coat is safe.The Aloe extract was the suspect ingredient but it has never been found to actually have any negative effects in fact it is loaded with tons of healthful benefits that the crabs can use.As for the ammonia neutralizers they are just an added benefit but are not completely necessary, the issue is that when chlorine is neutralized it actually breaks down into ammonia and one other ingredient so the idea is that the tap water conditioners should have this neutralizer in it to make the water completely ammonia free.You really don't need this because of the frequency at which the hermitcrabs drinking water is completely replaced the ammonia doesn't have enough time to build up to dangerous levels in just a couple of days, it literally takes about a week maybe a week and a half for the ammonia released by the tap water conditioner to combine with the ammonia that naturally finds its way into the water via the hermitcrabs feces and old food that gets drug in to build up to toxic levels.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:11 pm

OK so i went to petco today and read your post while I was there. And I found this http://imgur.com/SEoC4xuhttp://imgur.com/Np6dM10it does everything neutralize chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals, contains stress coat, and ammonion neutralizer! What do u think? I also posted a picture of the ingediants. I was not sure if any of it was dangerous .As for the pool stuff I figured alot out while I was there. Like not needing a filter system if I use the declorinator I just posted about but just needing to cycle the water so just using a pump. But I'm still worried about"my concern is the 5.5 in. is deep since there is no slope. i know it needs to be deep enough they can fully submerge but there is no slope so that makes me nervous. yes i would use the canvas in a way it would create a little bit of a slope but im still unsure. i would glue another tree in there like the one i have already so they can climb and have a place to hide in there and i would add a vine and drape their wall net against it like the other one so they can climb all the way up but i just want to be reasured i really dont want them to drown. second im worried it doesnt have enough walking space on the bottom if you know what i mean. so like the one i have right now is a little longer, kinda like a rectangle so theres a little room to walk. but this is a cube and i dont want them to just get to the bottom and that be it wall to the left right back and front to room to walk a little. (by the way this concern is more for my bigger crabs, i could see the little ones having the time of their life)" is the last concern even an issue or would it be ok for no walking room on the bottom as long as there is climbing stuff on every wall? And I was wondering if you thought this pump was ok. It has a filter but a really small onehttp://imgur.com/5CJeDIuhttp://imgur.com/UO4QAUS

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:36 pm

In regards to your water dish question as long as the crabs have an adequate way in and out of the dish/bowl/pool, having a slope is not crucial or critical.I have been using an old plastic half gallon ice cream tub which is about three inches deep and has steep sides so I added small smooth river stones to the bottom to form a gradient and a piece of coral to act as a ramp for easy escapes and I have not had any problem with any of my crabs having issues getting in or out in the last four years of using this tub.As for the ingredients in the tap water conditioner:Sodium Thiosulfate is used as one of the chlorine/chloramine neutralizers.Disodium EDTA is used as the heavy metal neutralizer because it has a natural tendency to bond the heavy metals together stripping them of their reactivity meaning they become inert and thereby safe.Sodium Carbonate is used as the other chlorine/chloramine neutralizer.Polyvinylpyrpllidones is the thickening agent which just increases the water viscosity making it easier for the water to stick to the gills and scales of injured fish, it however does not increase the water thickness enough to present any kind of harm to hermitcrabs.The ammonia neutralizer is actually part of both of the chlorine/chloramine neutralizers.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Tue May 12, 2015 2:52 pm

OK awsome! Thank you. I'm still in citrus plaza (the outdoors shopping center with petco here) I stopped buy the starbucks, and they have WiFi so i could post on here, so I'll walk back over and get that. Yay. And cool I feel better about using the cube thank you Again Sorry for so many questions.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue May 12, 2015 3:34 pm

Your very welcome for the help, its what I'm here for.