New Crabber: How to prepare tank!!?

[kieagcarm]

Thank you all so much you are so helpful!

How much do bubblers go for and where would I purchase one? Any recommendations?
Also, awesome to hear that about Joann's! There is one only about 10min from my apartment, I will be sure to drop by later this week to see if they have turbos.
I bought some assorted shells from Michaels that contain turbos, and similar shells, but for about 7 bucks a bag, there are only about 3-5 usable (and they aren't all turbos). So if Joann has sets of just turbos, that would save me money!
I plan to buy all future shells online for my little guys.

I'm planning on setting up the cage on the 22nd before I leave on vacation, I will get back on the 27th and grab the cuties then.

Right now I have the petco hygrometer going through the salt test, but I don't know if my test worked as the humidity didn't change from 40% and I have seen it different on humid-er days.

Just a note on the joann shells, there are also assume triangular shaped shells in with the turbo shells that the crabs don't really care for, but are beautiful and some white clam shells. I got 35, about, usable turbos though. I order a lot from Richard's seashells and etsy and ebay. It's worth it at Joanns, I make mistakes on measurements when I order online though!

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[kieagcarm]

Thank you all so much you are so helpful!

How much do bubblers go for and where would I purchase one? Any recommendations?
Also, awesome to hear that about Joann's! There is one only about 10min from my apartment, I will be sure to drop by later this week to see if they have turbos.
I bought some assorted shells from Michaels that contain turbos, and similar shells, but for about 7 bucks a bag, there are only about 3-5 usable (and they aren't all turbos). So if Joann has sets of just turbos, that would save me money!
I plan to buy all future shells online for my little guys.

I'm planning on setting up the cage on the 22nd before I leave on vacation, I will get back on the 27th and grab the cuties then.

Right now I have the petco hygrometer going through the salt test, but I don't know if my test worked as the humidity didn't change from 40% and I have seen it different on humid-er days.

For the bubbler, I just added one to each pool about two weeks ago, I ordered a small pump of ebay, is quiet and powerful, for less than ten bucks. It came with the tubing and airstones as well

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[Kellie]

Thank you for the help!
I got a bubbler on amazon, stones, tubing, etc for about 15 bucks. The stones are quite large though I hope they aren't too big. I can maybe put them in sideways I'll figure it out!

And 35 is still a great number, at michaels I got like 2 turbos per 12 shell bags. Will be nice to return those and get a better use of my money.



Also hygrometer update;
after 20+ hours of testing, the meter reads 65%. /: Off by 10% or maybe I didn't do the test correctly? I kept the meter still in it's cardboard/plastic packaging, which very well might be my issue. Either way I ordered a digital.
Kept in packaging in case of return, but maybe it's worth opening and testing without packaging. It can't hurt to have an extra thermometer and hygrometer in the cage.

[Kermie16]

Thank you for the help!
I got a bubbler on amazon, stones, tubing, etc for about 15 bucks. The stones are quite large though I hope they aren't too big. I can maybe put them in sideways I'll figure it out!

And 35 is still a great number, at michaels I got like 2 turbos per 12 shell bags. Will be nice to return those and get a better use of my money.



Also hygrometer update;
after 20+ hours of testing, the meter reads 65%. /: Off by 10% or maybe I didn't do the test correctly? I kept the meter still in it's cardboard/plastic packaging, which very well might be my issue. Either way I ordered a digital.
Kept in packaging in case of return, but maybe it's worth opening and testing without packaging. It can't hurt to have an extra thermometer and hygrometer in the cage.

Many of us have more than one thermometer/hygrometer in the tank:) But, I do think it is more inaccurate because it was still in its packaging.


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[Kellie]

Thank you!
I took it out of packaging then tried test again. It said 80% so I guess it's off by 5%+.
I'm now testing my digital one.
Weirdly, both digital and analog read temperature in my room as 75-77 degrees. Which seems high as my ac is set to 70 about (it's one of the ones you just push a long a number line so I can't say for sure, but it's not past 70!).
How would you test temperature?

Also, this is my rough setup, obviously without all the substrate and water:

Where would I place the digital hygro/thermo probe in this setup, and where on the back would I place the heater?
Right now I have a Nature's Heat one, rather small, would only cover half the top of one side or the other.
Maybe I'll purchase a Fluker's if it's no good, so I can insulate. We'll see.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again guys.

[PinchersAndShells]

Just place the UTH on the back where there it isn't covered by sand. You want to heat the air,

[Kermie16]

Looks like ur one ur way to a good crabitat The UTH would go on the back wall of the tank. Assuming you will have about at least 6 inches of substrate in the tank, then aim to have ur UTH above substrate level. 1 inch below sub level would be ok too but will really dry out your top layer of sub. Never put the UTH below sub layer as this will overheat the crabs. Basically u want to heat the air, not the sub:) . For ur hygrometer/thermometer, ideally best place to put it would be center of tank at hermit crab level. Sorry I don't recall what kind of tank topper you have for your tank. In my 20 g I had a glass hinged versatop and no way really to hang my hygrometer/thermometer in the center of the tat, so I used a power grip suction cup and placed it in the front wall of the tat and tied my probe there at hermie level. They really enjoyed climbing all over that! Lol


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[Kellie]

Thank you! I ordered a Fluker's 6x11 so it should fit right above my substrate! Also I have a wire top, and I'm going to cut it a bit to fit the air pump tubing so I can probably insert the theromstat there, then tie it in the middle of the tank so it hangs right down to just above substrate.
The crabs won't mess with it?


Also big questions;

How do I bake/clean wood? I have cork and driftwood to deal with.
I'm assuming all my plastic stuff I wash off with DI water before adding to tank.
Also for shells, do I bring them to a boil or place them in water after boiling?

Also, for water conditioner, my conditioner says 5mL for 10 gallons!! (Aqueon).
I'm never going to just keep 10g around!
For 1g it would be 0.5mL, but the syringe I have goes to 1mL lowest. Is it ok to go over?
Also is it fine to prepare 1g of salt and 1g of DI water and then keep it in the fridge so it doesn't get gross?
If not, how do I know how much conditioner to put into a teensy bottle? 5ml is so small already and thats 10g, it's gotta be like a eighth a drop per typical water bottle. That seems insane.
How do you guys do water conditioner!?

[Rawrgeous]

You only have to bake wood if you are afraid of pests. But if you do, just do it on low heat for awhile(200ish degrees.) You can soak them in salt water and then let them dry if you would like to take a precaution against mold. As for shells, I personally bring my shells to a boil, and then remove them. As far as the conditioner goes I would just eyeball to a tiny bit over half on the 1 ml. The conditioners are rated to be used several times the recommended strength for safety. Preparing your water ahead of time is totally fine- I do that as it saves some time. Honestly if I was making a small batch like 2 cups or so I would just use a couple drops and call it good.

[Kermie16]

Ditto what Rawrgeous said:) For the wood I have, I soak it a little in MSW, then bake on 250 deg for about 60-90 mins depending on size. For the shells, I rinse in sink then bring to boil and lay out to dry or if I need them asap, I dip them in dechlorinated water, give them a shake and put them back in the tank. And for the water - I keep a gallon of dechlorinated water and a gallon of MSW in my closet. As Rawrgeous said, a little over the 0.5ml of the Aqueon should be fine. The way I figure, it's better to have a little more than too little You're doing a fab job, Kellie! Keep up the good work!!


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[GotButterflies]

Something I have been doing with my shells lately is boiling them in dechlorinated freshwater, and then rinsing them in dechlorinated marine saltwater before drying them. I used to just boil in msw, but that destroys the beauty of the shell. Someone here suggested the dip after I purchased a few new ones.


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[Kermie16]

Hmmm- I may try the dip in MSW
Too with mine this weekend and
See if anyone is encouraged to change shells:)


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[Kellie]

Thank you guys! I feel pretty confident now.
I was wondering for holding my water, is it ok to just be in the spring water gallon bottles that come from CVS or any store really? Or does it have to be BPS free?

I was thinking I'd just get spring water, use it to clean things, then fill the container back up with tap and condition it.
Is that ok? I'd then store in fridge until needed.

[Kermie16]

I just keep any gallon jug filled with dechlorinated water and 1 with MSW at all times in my closet. When I clean the glass of the tank, I keep a spray bottle of half dechlorinated water and half white vinegar under my sink - I use it to help clean my kitchen sink so it's handy in other ways!


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[Kellie]

Thank you all! I'm so excited the day is coming so soon!

Also I'm getting these crabs from an aquarium store, they are in a wire cage so idk how their humidity is.
The temperature is probably decent though.
Do I have to ease them into the correct humidity so no pps? I don't want to stress kill them!