3x5x4 Custom Plywood Tank

[NeatHedgehog]

So, I went slightly off my rocker at some point since I got a few crabs a couple years ago. I built a custom 3'x5'x4' tank out of 3/4" birch plywood, 1/2" double pane glass, and a couple gallons of Pond Shield. Substrate is 12" to 16".

Couple of finished shots here, and then the full build log is here, complete with all the mistakes I made, and updated with a few statuses of how things have shaken out since I set it up.

[Raidz97]

WOW!!! This has to be one of the most jaw dropping builds i've seen in my time in this forum. I love how every picture had explanation and showed the thought process you had at that time. Your crabbies most be thinking "huh, guess they really love us!" lol . How is The tank holding up at this time any noticable problems since the last update. I also think I Saw a straw, how many crabbies you keeping i that wonderful ecosystem? Have you had success with zoea?

Edit: just now Saw the camera(??) You have any timelapse of The tank. I know we would love some raw crabbie footage!

[aussieJJDude]

Wow, honestly looks amazing. In the SW pool, have you stocked it with live rock or sand? (Otherwise the protein skimmer will be pointless...) And you may of mentioned it, but what do you have as media for both 'sumps'? Did you really cheap it out with scrubbies or lava rock, or decide in some 'quality' bio media?

[NeatHedgehog]

How is The tank holding up at this time any noticable problems since the last update. I also think I Saw a straw, how many crabbies you keeping i that wonderful ecosystem?

Yeah, couple of goofs on the doors, actually. I should have realized since there was a lot of end-grain material I needed to go extra heavy on the Pond Shield. I had some moisture issues in the plywood trim pieces holding the glass in as a result which I had to seal with silicone. It seems to be taken care of. Fortunately that's just the doors, so if I have to replace them at some point it's not a big deal.

Well... It's a hundred bucks if I have to buy new glass in the doors, too, but from a labor standpoint it's not a big deal since it's not actually anything to do with the body of the main tank.

I also goofed a tiny spot in the silicone bead on the viewing window in the body of the tank which would have been much worse to let fester, but I caught it and sealed it all up good.

Long story short, always triple-check your seals.

Currently eight crabbies, two of which came from my original batch of four from two years ago (the other two sadly did not survive my learning curve). Four clypeatus / PP, four perlatus / straws. They all seem to get along ok, no shell fights, no bullying; they hang out in the moss pits together during the day and climb over each other at night like one big crabby family.

Wow, honestly looks amazing. In the SW pool, have you stocked it with live rock or sand? (Otherwise the protein skimmer will be pointless...) And you may of mentioned it, but what do you have as media for both 'sumps'? Did you really cheap it out with scrubbies or lava rock, or decide in some 'quality' bio media?

Yeah, using sand and a bit of live rock in the SW. I may not have pictures of the tank after I set that up and got the water in it, come to think of it. The cycle seems good, so I'm trying out some macroalgae in it this week.

The freshwater I just have a chunk of lava rock in, because I'm less concerned with it for the time being (aside from keeping ammonia and nitrites down, of course) since it's less critical. I had a pretty good diatom boom and die-off in it not too long after setup. It has cleared up and seems pretty steady right now.

[C_fiesta]

AWESOME! I see a few things sprouted in the second picture, what is that?

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[NeatHedgehog]

AWESOME! I see a few things sprouted in the second picture, what is that?

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Chia and probably some millet. I toss in chia seeds, and sometimes a stalk of spray millet for them to ravage now and then, and any seeds they don't eat will sprout.

Eventually the crabs tear apart whatever grows so it never lasts long, then isopods handle the cleanup of dead plant matter.

[daws409]

Amazing!! You've done a beautiful job! You've got almost 450 gallons

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[GotButterflies]

Wow - what an amazingly detailed thread! Beautiful tank! Spoiled & lucky hermits! Can't wait to see more pictures!! Thanks for sharing!