My Substrate Seems Very Saturated

[PinchersAndShells]

Good luck! I hope everything turns out okay.

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[anann]

What is the smell that indicates bacterial bloom like? My sand has gotten too wet recently and I am trying to decide whether I need to replace all my substrate or can just add dry stuff to it.

[LeeHasCrabs]

Good luck! I hope everything turns out okay.

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Thank you!


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[PinchersAndShells]

What is the smell that indicates bacterial bloom like? My sand has gotten too wet recently and I am trying to decide whether I need to replace all my substrate or can just add dry stuff to it.

Rotten egg or sulfur

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[anann]

Thank you. There is a slight smell but it doesn’t smell rotten (I like the smell actually) so I think it’s ok.

[hyelah1990]

Flooding is not something I would put off... I just found out about 8pm last night that my tank was flooded. I was up until 6am just getting all of my babies out. Luckily they were all alive, I did have two down molting though. It was bad, tunnels were collapsed and the bottom of my sub was like a sloppy mud pie!! I am still working on getting the tank back together.

[LeeHasCrabs]

I’m just not understanding why all of a sudden it’s flooding. It has actually gotten worse the last week and a half and I have already started to set up my other tank to move everyone out.

I have a bubbler in each water pool. My tank temp has been around 74° and humidity near 99 (too high?). Room temp has been 70°. I keep a plexiglas lid on top to contain the humidity. I’m thinking that may be keeping too much inside.

Anyone have any suggestions? I appreciate it!


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[Motörcrab]

Keep an eye on your bubblers. I think if the bubblers are set to high of a pressure they send tiny drops of water into the air and eventually around the pools onto the substrate. Over time I'm thinking that little bit of misting effect builds up and eventually floods the tank. Then if you add in a super high humidity I don't think that would allow any of that water to evaporate. If it does it will probably condense on the glass and eventually run down the walls or drip from the lid.

My purples could care less about the bubblers, I never seen them swim with or without bubblers. My strawberries won't go into the water without the movement. If your guys don't care either way you can probably do away with the bubblers for a while and see if that will cut back with your flooding issue.

What type of gauge do you have? We used to use small ZooMed dual digital gauges. If the humidity probe even got near a drop of water it would always read 99%. Pull your gauge out of the tank for a few hours and see if it drops. If it doesn't drop chances are your gauge is bad.

If you have anyone down you may not be able to do this. You can dig a hole all the way down to the bottom glass in one corner of your tank. Big enough to reach you hand into. The water should slowly seep into the hole. When the water pools in the hole you can mop it up with a towel, free of cleaning products of detergents, then wring it out into a bucket. Then repeat that process every 20-30 minutes. It won't get all the water out but will at least lower it in the tank.

[LeeHasCrabs]

Keep an eye on your bubblers. I think if the bubblers are set to high of a pressure they send tiny drops of water into the air and eventually around the pools onto the substrate. Over time I'm thinking that little bit of misting effect builds up and eventually floods the tank. Then if you add in a super high humidity I don't think that would allow any of that water to evaporate. If it does it will probably condense on the glass and eventually run down the walls or drip from the lid.

My purples could care less about the bubblers, I never seen them swim with or without bubblers. My strawberries won't go into the water without the movement. If your guys don't care either way you can probably do away with the bubblers for a while and see if that will cut back with your flooding issue.

What type of gauge do you have? We used to use small ZooMed dual digital gauges. If the humidity probe even got near a drop of water it would always read 99%. Pull your gauge out of the tank for a few hours and see if it drops. If it doesn't drop chances are your gauge is bad.

If you have anyone down you may not be able to do this. You can dig a hole all the way down to the bottom glass in one corner of your tank. Big enough to reach you hand into. The water should slowly seep into the hole. When the water pools in the hole you can mop it up with a towel, free of cleaning products of detergents, then wring it out into a bucket. Then repeat that process every 20-30 minutes. It won't get all the water out but will at least lower it in the tank.

Thanks!! I switched my full plexiglas lid for my glass one that has a gap between the edge and the tank to allow some more airflow. I’ll try turning off the bubblers as well. I keep them on low. My crabs usually never go in the pools unless they fall in so they may not care. And I’ll pull out my hygrometer tomorrow. I forget what brand it is.

Thanks for your help!!!!


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[wodesorel]

What is the smell that indicates bacterial bloom like? My sand has gotten too wet recently and I am trying to decide whether I need to replace all my substrate or can just add dry stuff to it.

I had one go full on mothballs! That was a new one for me.

[LeeHasCrabs]

the hygrometer/thermometer I have is this Aquarite. I calibrated before putting in. After taking the plexi out last night and putting a partial glass cover on, the humidity has dropped from 99 to 95. But the temp has also dropped from 74 to 68.


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[Motörcrab]

How many UTH's do you currently have on your tank? A towel or blanket on top of the lid may help hold some heat in. Perhaps adding some insulation to the side of the tank may help too.

It looks like your Acurite is near the front of the tank too. I found that moving my gauge to different areas of the 75 G will change the readings. The temperature can spike to the mid 90's near the UTH and drop to the mid-upper 70's in the front. The humidity will also vary too. Try moving your gauge around in the tank and note the readings in the different spots, Front, rear, and center of the tank. You can even check at substrate level, and higher near the top. Once you get several readings yous should be able to figure out what an "average" temperature is.

It always seems like when you get one thing figured out with a crabitat it throws something else out of wack.

[LeeHasCrabs]

How many UTH's do you currently have on your tank? A towel or blanket on top of the lid may help hold some heat in. Perhaps adding some insulation to the side of the tank may help too.

It looks like your Acurite is near the front of the tank too. I found that moving my gauge to different areas of the 75 G will change the readings. The temperature can spike to the mid 90's near the UTH and drop to the mid-upper 70's in the front. The humidity will also vary too. Try moving your gauge around in the tank and note the readings in the different spots, Front, rear, and center of the tank. You can even check at substrate level, and higher near the top. Once you get several readings yous should be able to figure out what an "average" temperature is.

It always seems like when you get one thing figured out with a crabitat it throws something else out of wack.

Oh for sure! It really does seem once you figure one thing out another problem pops up.

This is a 20 gallon tank and I have a Ultratherm going across about 90% of the backside and Reflectix covering the entire backside. I would imagine putting some on the sides would help with keeping the heat in. You can see the back in the photo.

Also, yes, I’ll try moving the Acurite around. Right now it’s facing outward against the left side of the tank as you can see in the photo.

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions!!




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[Motörcrab]

How did you make out with your tank?

[LeeHasCrabs]

How did you make out with your tank?

Funny you should ask. I moved my tank because I'm getting ready to setup my 55 and when I moved it I noticed my UTH on the back wasn't plugged in. So, during the coldest weeks this season, they didn't have their main source of heat coming in. I must have unplugged the wrong cord when I was messing around back there. I plugged it in last night and this morning my tank temp is up to 75 now.

Now, that doesn't necessarily solve the substrate saturation issue, but I bet it has a good amount to do with it. So, we'll see how it goes. But I'm planning to transfer them to the 55 this weekend or next.

Thanks for asking Motorcrab!