Terrarium / Aquarium: Crabs, Fish and Anole(s), oh my!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:04 am

Alright, it is officialy finished!
All pics will be posted as links, until the site's pic issues is addressed

To begin with: a 55 Gallon tank:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... edTank.jpg

Next, a 1' X 1' piece of plexiglass:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... CT0225.jpg

Crush some scallops, and glue them to the plexiglass, or you can use small shells as well:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... CT0231.jpg

Glue the plexiglass into the 55 gallon, leaving some room between the bottom of the plexiglass and the end of the aquarium, for a flat underwater surface. Wash some small rocks/pebles, and spread them on the bottom of the tank:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... CT0261.jpg

Set up your substrates. I used sand/EE:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... CT0263.jpg

Add any permament in-substrate hidies you may use. I use a burried mason jar, and a CD spindle cover with a hole cut out, and bury that:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... CT0264.jpg

Set up your second levels:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/N ... CT0265.jpg

Okay, so I have all the hard stuff done. I have to work in a couple hours, and my cafe is next to a hardware store, so I am going to get about 1 1/2' of 3/4" tubing to fit on my filter's intake, and run down to the water. Then I am going to look for some small shelvs or something to create a cascading waterfall affect. Then I have to run back to my old house and get my moss for my second level, then move my fake plants, cocohut, and log from my 20L to the new tank, and then make sure conditions are stable, then move my crabbies

I will update this once all that is finished, but I want this to be the official "done" post.

I already have my filter, but I had to modify the top of my tank to make it fit: There is a lip of plastic around my tank, so I had to snip off a small section for the filter to fit over the edge of the tank

Pics will come after I have the tubing and cascade parts set up

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:40 am

can't wait to see the finished product!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:56 am

It is looking great.

I am looking forward to seeing the final product.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:15 am

You are quite ambitious

I was curious as to how that piece of glass with the scallop shells was going to be used. (Is it glued to the sides of the tank?) Anyway, very cool

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:41 am

Yep, I glued it to the bottom and sides with 100% silicone. Did the job quite well. I had one small leak after the first application, so I had to patch that up, then wait another day for it to cure before I could water-test again, and it has no leaks

I just moved all my crabs to the 55, I figure they'll be fine while I work on the filter and waterfalls. Alvin (one of my largest crabs, a PP) and one of my un-named Es (my second smallest crab) went straight into the water! The E ran in, hit the back wall, then ran around the edge and back up. Alvin went in slowly, trying to figure out why there was a ton of water, and why he was walking on shells

Then he walked to the back wall, and tried "hugging" his reflection.. I wonder if they can see their reflection and think that it's another crab? lol..

Ooh, I just looked over, and Theodore (who is usually very quiet and shy) is under-water!

I'm so happy that I did this! They're already digging tunnels under logs/plants, and trying to find food, i think.. I will post later, I have to go to work

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:29 pm

That looks amazing!! I just walked by my 10 gal and thought.."How sad"

!!! Great job!!

**Is the water part going to be filtered or will you just do water changes???

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:41 pm

Can't wait to see it all together with the crabs in... don't make us wait to long.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:22 pm

Okay, well I'm trying to get my filter running.. It works.. great.. BUT I need it to work from the top of the tank, so I went and got a 2' tube, 5/8" wide. Fits the filter intake snuggly, perfect.. But the tube was kept rolled up, and it won't stay straight!?

So.. How do I straighten it?

Help? lol....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:49 pm

Alright.. Well I just got my tube straight enough to reach from the filter to the water.. But now I have another issue.. My filter's pump isn't strong enough to pull the water up

The water comes about 1/2 way up the tank, and then the pump starts to spaz..

Anyone up to donate me a 20, or even a 30 gallon filter?

If no one is in a cheritable mood, I'll have to make a run to PetCo tomorrow and get one, and see if they'll take this filter back.. *sigh* so.. close..

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:58 pm

I hope they take it back for you, did you try filling the body of the filter with water and then running it? My filter won't suck up the water from the fish tank unless the body is also filled, I don't know if that's to help keep the motor cool or if it's just weird. my first aquaclear got burned out when the power went off one day while I was at work, the motor burned out b/c the body of the filter wasn't filled with enough water so the water wouldn't suck up the tub properly.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:43 pm

yeah, I tried filling the reservoir with water, didn't help at all.. The water would move up the tube, then the motor would sputter and the water would fall back down. *sigh*

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:40 am

I have a wisper filter that came with my 20 long it was used for water turtles... All it says is Wisper internal filter...

But if it's sputtering I would think that your water isn't deep enough ... I had the smallest fluval filter (which was a submersable filter) on mine when I had a tank set up like yours and it worked great for a shallow pool of water... When I was about 19 I had a 29 g that I did what you did but it was for tree frogs... I used rocks in the bottom of the water side to make the water higher so it was more compatable with the filter but wouldn't make the water to deep for the frogs. So I put the filter so it was touching the bottom of the tank and then a few inches of rocks/large gravel and then put in the water.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:17 am

Well I guess I will just have to go with a subersable filter. I have aboiut 5" of water, with the tube from the water intake touching the bottom of the tank (keep in mind, this is a tube I put on, the filter itself is at the top of the tank)

However when I put the filter like 2" above the water, it has no problem moving the water.. *sigh*

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:38 am

maybe try putting the filter close to the water and the slowly moving it away to let it gradually suck up the water? If you want to go submersible, why not use one of those fluff filters that uses an air supply? They're cheap and they work well and they would make your pond into a bubble pool

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:23 am

I'm pretty sure that would push my RH over 100%:P It's been hovering around 95% above the water, and about 78% on the opposite side of the tank, with about 84% in the middle. And that is with the cover 1/2 off.. So I think humidity should never be an issue for me ever again