Insight needed

[Kaitlyn L]

Hey HCA,
So were thinking of switching out the nightstand I have in my room at the moment for the crabs to an Aquarium stand or something of that nature to fit the new terrarium on. Then I am thinking to myself "wouldn't it just be better if I got an aquarium instead of a terrarium." The one I am looking at is 130 Zoo med Terrarium. I'm just looking for opinions, but doesn't it make logical sense just to switch?

[Rebecca C]

Hello Kaitlyn,

Aquariums and terrariums both work just fine; you can use whatever is cheaper or whichever you prefer having. Or was that not what you were asking?

[Kaitlyn L]

I'm just worried about the terrarium size fitting on the aquarium stand D;

[wodesorel]

Take good measurements and see if it will work. Most terrariums have an aquarium counterpart that matches.

The difference between the two is that terrariums have much thinner glass since they're traditionally used for pets that only need a dusting of substrate. They are not built to support large amounts of weight or pressure. That can be an issue if you need to put 100 pounds of wet substrate in them for hermit crabs. The Zoomed ones that open in the front are extremely limited in substrate depth unless you modify them, which is something else to consider. (A long piece of plexiglass to hold back a few more inches of substrate when the doors are open is generally all that is needed.)

[Kaitlyn L]

Cause you can get a nice cheap used in good shape 30 gallon aquarium on Kijiji for $50, so cheaper for the tank compared to others. I have an Exo terra right now, and I haven't had any issues with the substrate coming through, but I do everything through the top part of it rather then the doors. So, wouldn't it make more sense to do it that way rather then spend about 300 on a whole set up for the terrarium? As I'm already used to doing everything I need through the top c:

[wodesorel]

Depending on where you are, Petco runs a sale several times a year (I think there's one going on right now) where new aquariums cost only $1 per gallon. So $50 for a used 30 gallon - unless it came with a stand and hood - is really overpriced!

[Kaitlyn L]

I'm in Canada so no petco

[wodesorel]

Oof. Yeah... that kajiji deal is probably a good deal then.

[Kaitlyn L]

It's just the tank though, so I'd have to get a stand either way even if I go with a 30 gallon wide instead of tall terrarium. so i don't know a lot to think about, and I'd have to rearrange my room yet again, only reason I thought of it is because I could get a glass lid instead of mesh.

[Kaitlyn L]

so I finally figured out what I am going to do! I'm going to go with this and would you recommend for that size a 50-60 gal UTH instead of the 30-40 as it is 33gal. I'm going to ask for gift cards for Christmas to petsmart c:

[wodesorel]

Please keep in mind that a tall tank can't support as many hermits as a long tank since there's less molting area at the bottom. So even though it's a 33 gallon, it has a floor space of 18x18 inches and it will be able to house less crabs than a 20 long aquarium.

[Kaitlyn L]

I am not planning on getting anymore then I have at the moment anyways, at least not until I move out of my moms house, and I'm able to fit a 20 long tank somewhere c: I only have 3, and you know what for me that is more then enough! give them extra room to roam around and a few more feet then the one I have now, and though I would love to try and fit a long aquarium in my room it isn't going to happen. So, it's just gonna have to be held off a few more years which I am fine with!

This or This would be my ideal tank, but it would cost me about 500-600 to get everything as I'd probably need 2 UTH, a new strip light and a tank stand.

[Kaitlyn L]

Or I could get the 10 gal going long ways

[wodesorel]

Those terrarium kits are way overpriced, in my opinion. You can pick up a brand new 20 gallon for $20 at the sale, and a glass lid will be less than $15. The only benefit to paying three times as much for a terrarium is it's weight - they have extremely thin glass which makes them easier to lift and wash - this can be better when you have a reptile and need to clean it out weekly, and where normal cage decorations don't weight much so there's no strain on the glass. For hermit crabs, the weight of the substrate makes an aquarium, which is built to support the weight of water, a better choice.

[Kaitlyn L]

I've decided to put it off for a little while, and do research on what I want for it like a glass or mesh lid. As I don't want to go out on a whim like I did with the terrarium I have now granted I got it for 70$ with everything, but the amount of upgrades I've had to do to this "70 dollar kijiji find" is way more then it is worth. We'll measure my room, and figure out what would work best for a year or so as they seem to be doing okay now that the terrarium I got is more "hermie" friendly. I went out today and bought new one new light and put the 15W in my heat lamp as that seems to work better then the dang "hermit crab" day and night bulb I got. Also got an exoterra night glo 25W to keep it warm at night as it sits at about 75.9F -75.4F. As well, I'm going to make my own humidifier for them got all the supplies, so I'm hoping with these improvements the tank will last them at least another year or so.