Heating Tank

[Chipepper]

Okay, so how would I heat a tank if I have a glass lid? Should I put the light fixture on a stand a few inches above the glass lid? Does the heat in the tank come from the bulb or the light itself? Or if I got a screen lid, how should I keep the humidity stable?

[YYWW]

Glass tank w heat lamp: somehow clamp or mount the lamp to point at aside of the tank. The lamp should be far enough away so the glass doesnt overheat, which can lead to cracking or damage to crabs.
If you have a tall stand, you could point the lamp downward at a glass lid, but you might run into issues with moisture vs a hot glass lid.
The light from a heat lamp is the result and presence of heat/power within the bulb. You should consider the two to be the same. The bulb and light form a column of heat, where the bulb is hotter than the light, but the light reaches further.
Screen lid with heat lamp: you may put an oversized sheet of saranwrap over 80%-90% of a screen lid to trap moisture. A heat lamp might be able to melt saran wrap. Maybe the side pointing lamp is better suited for a mesh lid. If you still lose humidity it will help to spray regularly, being careful not to saturate or flood your sub.
Under Tank Heaters: UTHs are like electric blankets made for reptile enclosures. To use in a crabitat, you simply stick it to the back of your crabitat, above the line of substrate. UTHs must not be used underneath the tank, because the amount if sub being heated is not supported by their design and continued use is dangerous. Heating the space above substrate with a UTH will be just fine, and is a good, less hassle way to heat your tat without losing humidity.


Crabbers unite!!!

[AmazingText]

Hopefully there will be some winter. I'll keep my eyes open for a post. Sounds like fun.

[soilentgringa]

I use a screen lid, heat lamp, and a UTH taped to the side of my tank. I ordered two pieces of lexan (like plexiglass) from Amazon that were about 12×24 inches. I ordered 1/8th of an inch thick so that I could bore holes in it for the tubing for the bubblers. I place the lexan on top of the tank, where it fits snugly into place and I can slide either side open or closed easily because they just barely overlap in the middle. I set the screen lid over that and run the tube through the gap in the corner so it doesn't kink. This setup allows me to control humidity by sliding the lexan open or closed while the screen prevents crabs from escaping. I have a mini combo dome on a stand at one end with a day/night pair in it. Temperatures vary between 82-84 degrees and humidity 80-82% with minimal effort. I tried the saran wrap and it was okay until the lexan arrived but I had trouble keeping a decent humidty without wet towels. The bubbler in conjunction with the lexan have really made all the difference. The UTH I have is an ultratherm from the Bean Farm and has been fantastic because I never have to worry about it getting too hot.

[soilentgringa]

In the bottom photo you can't see the lamp stand to the left of the tank but it's there. The UTH is taped to the back of the tat with electrical tape and I tried to show how the lexan fits down into the top of the tank and how they sit where they can slide open and closed.