Fogger vs humidifier

[staticfurball]

I rummaged through my basement and found 2 extra tanks and plan on upgrading my little crabitat into either a 30g or 60g. Not sure which ye since I only have 3 crabs I think the 60g might be a little much. Either way I would like to find better way of providing humidity that the spray bottle I use. I've read that people use Foggers or adapted humidifiers.
I'd like to know some of the comparisons ans some opinions of what works for your crabitats please. I haven't decided on the layout yet but am looking at some great DIY options and would like to know which humidity option to go with so I can work it into the design.

[megmaholm]

I've been running a humidifier in my 55 gallon tank since around September. I went with the Crane drop humidifier (about $40 on Amazon) and run a hose from it to the tank, through a cut out corner of the screen lid. When I set up my 40 gallon, I got a 2nd humidifier and did the same thing. Both tanks easily stay at 80% and I only need to refill the humidifiers about once a week.

However, if you go with a fogger or humidifier, I strongly suggest using a false bottom. I run my humidifiers 24/7 and recently had quite a bit of excess water built up at the bottom of the 55. Without the false bottom, it would have been more serious.

[staticfurball]

I'm not familiar with false bottom in a crabitat, how do you go about making one?

[megmaholm]

Whoops, sorry for not linking info on it! I meant to and was on my phone. http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile ... -Vivarium/ That article has pretty good instructions. It can be a pain to make, but it's definitely worth it in the long run. Of course, it's optional, and not everyone uses one in their tanks. It's still a relatively new concept for crabbers.

Basically, you take small sections of PVC pipe and cut small notches in the bottom of them to let the water through. Set them across the bottom of the tank, and then on top of that a piece of eggcrate covered with landscape fabric. Leave a corner cut to wedge another piece of PVC pipe that's long enough to be above your substrate level - that's your access point to stick a hose to siphon excess water out. That way, in the event of a flood, all your water collects in that area created by the false bottom instead of saturating your substrate.

[staticfurball]

ok great thanks. I s it recommended to have a false bottom with either fogger or humidifier? Do they both have water accumulation issues?

[megmaholm]

Any time you have a fogger/humidifier running I think a false bottom is a good idea. They're pumping mist in pretty much 24/7, and the moisture has to go somewhere. For me it isn't normally a huge concern since I run heat bulbs and that helps evaporate, but like I said I did have an excess amount of water a couple months ago when the house was much drier and I had to crank the humidifier more.

[staticfurball]

Ok thank you I'm gonna purchase a humidifier and get the stuff i need to make a background and sub floor before I start setting up mu 30g........I think the 60g is too much of a leap for 3 little crabs. I think I'll tackle the 30g for now and upgrade in a few years if I get more crabs. not sure how many can fit well into a 30g anyhow.
I'd like to get it right in the smaller tank before I tackle a larger one.

[megmaholm]

I completely understand! There's no need to go straight to a 60 gallon if you don't want to. A 30 gallon is a good size, and you could easily keep 5 smaller crabs in there until they get bigger.

[staticfurball]

Oh good I've only got 3 but in time when the new tank is set up 5 seems like a good amount. my first crab was a rescue and I've only ever taken in reptiles before. I have become ral fond of these little guys and would love to have more. It's their cute little beady eyes ..........

[megmaholm]

They're like potato chips, you can't have just one. I started crabbing last July, and I'm up to 23 crabs and 2 tanks, so believe me, I know how addictive they are. My husband can't understand how I find them cute, but you're right, their eyes are adorable!

[staticfurball]

Honestly I'm sure my family think I'm bonkers, I always seem to be talking about them or peering into the tank to see whats going on, where they are hiding etc. I started keeping scampi tails and shrimp hidden in the freezer for them and wont let my husband cook them for supper lol I'm sure I'll end up with more....it seems inevitable.

[moonbeam]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I got a fogger in December and I LOVE it. There are people who have had problems with them. If you do get one I recommend using distiller water. I haven't had a single issue with mine and I know ryry loves hers too. She got hers about the same time I did.


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[CallaLily]

I picked up this humidifier on sale for one of my crabitats and I love it. The plan is to pick up another for my other tank. I pipe it in with some extra tubing my husband had laying around from his pond and I run it on a timer. It comes on 5x a day for 30 minutes each time. You can also adjust the setting on the humidifier lower or higher. The higher settings put out a nice looking fog. Mine is set in the middle (though still puts out a little fog) because, though high looked really cool, I noticed some dripping down in the false bottom. Not a lot of water but the humidity was also sky high so I figured it didn't hurt to lower the setting some. Humidity has been perfect. I've never used the reptile foggers so I can't compare the humidifier to them but I am very happy with my results.

Edit: Just wanted to add that the top nozzle on this humidifier pops right off but the tubing my husband gave me fits perfectly down inside where that nozzle was so it worked out well for me.

[staticfurball]

From what I am gathering people seem to be happy with either option so I guess I'll just to a price comparison for a fogger and a humidifier & the tubing and other stuff to modify it. They are both basically the same once u modify the humidifier right? I also realized the for the 3og I have to get a new lid because tho old one I have is a cheap metal screen for when I had mice i n there for the pythons. I don't think that will do so my costs are adding up because I also want to make a nice background like i saw in some of the DIY projects in the forum.

[moonbeam]

From what I am gathering people seem to be happy with either option so I guess I'll just to a price comparison for a fogger and a humidifier & the tubing and other stuff to modify it. They are both basically the same once u modify the humidifier right? I also realized the for the 3og I have to get a new lid because tho old one I have is a cheap metal screen for when I had mice i n there for the pythons. I don't think that will do so my costs are adding up because I also want to make a nice background like i saw in some of the DIY projects in the forum.

I don't have a humidifier so I'm not 100% sure but yes I believe humidifiers and foggers are essentially the same once the humidifier is modified for a tank. I chose the fogger bc there was no modification required. I was nervous I'd ruin the humidifier somehow if I went that route but I think that was just in my head. Good luck either way!

And yeah... Welcome to the world of crabs. We enthusiasts tend to spend a lot of money in the name of happier crabs... Or just bc we can't stop ourselves


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