Much needed help :/

Pr3ttiluv1 · Post by **Pr3ttiluv1** » Tue May 05, 2015 12:36 pm

Hi I'm allie ..

A while ago I posted about set ups for my tank.. Now I need help maintaining temp and humidity..yesterday I received the temp and humidity gauge in the mail.. The readings was between 70-72F and humidity is between 49/50.. I have UTH and cover it with foil.. And covered the top with plastic and foil.. I mixed my sand with coco fiber.. I have miss put with shells inside.. No bubblers.. ( ten gallon tank).. What do I do????

Btw, there's no hermit crabs in there yet.. I wanted to be ready before I adopt them.

fantasybookworm · Post by **fantasybookworm** » Tue May 05, 2015 1:27 pm

I'm a really new owner too (I just got my little three from bad situations a week & a half ago) & had a lot of trouble with humidity at first. One question I've noticed the more experienced people asking in regards to heat - how big is your UTH? I've noticed a lot of people will also insulate it with styrofoam or something similar to help more heat go into the tank. I found out how well this works too! I finally ordered an UTH that is as long as my tank. I covered it with foil as well, but also put a piece of foamboard (like what you would buy at a craft store for a school poster or something) over it. That seemed to help a lot with having it heat my tank up well.

For humidity, your water dishes look like they would still be big enough for small airstones they sell at Petsmart. I found them when I was looking for some for my dishes. You could try getting two small airstones to put one in each bowl, and buy the smallest pump they sell to run them. It was all fairly cheap & after I covered my entire top with foil, thinking I would still need a humidifier, I discovered my two airstones keep my humidity more than high enough!

KellyCrabbieLove · Post by **KellyCrabbieLove** » Tue May 05, 2015 1:47 pm

First off you should calibrate your humidity gauge to be sure it is right. Here is the link to a sticky about humidity and how to do the calibration.

viewtopic.php?t=92544 after you are finished with that you will have a better idea of where you actually are. Let us know!

Pr3ttiluv1 · Post by **Pr3ttiluv1** » Tue May 05, 2015 4:25 pm

fantasybookworm wrote:I'm a really new owner too (I just got my little three from bad situations a week & a half ago) & had a lot of trouble with humidity at first. One question I've noticed the more experienced people asking in regards to heat - how big is your UTH? I've noticed a lot of people will also insulate it with styrofoam or something similar to help more heat go into the tank. I found out how well this works too! I finally ordered an UTH that is as long as my tank. I covered it with foil as well, but also put a piece of foamboard (like what you would buy at a craft store for a school poster or something) over it. That seemed to help a lot with having it heat my tank up well.

For humidity, your water dishes look like they would still be big enough for small airstones they sell at Petsmart. I found them when I was looking for some for my dishes. You could try getting two small airstones to put one in each bowl, and buy the smallest pump they sell to run them. It was all fairly cheap & after I covered my entire top with foil, thinking I would still need a humidifier, I discovered my two airstones keep my humidity more than high enough!

Thank you ! I looked at Petsmart and find a pump that's for 10 dollars ! As for air stones.. Any small air stones would work right ? I mean how does this pump system work ? Do I get tubes as well? My UTH is 6by11 .... It doesn't cover the entire back of my ten gallon.. (Which is why I'm also using the heat lamp)..I'll look for places for the foam.. Thank you

Pr3ttiluv1 · Post by **Pr3ttiluv1** » Tue May 05, 2015 4:25 pm

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:First off you should calibrate your humidity gauge to be sure it is right. Here is the link to a sticky about humidity and how to do the calibration. viewtopic.php?t=92544 after you are finished with that you will have a better idea of where you actually are. Let us know!

Thank you !! I will do that tonight

Crabinski · Post by **Crabinski** » Tue May 05, 2015 5:11 pm

Pr3ttiluv1 wrote:Thank you ! I looked at Petsmart and find a pump that's for 10 dollars ! As for air stones.. Any small air stones would work right ? I mean how does this pump system work ? Do I get tubes as well? My UTH is 6by11 .... It doesn't cover the entire back of my ten gallon.. (Which is why I'm also using the heat lamp)..I'll look for places for the foam.. Thank you

I bought a small pump, tubing and two small airstones at Walmart's Fish Department all for a total under $10.

KellyCrabbieLove · Post by **KellyCrabbieLove** » Tue May 05, 2015 5:47 pm

NeatHedgehog · Post by **NeatHedgehog** » Wed May 06, 2015 2:45 pm

One thing I'd point out about this setup. I would position the heat lamp and water dishes away from each other. When I used a heat lamp too close to my water dishes (directly above, about twelve inches above substrate level) it made the water much too warm and my crabs did not want to go in, although the temp of the substrate surrounding the dishes was not over 85 degrees.

When I moved the dishes away and the water returned to room temperature I found them much more willing to submerge themselves now and then.

If you don't have a thermometer, just dip your finger in it. If it's any warmer than tepid, I'd move the dish / lamp.

Pr3ttiluv1 · Post by **Pr3ttiluv1** » Wed May 06, 2015 8:13 pm

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:First off you should calibrate your humidity gauge to be sure it is right. Here is the link to a sticky about humidity and how to do the calibration. viewtopic.php?t=92544 after you are finished with that you will have a better idea of where you actually are. Let us know!

I calibrated my gauge today.. The humidity was 74.. One point off.. So I returned it back to the tank then it dropped to 49

but the temp went to 94! Should I try to bring it down ? I'm still struggling with humidity.. I haven't gone to walmart yet to get the pump.. I'll look around online.

Pr3ttiluv1 · Post by **Pr3ttiluv1** » Wed May 06, 2015 8:14 pm

NeatHedgehog wrote:One thing I'd point out about this setup. I would position the heat lamp and water dishes away from each other. When I used a heat lamp too close to my water dishes (directly above, about twelve inches above substrate level) it made the water much too warm and my crabs did not want to go in, although the temp of the substrate surrounding the dishes was not over 85 degrees.

When I moved the dishes away and the water returned to room temperature I found them much more willing to submerge themselves now and then.

If you don't have a thermometer, just dip your finger in it. If it's any warmer than tepid, I'd move the dish / lamp.

Okay thank I will move the lamp away from the water

KellyCrabbieLove · Post by **KellyCrabbieLove** » Wed May 06, 2015 8:27 pm

Higher the temp the lower the humidity and vice versa. I bought custom glass lids for mine and the humidity is always 85 or higher. They love the high humidity...I do not like the condensation on the glass lol they like to drink it! Weirdos. Lol

How large is your tank?

Pr3ttiluv1 · Post by **Pr3ttiluv1** » Wed May 06, 2015 9:54 pm

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:Higher the temp the lower the humidity and vice versa. I bought custom glass lids for mine and the humidity is always 85 or higher. They love the high humidity...I do not like the condensation on the glass lol they like to drink it! Weirdos. Lol

How large is your tank?

Where did you get the custom glass lid ? Do you cover the entire top ? If you do, how do you get air flow in ? My tank is a ten gallon

KellyCrabbieLove · Post by **KellyCrabbieLove** » Wed May 06, 2015 9:59 pm

http://www.dullesglassandmirror.com/store/csts2.asp They can "clip" a corner meaning there will be a diagonal cut leaving a small opening for air and hoses. It is pricey. Just be happy you don't have a 125 gal like me. I spent a fortune! Good news though, shipping is always free.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Much needed help :/

Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/

Re: Much needed help :/