Preparing for Deepclean and readying my tank for winter emergencies

breezeetew · Post by **breezeetew** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:42 am

Okay I haven't been posting often, but most long term members would remember my winter issues.In planning for my fairly annual deep clean, I am also readying my pets for winter's inevitable downfalls of the past.Step 1: decide on and mix the substrate choices- this year I am going to save about half of my used substrate and remove half because I believe in beneficial bacteria colonies. This is something I have done for a couple of years now and I have seen no bad effects. In theory, at least part of my substrate is at least 3 years old now and the crabs are still going strong, so why change what works.Substrate choice (again, it worked, so why change it) 50 pounds sand, 2 blocks hydrated EE and 3 pounds Aragonite sand mixed. One year I noticed that the water dishes occasionally dumping a gallon of water suddenly into the mix was causing puddles on the very bottom, so I put dry blocks of EE at either end of the tank under the water dishes to hydrate in case of flooding, and this is gradually added to the mix if and when it hydrates. The blocks do no damage other than to make me adjust the water dishes when they hydrate a bit because they grow upward and push on the dish.Step 2, check heatingMy nightglow 40w bulbs are still going strong- third year on one of them, so having replacements ready is a good idea. The UTH that I use for extra heat when necessary is checked and operational, all is good. Extra lamps are in place with 25 watt bulb in one end and a 60 watt daycycle full spectrum in the other for day cycle heating in the cold and dark winter. Heating for most days- check!Emergency heating- this is what I had to do in the 2 weeks a series of blizzards knocked out our electricity... Kerosene stove heater at the end of the tank- functional and extra fuel check!If you choose to use a fuel burning heater, definately check where your heater is in relation to your tank size and the heat produced, my tank is larger than most... Also, vent a window because you don't want to build CO2 and kill everyone!When I had to take my crabs to my brother's overnight, I threw in a few of the portable handwarmers that are air activated. I would never suggest these be used long term because they could be ripped into and eaten, but for an hour or so in my car, it worked. I think they would work short term in the house if taped outside of the tank for overnight use.3 Water Source/Humidity:My water heater holds a nice 55 gallons or so and can be tapped into if necessary, but other than that, a few gallon jugs under the tank cover most water needs for a week or two.Since I use an electric room cool mist humidifier (fogger style) modified to fog my tank on intervals, I have a few spray bottles stashed under the tank as well.I am feeling more prepared this winter than I was during the winter of my learning curve, but since all crabs survived (even the inevitable molter that had to be dug up and transported), I feel that it was a success and I can build on that.I know this is long, but since many of us live in places where the weather isn't a tropical paradise several months of the year, I just wanted to remind everyone that you can and maybe should prepare for the worst.

breezeetew · Post by **breezeetew** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:51 pm

quote:You place the karosene lamp in the tank? :S Oh no! Sorry if the wording was unclear.My kerosene heater is a room sized heater/stove.I put it on a table that is situated by the end of the tank, not inside. I use it to heat water and keep up humidity in the room as well, because that helps everyone in the winter when the humidifiers can't run plus hot water=hot chocolate and tea and coffee!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:52 pm

Those are some great ideas - I especially love the idea of putting a brick under the water bowls. Right now I'm having a problem with over saturation, so I'll try that! I live in Colorado, but I haven't had my hermies through a winter yet. I don't have a UTH (I've been keeping my room at hermie-temp), so I think I'll move my crabs next to the shower for the winter. It's the farthest possible away from the cold outdoors, and between me and my brother they'll have 2 "steams" a day

breezeetew · Post by **breezeetew** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:23 am

quote:I think I'll move my crabs next to the shower for the winter. It's the farthest possible away from the cold outdoors, and between me and my brother they'll have 2 "steams" a day Good plan to move them to a warmer room, but I am not sure how the shower would really help unless you totally remove the lid for the 'steaming'. Usually the tank would condense on the outside because the glass and interior of the tank would be cooler than the warm 'steamy' bathroom, but with a lid off, the humidity from the air would maybe be like a misting in the tank.I am not sure if the newer members are aware of this, but my tank is 130+ gallons, so it is six feet long by two feet deep by about 2 feet high. My tank size allows me to bury a full block of EE without worry of the crabs not having enough room to bury or tunnel. I would never suggest that someone with a smaller tank bury a block of EE. Maybe one or two of the small discs would work- the ones that look like a coaster would be more appropriate for most tanks if you choose to try that.Also, my humidifier/fogger pumps in up to a gallon of water a day through a cool mist humidifier- I would also never suggest this much humidity addition in most tanks, but my heating lights are inside mounted (also not recommended for a smaller tank) and tend to be drying.My suggestions are more for the preparedness for cooler weather than for general tank setup, but if you do have a huge tank with water dishes that hold a gallon of water, the buried blocks of EE are great. Do remember, though.... anything you put in the tank takes room from the crabs, make sure you have that room to spare!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:24 pm

Breezeetew can you tell me more about the fogger? I use an automatic mister, but I have to constantly turn it off and one because off oversaturation worries. I heard of people using foggers, but I really don't know much about them.Do you hang them in the tank? Are they on a timer? How much are they? I'd like to try one in my 55 gal.By the way I didn't even know they made 130 gal. tanks. I'm jealous!

breezeetew · Post by **breezeetew** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:43 pm

My 'fogger' is a room sized cool mist humidifier- the kind that shoots out a cloud into a room through a small spout. You can get them at most stores with a pharmacy section for $30 or close to it. I got one on sale for $15 once and Goodwill has them now and then as well.I modified it with high tech equipment- plastic drinking tumblers, packing tape and aquarium sealant! I basically re-routed the spout to point down into the tank through the back of the lid. The humidifier sits on top of the tank lid.My humidifier has 2 dial controls, one for mist density and one for timing of the mist output. I fidget with it a lot, but basically I run a very light mist on a variable timer depending on what my humidity levels do. And as to the 130 gallon tank, they make much larger than that! I got lucky in my brother's tank springing a leak and him not being able to get rid of it within his desired time frame, so I got my husband to buy it for my Christmas gift a couple of years ago for the crabs. Who needs a couch anyway!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:50 pm

quote:I modified it with high tech equipment I'm impressed, that's being resourceful and creative! Does the mister keep the substrate moist enough for digging or do you have to use something else?

breezeetew · Post by **breezeetew** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:03 pm

I am pretty hands off as a rule, the fogger does most of my hydrating and the crabs do the fluffing. After my deep clean, all I will do in the tank for the next year or so is refill food and water and keep an eye on the gauges. Now and then I gather the empty shells back to an area, or reset a hidey that got knocked over. But, my one big rule for my deepcleans is NORM (my largest jumbo) has to be up, and he just buried again, so it could be months before I go for the clean.

breezeetew · Post by **breezeetew** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:03 am

Okay thanks to Norm, I am still waiting for my clean.BUT... I was thinking.Anyone with a room humidifier might want to consider putting it near the crab tank if you can. My fogger started as a room humidifier and then was placed on top, because the mist was falling down anyway... then I modified it to stay year-round.Winter in the central US states brings very dry weather, so you can give a boost to humidity in your crab tank as well as your room by just moving your humidifier.