Adding a full brick of EE?

CrabbySquirrel · Post by **CrabbySquirrel** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:51 am

I posted before about adding substrate - and the consensus seemed to be that it's OK to add substrate, little by little, to the top of the tank, making sure not to pack it down or press it in any way. Just clarifying before I actually do it -- I was thinking of doing a whole brick of EE, sprinkled over the top (I have a 20g).....should be OK to do, right? I'm feeling like there's not enough in there now -- and since it's going to take LONGER to setup my 55 than I thought (based on the fact that we need to make a stand for it), then I figured I'd better rectify the situation in the 20......

If adding a whole bricks-worth at a time wouldn't be advisable, then what about breaking those things in half? They seem pretty compressed to me, and how would you split that?

thanks...

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:55 am

I'd add a whole brick, but I'd also mix 50/50 with sand. I just can't imagine sand castle consistency with no sand!

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CrabbySquirrel · Post by **CrabbySquirrel** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:03 am

Wow, YYWW - thanks for the quick response!

I've actually been using straight EE up until now with no problems, so that's what I might stick with -- but for the 55, I've got 4 bags of playsand in the back of the truck just waiting!

jarteta97 · Post by **jarteta97** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:50 pm

You actually don't need a 50/50 mix, it can be as low as a 5:1 coco fiber to sand mixture, as long as humidity is kept high. I've added a whole inch of substrate over molters before, and they've all come out healthy. You just have to make sure that you are as delicate as possible. Just make sure that the EE is fairly moist too.

Scarlz · Post by **Scarlz** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 11:29 am

I've added substrate with molters down before little by little. And had no problems. Just make sure you don't compress it down to where it will disturb any burrowed crabs. It is recommended to use a mix of EE and sand. It makes it the closest to their natural habitat. I actually use a 5:1 ratio of sand to EE. I've had way too many problems with strait EE.

Post by **wodesorel** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 1:25 pm

If you have straight EE already in the tank, I personally would go with more straight EE so that the substrate underneath can breathe. I've had too many issues using a denser packing substrate on top of a looser fluffier one. When you can mix it all up at once, using both together is a much better choice!

CrabbySquirrel · Post by **CrabbySquirrel** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:08 pm

Well, I did it! Yesterday, I hydrated a whole brick of EE with saltwater, and started sprinkling it everywhere - moving things as I went. Turns out 2 crabs were out when I was doing it (in the middle of the day - which is very unusual for them -- they were not happy with me when I was in there, moving stuff around! )....along the way I was also able to move things around, add some things back in that I had taken out, and it turned out really well. All 6 were out last night, enjoying the new substrate and stuff! That means no molters for now, too....

With my upgrade, I'm definitely going with sand/EE mix.....

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:41 pm

Sand/EE is the best. I'd do all sand if possible but the EE gives me peace of mind regarding food and poop underground

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jarteta97 · Post by **jarteta97** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 5:45 pm

I'm in the process of building my dream 90G right now, and I actually used an acrylic divider 10" tall. On the left I have a 1:5 ratio of eco to sand, and the other side I have just straight sand. It bought allows the crabs to choose which they prefer, and creates a very aesthetically pleasing look IMHO

HCA: Hermit Crab Association