Water fountain

[LandFishh]

I'm filling up a new vivarium, and hoping to install a small fountain. I have many questions. Of course I want to avoid using expanding foam, so I figured I would put the water plus a small pump in the bottom right hand corner and have a log on top of it to fit into the corner. The log would be vertical and inside of it I would have my water flowing up. I hope I can fill the log with pebbles just so that no crabs get stuck. From the pipe going up I'd have it go back down into the pool on the outside. It will flow slow, so that I don't disturb any crabbies. I'm thinking of using a pump like these two:
https://www.amazon.com/BWGS-Elemental-H ... op?ie=UTF8
https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Repti- ... op?ie=UTF8
Are these good options? Will saltwater travel through unharmed? Should I put in a water fountain for both fw and sw (It would not be hard.)?

Thanks for any solutions or responses!

[Motörcrab]

Hmmmm. We were discussing making a fountain the other day. I had a filter with a pump similar to the one in the second link. I used that in my red eared slider tank. It seemed to do an ok job at keeping the water somewhat clean. Turtles are sloppy when it comes to eating and they poop a lot so their water still needed changed weekly.

I would think either of those pumps would work. The top one has an adjustable output so you can tweak if needed. I would only use it in the freshwater. I'm not sure how much the salt would damage the motor over time. The first one says it is corrosion-resistant, I still don't think I would use it in salt water though.

I would also enclose the motor in a craft mesh box to keep the crabs at a further distance from the actual pump.

With any pump you will also need to run the electrical cord out of the water and out of the tank. To hide that kind of stuff I found that plastic plants work well zip tied to air hoses. It's a bit more appealing to the eye.

Sorry i'm not more help. Those are a few of the things I would look at if I was trying what you are doing. I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction.

[LandFishh]

Ok, cool. I'm assuming a mesh box would be plastic... is there a place I could get one? I have a way for the wire to run out, since I don't have it yet I'm hoping that the cord will be long enough. What should I use for the bottom of the pool? Should I leave it without anything on it? Will the pump pick up sand?

[Motörcrab]

I would use crafting mesh to enclose the pump. Here is tutorial I did a month or two back about covering an Acurite gauge with craft mesh.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 9&t=118870

You could use the same basic guideline. You would just need to change the dimensions and add small holes for the hose and cable. The mesh is cheap at Michaels or Hobby Lobby, around $0.75 a sheet. The small zip ties will be around $3.00 for a pack of 50. I usually line my pools with the mesh too. I cut it to form a "U" shape in the pools. It's enough grip for the crabs to easily climb in and out of the water. It works awesome for exercise wheels too. More grip for crawling and you can make the make it wider than the wheel for a wider walking area too!

Some places even have a wide variety of colors of the mesh but usually you can find black or white.

I wouldn't add sand to the pools. The crabs will do that on their own! You will eventually need to change out the water because the crabs will drop food and poop in it making it gross.

[wodesorel]

Sand will destroy the pump. I used a waterfall and it lasted three months! Make sure if you want to try, to leave the pump accessable so you can clean it and even change it out if it breaks.

[LandFishh]

Thanks for the suggestions! Good to know. Ill be leaving the pool empty besides the mesh. I also ordered an extra pump for changing it out once and a while.