29gal Crabitat Build Thread

[adeebm]

Ok lol, zillionth thread. So time to move my fiddlers and RCCs from the 10gal to this 29gal (who comes up with these sizes?).

Some things I want to improve from the previous tank:
1. Plexiglass divider between the land and water section. The sand got way too moist and kept sinking. Plus it led to like 150% humidity and mold.

2. I think I'm going to try gravel on the water side, because it will be easier to gravel vac

3. Just sand on the sand side, so they can burrow Couldn't find any PFS, so hopefully Quikrete All Purpose sand or Sakrete Play Sand will be better than the muddy playsand I got last time...

4. A couple of mangroves would look nice in there, since there's room now.

5. Going to try a second and maybe even third level with plexiglass. Why not make the most of the space, since it's not filled with water

I'd love to hear your suggestions and ideas! What do you think?

--Adeeb

 

[taylorodw]

I think, BRING ME THE CRAB PICTURES.

No really, I think more space + burrowing capacity + moar levels = crabitat improvements. Also, please dress one of them up as Santa Claws.

 

[adeebm]

Also, please dress one of them up as Santa Claws.

lol, I will if I can find a tiny santa hat Maybe I'll name the big one santa.

Cut and siliconed the bottom plexiglass divider and one of the levels yesterday. The hacksaw is my new favorite tool, cuts plexi so much better than those stupid knives. And aquarium silicone really stinks...

The second level so far is the same surface area as my existing tank lol. I think I'm going to to water, main level, second level, and two ledges. I need room to stick my hand in there for WCs and stuff

Can't decide between sand and gravel for the water area, what do you guys think? I went to petsmart and got a coconut hut and bamboo as well. The crabs seem to be enjoying it. I saw some of my new fiddlers out and about, they must be getting adjusted.

Pics of the tank so far coming soon...

--Adeeb

 

[JohnPaul]

Waiting for pics! I can't quite figure out how you are pulling off the multi-levels but it sounds fascinating.

 

[adeebm]

Waiting for pics! I can't quite figure out how you are pulling off the multi-levels but it sounds fascinating.

I just cut a plexiglass pane and glued with silicone. It should be able to hold a couple pounds at least, and if not, I can add pvc pipes as support. Pics below:

Going to add another level or two tonight, and start filling with sand tomorrow. Should be ready for crabbies by the end of the week!

--Adeeb

 

[neilanh]

Tagging along. Trying to find an interesting thing like this for my 5yo. Thinking about crabs or turtles or frogs or something.

 

[Etunes]

I hate you being able to do this first. Atleast i will see you do it first so i know how i can best you. lol. jk. Cant wait to see it.

neilanh: do some fiddlers or some vampire crabs. Because they are a good begginer crabs. You get more color with the vamps but if you go fiddler then when they get movement there is alot of it with the males because of the waving.

 

[yenner]

Charlie Daniels, my fiddler, died. You may use his name as it's the greatest name for a fiddler crab ever. LOL

Great build. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[adeebm]

The divider passed the water test(yay!). One last ledge to glue in tomorrow and it should be ready for filling. And one of my ghost shrimp molted today!

--Adeeb

 

[taylorodw]

I'm still having trouble understand exactly how the sand/water/tier thing will work in the tank... so I went ahead and drew how I imagined it



I imagined that the last piece of silicon would act as a sort of ramp. Anyway, just my thought

Please enlighten us!

 

[adeebm]

Well actually, I was just going to use driftwood to connect the main land to the tiers. They should be good enough climbers to get across. Your idea is intriguing though. Maybe I'll give that a shot. Not sure how I'd keep sand on the ramp though. Nice drawing lol, MS Paint?

--Adeeb

 

[taylorodw]

Of course not, see the transparent water, and the shadow underneath the bridge? That's Photoshop, totally professional

I thought about what you said, about keeping the sand on, and came up with this:



Although at this point, driftwood sounds easier

 

[yenner]

I think driftwood would add a nice touch to the tank. Help make it a little more natural if that's what you're going for. I def can't wait to see this thing finished.

 

[adeebm]

Phew, busy day. Well, it's done!(mostly) I'm sleepy right now, so I'll cut to the pictures Enjoy!

So far, none of the crabs have discovered the water :/ I hope they do so soon, before they dry out. I put a half gallon of water into the sand section to bring it to sand castle consistency, should ease their burrowing.

--Adeeb

 

[yenner]

Awesome.

Try sitting them in the water perhaps? They'll surely find their way out.

EDIT: Also, try placing the end of that piece of wood the crab is on in the close up pic in the water. Maybe she was trying to get there and couldn't figure it out.

 

[taylorodw]

Aww snaps, that looks AWESOME! The driftwood really brings it together. I love it. Any planting going to happen?

 

[adeebm]

An LFS nearby sells mangrove seedlings, might pick up one or two. What are some other BW plants? The light fixture is an ancient 20W T12, not much growing power :/. Maybe I'll buy a new one, or shop lights. I could put some terrarium plants on the land side too. Maybe some tillandsia, and aloe? Or a fern, they like wetness.

--Adeeb

 

[Etunes]

What kind of sand you have in there? I would make it deeper sand. And are you gonna put sand on the top right platform?

 

[JohnPaul]

Looking impressive!

These links might be helpful, though I can't personally vouch for the content of the articles but they seem reasonable:

Plants for Brackish Water Systems
The Brackish Water Aquarium (mentions plants a couple of paragraphs down)

I can say from past experience that I had some success growing java fern and anubias in a lightly brackish tank. Also, regarding the water portion, consider getting some ghost shrimp if your local pet stores has them in stock. Though they are usually kept in freshwater, I found that they were perfectly happy in my lightly brackish tank as long as I took the time to acclimate them slowly.

 

[adeebm]

What kind of sand you have in there? I would make it deeper sand. And are you gonna put sand on the top right platform?

I used quickrete all purpose sand. Going to add some more, I just ran out. I might just add some reptile turf to the top right section.

Also, regarding the water portion, consider getting some ghost shrimp if your local pet stores has them in stock. Though they are usually kept in freshwater, I found that they were perfectly happy in my lightly brackish tank as long as I took the time to acclimate them slowly.

Yep, I've already had 2 ghost shrimp for a while. They make great cleaners And most of the species are brackish anyway.

So far, the fiddlers seem more active, and the RCCs are hiding. I should move them all to the water section so they know where it is. They won't have any trouble finding their way out.

--Adeeb