Haloween crabs. Terrarium help

[Etunes]

Ok, wow. After hours if research and many articles i am turning this into a care forum for a second. Ok, the big debate on alot of things for these crabs which was asked is "do they need sw or fw?". Well the awnser is, both. It seem s in there native enviorment (Costa Rica) they move away from the beach, but no more then about 0.4 miles away. Now i know they need water in order to keep there gills wet but do they really need water? Scientist think that they only use the SW for breeding, BUT me and some others think that it makes sense that they use it to get certain minerals to help with molts and there all over health. So i think that them having SW is neccessay for there growth and health. Now, from what i read they never submerge themselves into the water all the way, but when people keep them they dip there claws in it and almost seem to eat it. So if they go to the ocean, and go to rivers, my first deduction would be that they need both. So there enclosure is gonna have to have both IMO for optimal health. I also know they dig burrows and i have read were peopl ehave had 6" beds of sand into there tank and they dig to the bottom. So a deep sand bed is good. So i came up with a design for a tank that will incorparate both. I think i can make a mini version of it in a 10g but if i do this i am gonna have to switch to a 20g eventually to make it full fuctioning. So now the help. I need to know a good salt level for the ocean so i can mimic it. I also need a good way to filter it. ALSO, i would imagine the sand would get moldy if i dont clean it. How do you clean 6" of sand in a tank? or do i need not to change it? I especially think the moist sand i need to create so they can burrow would get dirty quicker. ANY advice would be useful. Thanks. This will be a whole new experience.

Here is a good disscusion about there care.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=146585

I have a plan drawn up but i need to switch comps so give me 5 or 10 mins.

 

[Etunes]

I need to know a good salt level for the ocean so i can mimic it. I also need a good way to filter it. ALSO, i would imagine the sand would get moldy if i dont clean it. How do you clean 6" of sand in a tank? or do i need not to change it? I especially think the moist sand i need to create so they can burrow would get dirty quicker. ANY advice would be useful. Thanks. This will be a whole new experience.

BUMP

 

[Aquarium1]

Different oceans have slightly different specific gravities. The tropical Indo-Pacific has an average specific gravity of 1.022 - 1.025. The Caribbean has an average specific gravity of 1.023 - 1.026. The Red Sea has an average specific gravity of 1.028 - 1.035. The specific gravity changes in each area are due largely to rain fall.

So probably something in the 1.022-1.026 would be fine. Most people with reefs usually have it about 1.025 or 1.026. Not sure about the sand but I think people with hermits switch it out every 6 months or so.

 

[Crepe]

I've had lots of experience with crabs(fiddlers and a pet blue crab) and terrariums. The easiest thing to do with sand is to take it and put it in a large, fine meshed net and rinse it out for a bit and then put it back.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[dkpate]

Would you be able to keep the sand contained in some sort of "hidden" bucket? It would be MUCH easier if, when you needed to clean it, you could just pull the bucket out and rinse the sand inside.

 

[logansmomma1228]

following. this instead of the other one lol.

 

[Crepe]

What is normally done is having one layer of pea gravel on the bottom of the tank then metal mesh like the stuff on your screen door separating the pea gravel and the substrate, sand in this case. This is done to keep the substrate drained and it makes removing the substrate really easy. Just dig down to the mesh and pull it up.

 

[logansmomma1228]

Wow I wish I would have known that trick before, would do that with all my tanks!

 

[dkpate]

I think it's just for terrariums LM.

 

[logansmomma1228]

That sucks. That would be a great way to switch substrates... since now that I have PFS I don't really like it lol. I want eco complete it looks amazing.

Anyways, OP, how do you plan on having SW and FW in the same tank? Divider of some sort? Very interested to see how this all turns out.

 

[Etunes]

Ok, here are my designs. The first is for my 10g and the second is for my 20g if or when i upgrade.

Above is for my 10g and it has 2 ideas, which do you think is better? The water would just be in tupperware containers or containers i make.

Ok above is the 20g long idea. The middle black line would seperate the tank to 2 areas, a beach side and a FW side. The black square is a filter and i would make a box of plexiglass around it to hold back the sand so in a way it would be like a water fall river thing just like they live next to in the wild. I was thinking of having it stretch the whole area like a small river but i dont think i will have enough room. So what do you think? I will except any ideas on filtration or how to set up the sand as that is what i need help with. ESPECIALLY filtration on the sw side. I was thinking some peices of live rock rubble but idk.

 

[Aquarium1]

I really like the 20g plan, its probably my favorite. Live rock might would work for the sw side but I can't be certain. For the fw side what about like one of those tetra whisper internal filters?

 

[Etunes]

I really like the 20g plan, its probably my favorite. Live rock might would work for the sw side but I can't be certain. For the fw side what about like one of those tetra whisper internal filters?

That was what i was plannig for the filter. I was thinking just using slate to cover it and make a dual cave at the same time.

 

[Aquarium1]

Sounds like a plan. Not sure which 10g plan is better tho, I like em both about the same haha.

 

[logansmomma1228]

I like the 10g #1 better. I like how the sand slopes down. I also like the 20g idea the most. I can't really help with filtration since I have never done something like this. Also a freshie so no good with the SW thing either lol. Sorry

 

[Lowryder]

Following.

One thing I have a concern about is your filtration. The live rock and the small internal filter is really the only choice you have. The thing that concerns me is that you need to have a constant bioload to keep the lr and filter bacteria alive. Will your crab be able to do this? What if it likes the FW better than the salt or vise versa. If it doesnt add a bioload to either side for awhile your lr or filter would be a bust. For the FW I would ditch the filter and just maintain regular pwc's. For the SW side, I would keep the lr and maybe add a small snail, not sure what the exact volume of your SW section is though.

Just my 2 cents. But very cool idea!

Also, you might want to post your SW filtration questions/thoughts in the SW nano section, they might have some better ideas.

 

[Etunes]

Following.

One thing I have a concern about is your filtration. The live rock and the small internal filter is really the only choice you have. The thing that concerns me is that you need to have a constant bioload to keep the lr and filter bacteria alive. Will your crab be able to do this? What if it likes the FW better than the salt or vise versa. If it doesnt add a bioload to either side for awhile your lr or filter would be a bust. For the FW I would ditch the filter and just maintain regular pwc's. For the SW side, I would keep the lr and maybe add a small snail, not sure what the exact volume of your SW section is though.

Just my 2 cents. But very cool idea!

Also, you might want to post your SW filtration questions/thoughts in the SW nano section, they might have some better ideas.

Hey, long time no see. Thanks for the input. This is the kinda input i have been waiting for. Ya, i thought of that and was trying to think of a plan. The FW side i am not gonna work about the ammonia as they dont really ever submerge themselves into the water and as long as the ammonia dosent stay too high they should be fine. Besides the filter is more for water movement. The SW side with the live rock is what i was having trouble with and a snail is a good idea. But idk if i was planning it that deep. Maybe a inch of water thats all. But i might be able to go a little deeper. BTW they will hang out on the FW side more, i know that for sure.

Also lowryder that is a very creepy avatar.

 

[Lowryder]

Thanks, my wife and I were zombie bride and groom last halloween. Its my favorite holiday.

 

[capj64]

I keep land hermit crabs. They're in the saltwater as much as the fresh water dish. Their dishes are cleaned everyday because that's where they dump most of their poop. You probably don't have that problem with halloween crabs.

I also keep the sand damp with saltwater and keep the humidity up with fresh water. The humidity has to be around 80% to keep their gills wet so they can breath. I also have a 6" deep end in my sand so that they can bury themselves to moult or just to cool off.

 

[Etunes]

I keep land hermit crabs. They're in the saltwater as much as the fresh water dish. Their dishes are cleaned everyday because that's where they dump most of their poop. You probably don't have that problem with halloween crabs.

I also keep the sand damp with saltwater and keep the humidity up with fresh water. The humidity has to be around 80% to keep their gills wet so they can breath. I also have a 6" deep end in my sand so that they can bury themselves to moult or just to cool off.

Thanks for the info. Do you mist to keep the humidity up?