# First build - The crab shack



## Hobbes1911

So after researching, planning and researching some more, I decided to build a tank for geosesarma crabs. I did not want to simply set up a tank, put some gravel in and have a little water area since I was looking for a long-term build project with a significant dry and wet area. The plan ultimately was to build a vivarium/paludarium (I'm still not sure on the terminology) where I could provide a significant water and land portion as well as have enough upwards room to grow epiphytes that enjoy the high humidity like fern, orchids, mosses, bromeliads, etc.

The tank is a 37 gallon (general 20L footprint, but 22" high). There is a 6" deep water feature and the substrate will be something like 4-5" deep above the water. I read the crabs are tunnelers so I want to provide them with enough depth to be able to thoroughly dig their burrows to provide them with semi-natural conditions. The substrate is elevated off the water via an egg-crate false bottom so that it does not stay water-logged. There is a part that will extend into the water and will be able to grow marginal plants. I'll have a layer of hydroton in the bottom to be able to support springtails, isopods, and other microfauna which will act as janitors and live food. I heard these vivaria tend to form mold (I guess there is an arch-nemesis or each enclosure: aquariums have algae, vivaria have mold, etc.) so I want to have janitors to clean that up.

There is a water fall to return oxygenated water back into the water and to add a little humidity via evaporation. Also, it looks nice . The whole waterfall is driven via a Fluval 405 which is ample filtration and gph. Actually, it is more gph than I need and I might downgrade sometime in the future, but currently it works. I covered the outlets with mesh so the flow will be decreased and to direct the water to run along the background, instead of just falling and splashing everywhere.

I am planning on keeping the temperature of the tank around 24-26C, so I want to have the water around 26-27 degrees to allow for evaporation. Ultimately, I want to add an inline heater, but currently a submersed heater hidden in some corner will have to do. I am confident that I'll be able to hide it.

Lighting wise, I decided to go with a 30" HO T5 fixture to be able to grow high-light demanding plants like bromeliads. The light extends pretty well to the bottom, and I think I'll be able to grow low-light plants in the water.

I'll add a detailed build log in the next posts, since the pictures are currently uploading to photo bucket. Also, I just wanted to note, that now looking back, a ready-made background that you can buy in a store are a lot cheaper than home-made. Only, you can't customize them, and you don't get the satisfaction of building it yourself .


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## frogface

Nice! Looking forward to the pics


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## Hobbes1911

Alles hat einen Anfang:

***sorry for the bad picture qualities. I'm not a photographer***

First thing I needed to construct was the false bottom. I definitely wanted a larger water area since I do have a strong aquarium background and want to keep some fish in the water (they also provide live food for the crabs if they so choose).

I designed and build the false bottom with a marginal and dry area in mind.



I then elevated it off the ground with PVC pipes cut to the desired length as well as "fences" to keep animals out of certain areas.


Next, I wanted to arrange the wood and decide on the final layout.


Then I decided the cork bark looked better and it was also much easier to hide the plumbing. 


Next I needed to do the plumbing.
Here is the filter intake (I ended up cutting off the bend since the filter wasn't strong enough to draw in water with all the bends):


Here is the grow out tank that the crabs will be housed in in the meantime until this tank is fully established.


I then covered the background in brown silicone (I read GS foam sticks better to silicone) and positioned the outlet for the waterfall:


Next I covered the egg crate and the PVC pipes in weed block to cover them up and to allow for water drainage through the egg crate layer (so apparently weed block is crappy draining material, so I poked larger holes into it):


Next Post: GS foam everywhere


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## Hobbes1911

Und weiter geht's!

To keep the substrate on the egg crate and prevent washing off I sprayed foam all around the edges. One note about GS foam. When people say it gets everywhere they mean EVERYWHERE! I lined the bathroom with painters plastic tarps and myself in scrubs and elbow-high gloves to make sure I wouldn't mess anything up. Somehow I still managed to get it all over me.

Foam:


Plastic:



The whole background was build using GS foam. I put down several foam layers first and then cut out holes to put in the wood. I found that method safer and it was easier to keep the wood in place during drying than immediately putting the wood in place with the first layer of foam. Sadly, I have no pictures in between the last one and this one:

All the sticks and ropes are used to keep the wood and bark in place during drying.

Another angle:

The root in the middle is part of the waterfall and will direct the water to where it's supposed to go.

Final layout of all the wood and bark pieces that will be permanent with some of the foam already carved:



Different angle and you can see the waterfall outlets well:



I then did a water test and realized the fluval 405 is way too strong for the waterfall. So I covered the outlets in weed-block (for once it was good that weed-block doesn't drain water well):


And the whole waterfall:


Next up: Toxic smells and dirt


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## Hobbes1911

Dreck ueberall!

So now there's another large jump forward in time since I didn't take any pictures of any in-between steps. I covered the background with two mixes: one of Titebond III (a wood glue) and peat mossand one with silicone and peat moss. The silicone I used around the waterfall and any areas that would be permanently water-logged. The titebond III is used anywhere else. I used the two mixed, because of several reasons:
1. I heard TB III softens up under constant water exposure and I don't want my background to dissolve away.
2. Silicone is permanently water tight and won't get soft.
3. Silicone apparently won't hold the peat moss forever, so I only wanted to use it where it is absolutely necessary
4. I was curious to see which would perform better long-term since I read about both methods, but could not decide which was the better way to go.

So now the tank looked like this:



Finally, I just needed to do some tweaking to the background, add a semi submerged area for the crabs to sit on and connect both land masses with a bridge:




And a shot from above:


So that's the current status. I built a stand out of 2x4s (more like 1.5x3.5s but who is measuring) and the tank will go there. It's a rather high stand (41" high) since its at the foot end of my bed and I wanted to make sure no one could kick it (it's roughly 20" above the mattress)

I am planning to add a lid in this fashion. I hope it will be enough to control the humidity, since I imagine with the water fall I'll have a rather humid tank.


Thank you for looking, and if you have any questions, or comments, I'd be more than happy to answer.


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## Hobbes1911

frogface said:


> Nice! Looking forward to the pics


Thank you


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## frogface

Now I need to see it full of crabs


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## Hobbes1911

The first shipment of plants arrived. 

Here are some of the plants I have so far:

Korean Rock Fern


Bromeliad Wee willy



Bromeliad Chiquita Linda plus pup



Button Fern



Assorted Tillandsias


Dischidia ruscifolia



Peperomia Noid



Peperomia mini melon


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## Hobbes1911

Plants are finally in, the waterfall is running and the substrate is seeded with springtails. Eventually, I'll add some emersed bucephalandras along the waterfall and let them spread on their own. The moss mix for the background is currently brown and dead/dormant. Eventually, all the background should be covered in moss. As time goes by, apart from adding the residents, I'll add some more epiphytes. Hopefully, I can get some nice lemmaphyllum ferns or some microgramma, but all of those plans are dependent on the orchids, and how well those grow in.

I might order something from : Guzmania rot - Guzmania Rotes Schwert - Guzmania spec. Lila and have my mother, who currently is in Germany, bring the package along.

I haven't quite decided what critters I should keep in the water. Since the crabs apparently eat fish, I think guppies should be safe. I was also thinking about cory habrosus or other small bottom dwellers. Who knows.

For now enough rambling. Here are some shots:




Brom wee willy


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## KRich Frogger

Look awesome


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## Duff

Totally agree, it does look awesome! When are the crabs coming?

Duff


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## Los3r

That looks amazing!


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## dormfrogger

Sweet Build!


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## JohnVI

Looks good!


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## zachxbass

This looks awesome! With the titebond/peat mix, do you just mix some in a small container until you get a consistency that you can spread? Or do you put the TB on then press peat into that?

Sent from my kindle fire using tapatalk


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## hypostatic

How I feel about this viv:










And show us some crabs!!


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## redtxn

Looks great! Geosesarma are going to look fantastic in there.

I always wondered about what leeches into the water during initial setups. When setting up a new ecosystem such as this, do you need to let the pump run a few days and then do a water change? Or maybe add water conditioner to remove chlorine and hard metals like when setting up aquaria?


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## Hobbes1911

zachxbass said:


> This looks awesome! With the titebond/peat mix, do you just mix some in a small container until you get a consistency that you can spread? Or do you put the TB on then press peat into that?
> 
> Sent from my kindle fire using tapatalk


Thank you for the kind words 

I mixed TBIII with water (a little amount) and peat in a bucket until I had the consistency. Actually, what i did was, I dampened the peat, until it stuck in a clump when you pressed it together. Then I added the TBIII until I had the consistency I wanted. I was going for runny oatmeal. Then I just covered the background with it in thicker patches. 

The silicone section I did differently. I just smeared brown silicone onto the background and then added the dry peat moss onto the silicone thickly, pressed it in and let it dry. Since the silicone is brown, you can't really tell where the peat moss stuck and where it didn't. The rim around the land areas is covered in mostly silicone only since the peat didn't stick. Those areas will definitely need to be covered with moss in time.


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## Hobbes1911

redtxn said:


> Looks great! Geosesarma are going to look fantastic in there.
> 
> I always wondered about what leeches into the water during initial setups. When setting up a new ecosystem such as this, do you need to let the pump run a few days and then do a water change? Or maybe add water conditioner to remove chlorine and hard metals like when setting up aquaria?


I am going to let the water cycle quite a long time actually. I am doing weekly water changes and the filter is rather loaded with activated carbon and purigen. Also, the filter is a big one (something like 340 gph (at least that's what it's rated at, I'm assuming I have a bit less but it should still be upwards of 100 gph) for the total volume of roughly 8 or so gallons. 

I am not sure if there are any heavy metals that leech, but the purigen should capture it eventually. I also read that TBIII doesn't leech anything too harmful. Fingers crossed.


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## Hobbes1911

Small update. The crabs arrived today and they are currently in the holding tank. I'll definitely update tonight with some pictures  

The big tank finally has the orchids in it. They came from Andy's and are brilliant!

Pleurothallis grobyi



close-up





Haraella odorata




Barbosella handroi



close-up






Pleurothallis minutalis



flower of P. minutalis (crummy photo - sorry, I'm still learning)




Masdevallia brachyura



close-up




Pleurothallis resupinata




close-up




Next I'll have to plant them.


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## mollbern

Awesome awesome awesome tank. Some super lucky crabs!


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## Hobbes1911

And they are here!

Cup of red devils:


Cups of vampires:


The vampires straight up went into hiding. The Red devils are definitely more active and are out and about so they were much easier to photograph. 



Red devil munching on a wax worm






And a vampire checking me out. S/he seems rather sceptical


And enjoying a cricket


Two devils one with a worm, the other with a cricket


I am so excited to finally have these guys in after all this wait. Now to make sure that shipping went alright and then one of the species will be ready to move into the big tank once it's established. I am not sure yet which species I'll put in there, but if the vampires keep hiding like that, then I think I'll put the devils in the big tank since it'll be easier to keep track of hiding crabs in a smaller enclosure.


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## zachxbass

Thanks for the info. I picked up some TB iii today and received my supplies from NE Herp today.coco, silicone, and some jungle dawn leds. I'm gonna try some orchids. Those look really nice.going to check Andy's site now. Can't wait to see this thing planted up.


Sent from my kindle fire using tapatalk


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## frogface

Yay!! I'm in love. Ok starting the plans for my crab tank now. Please, please keep us updated with news and pictures


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## zachxbass

Great looking crabs. I've never thought I'd want crabs but those look awesome, and less itchy than other types  or so I've heard 
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## Duff

You've got CRABS, Yea!!!!! Looking forward to future updates and congrat's on your orchids


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## redtxn

Hungry little guys....
A couple questions:
How many of each species did you order? Were they well packaged by the vendor? Did any arrive with missing/damaged legs or eye stalks?


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## hypostatic

AH, finally some animal pics 

Are you housing them together? I've read that the yellow geosesarma don't quite get along with some of the other ones...
http://www.panzerwelten.de/forum/thread-1744.html


> They are absolutely incompatible with Geosesarma sp. "vampire" (Vampire Crabs). The "Vampires" will soon eat the "Blues" - partially and entirely!


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## Hobbes1911

redtxn said:


> Hungry little guys....
> A couple questions:
> How many of each species did you order? Were they well packaged by the vendor? Did any arrive with missing/damaged legs or eye stalks?


The vendor is a friend of mine. They arrived in pristine condition. I had one DOA from the vampires, but he had put in one extra each so there is absolutely no problems. All the crabs I have seen so far don't have any problems; no missing legs, eye stalks, pinzers, etc. 



hypostatic said:


> AH, finally some animal pics
> 
> Are you housing them together? I've read that the yellow geosesarma don't quite get along with some of the other ones...
> http://www.panzerwelten.de/forum/thread-1744.html


Yes they are sadly incompatible. I am planning to move, most likely the red devils, to the main large tank and keep the vampires in the small tank. Sadly, until the main tank is established, I cannot move them so they will have to co-exist. If that doesn't work at all, I'll have to come up with a different solution. For now, there seem to be enough hiding spots that I haven't noticed any aggression, yet I also only have had them for about 12 hours. Time will tell. Ultimately, I'd like to add two more tanks, one for geosesarma notophorum (mandarin crabs) and one as a rearing tank for young since geosesarma can be cannibalistic. We'll see.


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## Hobbes1911

Finally the vampires decided to venture out of their hiding spots this morning. And by vampires I mean one did.






And s/he's still eating. Still not able to sex them.


I did notice some aggression between the vampires and devils already. I might have to throw one species into a different tank sooner than expected.

There really isn't much to this tank. I'll show a pic later, but it was designed as a holding tank and is rather ugly.


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## dormfrogger

Those crabs are awesome! You should make a feeding video, I'm really curious to see how they catch insects!


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## Hobbes1911

dormfrogger said:


> Those crabs are awesome! You should make a feeding video, I'm really curious to see how they catch insects!


I'll try. They actually have a really cool feeding habit. There are different strategies apparently depending on the food type. 

Worms are just picked up, dragged along and the crab then just goes into a more secluded area and eats the worm or larva

Crickets, flies and other fast moving insects are chased down and the crab then jumps onto the insect, grabbing it with its pincers and then starting to eat it. I'll try to get a video of that, but no promises.


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## hypostatic

Here's a preview:


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## Hobbes1911

So apparently I'm doing something wrong. I'm not sure if the tank is too wet, or too dry, but several plants are showing signs of being unhappy. The rock fern is all but withering away and the dischidia is showing yellow leaves. I am not sure if those are signs of just settling in like for example crypt melt, or if it means those plants are dying off. I decided to try more watering and I'll see what the response will be.

Rock fern being truly unhappy


dischidia with yellow leaves


Does anyone have any advice?


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## Duff

I too have a tank very similar to your and have struggles with ferns. I've tried two and killed both of them. Finally gave up thinking my tank was too wet. I ended up adding a Bolbitis heteroclita and it's doing fantastic. It's a pretty slow grower but well worth it and needs to be very moist and high humidity. 



For the dischidia with yellow leaves, mine did that same thing when I 1st moved it into my tank, although I do have mine in a drier section at the top of my tank sitting on spahgnum, once I let it dry out a bit more it bounced back ad has put out new growth. you might move the ones closest to the water over to the cork bark to see if that makes them more happy?

Hope this helps! Your tank is awesome  

Duff


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## Nicholas

Hobbes1911, Goes on a date. With a very beautiful and attractive woman.

Dinner is going great, They really start making progress. Both parties are interested in each other. Hobbes1911 is really looking for to what tonight may bring.

After a couple drinks and small talk, This beautiful woman says to Hobbes1911. So Hobbes1911, "I really like you do you care if we finnish tonight at your place." Hobbes1911 all excited say's "Sure I would mind that at all." 

So Hobbes1911 waves the waiter over and asks for the bill. And as they stand up to leave this gorgeous woman looks at Hobbs1911 and say's. "So is there anything I should know about you first." And Hobbes1911 pauses for a moment thinking, Not really sure what to say before they get to his place and say's "Yes, actually... I have crabs."


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## CJ PELCH

GOOD WORK! One day i will be as good as you! HAHA Estimated time to complete from start to finish?


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## hypostatic

I think the tank is too wet. You have a water feature so I think the general humidity would be high because of that. How often are you misting? How much are you misting each time? Do the plants come to a visual dry between mistings? Do you have any air circulation?


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## Hobbes1911

hypostatic said:


> I think the tank is too wet. You have a water feature so I think the general humidity would be high because of that. How often are you misting? How much are you misting each time? Do the plants come to a visual dry between mistings? Do you have any air circulation?


I am not sure at all. Does the fern look like it's too wet? Honestly, to me, the leaves look like they are too dry. Humidity is around 78%. I have a fan on quite a lot and that keeps the air moving. I still need to work on a proper lid and that might be the reason. But I don't know at all. I figured as well that it's too wet, but I'm just not sure. Any help is greatly appreciated. Maybe I should move it to a separate pot and try to figure out what's wrong? Or should I leave it alone and hope it's just establishing pains?


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## BenW

I have found that fern don't like to be touched.It could be nothing to worry about.


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## hypostatic

Well, what's your misting schedule like?


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## Hobbes1911

hypostatic said:


> Well, what's your misting schedule like?


Morning and evening. Could that be it?


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## Hobbes1911

Update time. I added anubias on the water's edge and under the waterfall. I also added a bucephalandra onto the backwall. I also found small springtails, meaning there is a small population growing .


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## hypostatic

Hobbes1911 said:


> Morning and evening. Could that be it?


How long is the duration of each misting? How wet does everything look after each misting? Like, is water dripping off the leaves?

Are the plants coming to a visual dry in between misting?

I would cut back, by like half maybe.


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## Hobbes1911

hypostatic said:


> How long is the duration of each misting? How wet does everything look after each misting? Like, is water dripping off the leaves?
> 
> Are the plants coming to a visual dry in between misting?
> 
> I would cut back, by like half maybe.


Yes they are dripping wet. And yes, I have a fan that runs enough to keep the humidity around 75% (sometimes up to 85%) and the plants do come to a visual dry. I only mist in the mornings and the evenings. Which misting should i cut back?


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## Hobbes1911

A nice brightly colored, albeit shy, devil male.


Still trying to hide


Gotcha!


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## hypostatic

Eliminate the evening mist. Are you misting by hand, or are you misting with an automatic system?


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## Hobbes1911

hypostatic said:


> Eliminate the evening mist. Are you misting by hand, or are you misting with an automatic system?


I have a hand mister.


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## hypostatic

Oh ok. When you mist, if the plants are dripping wet, then you are misting too much. The purpose of misting isn't to keep things wet, it's to keep the air humid. What kind of top does the enclosure have? Screen? Glass?


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## Hobbes1911

Small update (I will show pictures later today or tomorrow).

I hung the light above the tank now to allow the top to close tightly. I'll be introducing the crabs soon, so I want to make sure there are zero escape possibilities, since I've noticed that they are quite the skilled climbers. The red devils are thriving, the vampires aren't doing so well. I've lost three so far. I cannot figure out why. I do not observe anymore aggression between the species so I doubt that that's it. I did read that they don't ship well, and that the full "trauma" from shipping can take weeks to either overcome, or not.

The plants are doing so so. All the orchids seem to be thriving. The P. grobyi and P. resupinata are throwing out spikes, all the other ones are producing new leaves. So I think I'm doing alright on that. Does anyone know an animal-friendly foliar fertilizer that I could use for the orchids? 
The ferns are also recovering. They have stopped losing leaves, and are producing new shoots so that should eventually work out. 
The anubias and marginals are not doing so well. The anubias afzelli in the waterfall have all pretty much died out, and the larger coffefolia along the water's edge in the front are doing so so. It might not be humid enough for them. Also, the moss mix has yet to show any growth anywhere. I think some areas are too dry, but there is no growth anywhere even in the wet, or semi-wet areas. I might have to rethink that mix. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. 

I'll show pictures tonight.


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## hypostatic

Hobbes1911 said:


> The red devils are thriving, the vampires aren't doing so well. I've lost three so far. I cannot figure out why. I do not observe anymore aggression between the species so I doubt that that's it. I did read that they don't ship well, and that the full "trauma" from shipping can take weeks to either overcome, or not.


I've also read that the survivability of the vampires isn't too great. Especially if wild caught.


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## Hobbes1911

hypostatic said:


> I've also read that the survivability of the vampires isn't too great. Especially if wild caught.


Yea I read the same thing. I'm hoping that the three will be permanent and to build a colony from that. The friend I got them from has told me he'd be willing to send a couple more just in case, but I want to see what happens first. Hopefully, one of the three is a female. I barely see the vampires, so I cannot really sex them reliably. I know one is a male, he's huge, the other two are smaller, and could be females (fingers crossed).


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## Hobbes1911

So I finally finished the lid. It's alright, still needs some tweaking, but overall I'm pleased. There is a 3" x 24" screen opening and the rest is covered in glass. The fan is still there for circulation. At some point I'll try to cut a hole into the glass so that I can have better circulation, but for now it'll do. 

I moved 4 of the 6 devils into the tank. I couldn't find two of them, and I didn't want to majorly rummage around the tank. When I see them in the next couple of days, I'll move them then. Obviously, the devils went right for the bushes, and I could only spot one more, hanging under the false bottom. I hope that they'll get more familiar and comfortable with the tank so that they come out more. Regardless, here are some pictures:

Vampire - finally a nice shot of the two colors


P. grobyi spike


D. ruscifolia new growth


The suffering anubias - bad picture due to fogging up of the front glass


P. resupinata with new growth and spikes (I counted three of them, the ones seen here are old ones) I'll try to get a better shot of the current spikes, but they are hidden well under the leaves


Here is a spike. In the back and out of focus


Another angle. I really like this little orchid. I find everything about it fits, the harmonious spots with the darker green leaf color, the leaf shape and the willingness to grow


I'll post a full tank shot soon.


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## diggenem

Nice build!! 

When I grew Anubias marginally, they always died back only to grow again weeks later. I think yours will be fine.


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## hypostatic

Any updates? We'd love to see more pics


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## Hobbes1911

Several things. The brom wee willy is flowering, the chiquita linda is throwing pups. Two of the orchids are flowering and except for the masdevallia all the other ones are growing new leaves. The dischidia, peperomia, sellaginella, ferns etc. all have adjusted and are throwing new growth. The ferns have lost quite a bit of mass, but are finally showing life. And the moss mix has started turning green in some spots. There is still a lot to do, still a lot of orchids to add, and I am looking for epiphytes that can grow in moist conditions. I have several more anubias nana petite to add into the waterfall. I'm going to add some cryptocorynes into the water section, and I think it's finally ready for some fish. As of right now, I haven't added any yet, just to be safe. However, the crabs are hiding rather well, and I am a little worried that they have died since I can always only find two at a time. I believe they are different ones each time, meaning that all the crabs would be ok. I will post pictures later this weekend.


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## Hobbes1911

Ok finally with the picture update. I got some java fern on Monday that I added. The masdevallia is not doing so well, it dropped all but four leaves, so I moved it around to see if there isn't a better spot for it. It is sending out two new leaves, so I'm not sure if it's just dropping the old growth, or if it's dying. My wee willy flowered, so hopefully I'll get some pups. The chiquita linda has one larger pup out, that I will be cutting off soon, and is sending another one up the background behind it. The crabs are still very shy, but they are molting, so I am excited that they are at least not dying. 

Anyways, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I am still experimenting with the camera settings. I guess these pictures are a bit over exposed.


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## chris.q121

this might be an dumb question but where is the filter placed in this build and how is it taking in water.


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## hypostatic

Take some pics of the crabs!


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## Hobbes1911

chris.q121 said:


> this might be an dumb question but where is the filter placed in this build and how is it taking in water.


Not a dumb question at all. The waterfall is obviously the outlet. In the back below the waterfall in the water is the inlet. All is PVC pipes and the run the back of the tank and up to the left corner. There I have the canister filter attached. This way, I can simply unhook the filter hoses and the tank is self contained. I liked this idea for moving purposes etc. I will take a picture of the whole assembly tomorrow (lights are out already).


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## Hobbes1911

Update time. I haven't figured out how to deal with all the humidity. It severely screws with the pictures. I might take some more tonight and see if I can't play with it. 

Full tank shot:


Showing all the wiring around the tank with the filter and thermometer/humidity probe on the side.


Red devil femaile


Same female on her way to the hiding spot in the right back of the tank


I tried from above ... not so successful


This is the terrarium for the vampires. Ever since I densely planted it, they are constantly out and about.


I will try for better pictures. If anyone has an idea how to get around the humidity and foggy glass, I'd be happy to know.


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## chris.q121

but how would you access the filter for maintenance? would you take the whole floor apart?


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## Hobbes1911

chris.q121 said:


> but how would you access the filter for maintenance? would you take the whole floor apart?


All the parts in the vivarium themselves are PVC plumbing. I don't need to access these. The filter itself is on the outside, and I can just unhook the hoses and have access to the filter. The PVC pipes were measured to size to make sure the hoses would fit without problems and tightly.


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## ElleC

This is far too awesome.


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## rjs5134

Old thread but I would definitely like to know the outcome of the TBIII mixed with PM versus the caulk experiment...

Nice work.


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## ilovesoilscience

I am very happy to come across this thread, because it is bizarre how close this design is to one I have in my head. And my intent for my build is Vampire crabs and some fish in the aquatic section! I would love an update on this build, how did the crabs do, did you ever add fish, how has the maintenance been? I don't see as many paludarium builds with floating platforms, so I am really curious how this has all gone.

I really hope to hear from you, thanks!


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## Nauplii

Hey! I've just seen this thread and I have to say I'm incredibly impressed! I have recently set up my own crab tank and wish I had seen this first as there were a few things that I hadn't considered here. If the OP ever comes back to this, I'd also love to know how this has progressed over time.


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