Your videos are awesome! Super simple and straight to the point. Too many of these RU-vidrs over complicate aquarium/palidarium builds. You explain the the simplest way to do something, but also explain the better and best way to do things…. I’m going to start my own crab build. But what is maintenance protocol on a build like this? Do you do water changes? Or just add some springtails and let things go??
Thanks! I try to keep it straight to the point most of the time 🙂 Maintenance is very simple as well. I'm doing a video soon but i need to wait for my tanks to get overgrown etc. But basically you just change about 20-30% of the water once a week or every second week if you have a really low population tank. Then just trim your plants and moss if they need it. The ecosystem takes care of the reest! The pump being in the back like this will generally last about 12 months without needing to be cleaned but I'll rescape for a new project well before that. So if you plant to keep a tank really long term it's a good idea to make a little easy access trap door hidden under a rock or something.
Thanks 🙂It's a tiny amount of water and I wouldn't feel right putting a heap of shrimp in it. In total there's probably only about 5 litres of water in there.
Thanks for a great video! One question - don't you have issues with foggy glass when you close the aquarium with a lid? I'm trying to figure out a build and having a clear sight instead of some black plastic rail just at the water level is certainly appealing. At the same time, I was warned that going with aquarium instead of terrarium might result in 100% humidity and water on the glass.
Cheers! I have a proper terrarium style tank as well and they both get foggy and condensation on the glass at certain times. It takes a little bit of trial and error to get the air flow just perfect. But the biggest factor is winter, you won't be able to avoid it in winter. The outside temperature in your home will be quite different to your tanks heating/humidity requirements, so things will condensate. You could open things up to compensate but they you lose a lot of heat in the tank and the moss and animals start to get affected. It is easier to manage on a terrarium though as you can just slide a clear cover over the mesh vents to adjust the ventilation amounts quickly. In summer it's super easy and it's clear glass most of the time.
Question: What stops the water from getting through the tiniest of gaps like I know you used super glue on the rocks but is it the black sponge that’s water repellent and the super glue is just to stop the crabs from getting through? 😁
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by all this. But the water covers the entire underlayer of the tank so it goes everywhere it wants. The foam/sponge is just to stop vibrations from the pump. The Super glue is just to hope the pipe to the rocks and the rest of the rocks are just stacked nicely and will hold themselves. Filling as many gaps as possible is mostly to keep the clayballs from floating out. They love to float so can sometimes pop up.
Thank you! What sort of crabs did you decide on? There are so many cool types getting around these days. I've got a playlist of other builds if you haven't already seen them. Might inspire you even more 😉
@@IndoorEcosystem I just bought a 70 x 30 x 35 cm terrarium. I don't know how to set it up yet, so I will binge watch all your videos for inspiration. I will probably use some expanding foam since I am not sure how much weight the stand its on can support. As for the crabs I saw some at a local exotic animal fair but they were few and didn't look that good. An aquarium store nearby where I live said he can procure some from a local breeder, so I guess I will have to see what types he has
@@randomstf3935 That's a great sized tank to start out in. Plenty of room to move and make something really nice. Locally bred crabs will also be the best option. They are less likely to be shy as well. If you get stuck with anything just drop a comment and I should be able to give you a hand 🙂
@@IndoorEcosystem Then I will ask right away, since it's not every day you can receive an advice from a master of the craft. Do the crabs need some filter in the water part of the enclosure or should I just do water changes? I would prefer to not do them to often so if there is any advice you can give me it will be much appreciated.
@@didoit that's going to be the interesting part. With the leca and filter material it shouldn't be dealing with any real debris. The pump is really basic too so has a very low chance of getting gunked up. I redo tanks about once every 6 months to a year. Most for videos so when the take down occurs I'll make a video on how the pump looks. In the past I've put the pump in a little hatch in one corner covered by a thin layer of soil or leaves and maybe a rock for easy access.
:O i will 100% do that. alot of people make it look really complicated but its actually really nice to see how cheap you can make it. and i just noticed that i have most of the stuff anyways. i have leca from houseplants, i have houseplants, i have an old used 10gal tank laying around that i dont want to use as an aquarium and put almost 60l of water in because the silicone and stuff looks a little shady but for the little waterpuddle inside a crab paladarium it should be totally fine because even if something leaks, there isnt enough water in to damage much at all. so i pretty much have everything besides a spare light and crabs to actually build this thing :O what do you use as a mat to put the stones on?
Yep! You really don't need to do anything insanely crazy for a really nice looking tank that the crabs love. I've got a ton of random layouts now using the same method. As for the matting under the rocks I just use old aquarium mats or corflute (corrigated plastic) But it's not required if you trust that you won't accidentally drop a rock during the build process!
Nope. Just slot them in together nicely. I never use any glue when creating rock walls like this. If you stack the right it all interlocks nicely and is really stable without any gaps.
Not really you need natural mould cycles to take place and plants to get established so that their roots pull nutrients from the water. And your clean up crew can get well established. Plus the nitrogen cycle in the water needs to establish. Though that can be hastened by using media from an established tank. You can add crabs sooner but you need to be prepared to deal with issues that might pop up.
Haha it was a bit of an odd one 😅 Ferns are my absolute favourite! All of them! They just make everything pop and look really aged from day one! Plus the crabs love them and the grow so well in the high humidity!
I used to live where both of these come from in the wild, they are pretty cool to see especially fidlers. But for now I'm more interested in rainforest style environments that come with Vampire Crabs. If I had access to mangroves and other estuarine species of plants/trees I would try fidlers. But tank without the right plants would be a bit dull for me. If I do get around to it I'll try mudskippers too
I use a heat mat, i mention it in the video. I don't plan to access the pump for maintenance it will run until I escape the tank which will be in about 6 to 8 months. If you want maintenance access you can just place it in a corner with small rock or something over the weet mat so you can just lift it up like a trap door and clean it.
Just stumbled across this vid after now wanting some. What heat mat do you use to keep the water warm as that's the biggest issue I'm finding when planning as no mats I can find can be changed . As well as this what rocks are you using!
What do you mean by "can be changed" when referring to heat mats? These rocks are just standard grey stone. The stuff the usually use for roads and road bases and quite often to dump i washouts. Landscaping places usually have it for super super cheap.
@@IndoorEcosystem i look at heat mats and there all just set to one temperature for a certain period of time. However, I've seen elsewhere it's best to have a timer on it as the light may amit some heat. Also does the heat mat heat the tank and the water as that's another thing. Sorry if it sounds like I'm overcomplicating things I just want the best for them
@@swift-bc4rp No problem 🙂I have a full guide on tank heating that covers most of this if you want to check it out. You can buy heat mats with dials on them that allow you to adjust the temperature. Even then though I run mine at the opposite times as my lights for the reasons you said. But it depends on the lights. Some radiate more heat than others.
Is it fine if some soil got through my weed matting barrier? I think the barrier moved a bit when I was planting and stuff and some soil went through. The soil also kind of spilled into the water a bit. Just want to know before I get the crabs, thanks!
ok ill do a few water changes to make sure it is completely safe. I probably will also get some more water plants as I don't have a filter because I couldn't really fit a filter in my 10 gal.
@@IndoorEcosystem thanks a lot for all the advice, I have had my vampire crabs for a bit now and the first one just molted, looks like a nice clean molt too! The only problem I have is that I never see the crabs, there just always hiding and must only come out to eat when I'm sleeping 😔.
@@sawyerswain6071 you're most welcome 😊 don't worry if you have a female in there you'll have babies in time and the next generation will be a lot more active and less shy. I have 6 species at the moment and only the wild caught ones hide most of the time my captive bred ones even let me hand feed them quite often
🤣You can do amazing stuff with it but it's horrendous to work with and makes you feel like an environmental terrorist. So I'm trying to avoid it as much as possible!
Ha! Exactly! Seriously though, I love watching your videos, they’re very inspirational 😊 I’ve been thinking about using leecha (🤔?) balls for a future project rather than foam and this video just sealed the deal! Thanks ☺️
@@darkknightgaming695 species only is best, with a clean up crew of snails isopods and springtails. Earthworms as well if you want them. Shrimp go well too but you'll probably find 10gallons doesn't give all that much space for water as land is way more valuable.
@@darkknightgaming695 A 15 gallon made right would allow you to have shrimp but not fish. Fish you would need an absolute minimum of 5 gallons of pure water space which would limit you to really tiny fish species that are ok for nano tanks. You need to meet the fishes minimum water volume requirements as well which is tricky to pull off in smaller tanks. But shrimp would be great.
Just wondering how sensitive vampire crabs are to noise outside. I really want to get 3 of these however its quiet noisy outside the tank. I dont want to put these amazing creatures in an enclosure if they arent going to be happy and live their best life because of the ouside noise in the room. Thank you
@@swift-bc4rp I don't think that will be a major problem. They will probably get used to it if it's fairly common. You just might not see them for a while.
@@IndoorEcosystemsome species of snail can help you with that, but they have a high chance of overtakeing the tank so i won't recommend for non snail eating species XD and vampire crabs eat small smails but it's not there favorite menu so i won't recommend someone to do so
@@IndoorEcosystem but the point of useing snail as a substrate clene up crew is the burrowing behaviour of the snail so they can mix up the sand lol so i use trumpet snail for that purpose but there shell is to hard for the vampire crab. so they overtake the tank so easily XD + I would like to try some ramshorns at some small crabs tank but it's hard to get ramshorns at korea. so sad
@@craby6449 I have used trumpets before but they become a pest pretty fast because the crabs don't like to each them as much. I find the biggest problem with dirty substrate is from the crabs entering the water with mud and dirt all over them 🤣 so all the stuff sits on top of the sand and needs to be sucked up every so often. Not really an environmental issue but it looks a bit ugly after a while
I wouldn't suggest it because you may need to adjust it and accessing it would be a nightmare. Plus I'm not sure how safe it would be with clay balls pressed up against it. Perhaps you could create an easy access section with plastic grid or something.
@@IndoorEcosystem thanks a lot, Iam just starting my paludarium for crabs. Seen all of your videos and your builds are amazing! great inspiration! now i need just soil, and if i understand right, just some home plant soil without fertisilers, right?
What kind of foam matting did you use under the rocks? We've got most of our supplies but im nervous putting the rocks on the bottom of the tank. After my fourth or so watch through this video, I noticed a black foam mat hey is down on the bottom
Nope 😊 because you shouldn't keep them with either. Just stick to one or the other and have a couple of different tanks. When you mix things that have quite different requirements in smallish spaces you get a lot of problems with stress and comfort.
If I was Dutch I would happily part with some 😉I'm in Poland (not too far away) But unfortunately I don't ship them because of the super high mortality rates. If you can locally stores and expos are the best place to find them.
I bought a water heater that started making knovking noises, they start about every 30mins-hr and go for about 30 secs or less, i was worried so i took the heater out it started making the noises about a week ago and ive checked it and it looks like theres no blockage or plants in the heater, was wondering whether to return it or reuse it, also one of my crabs had babies about three weeks ago and its a small tank yet i cant find them anywhere and i have another tank to move them to
The heater sounds faulty they shouldn't make any sound at all. Is it fully underwater? Babies are super hard to spot but it is possible they could have been eaten already too. It just depends on how hungry the adults are and how complex your tank is. They should be pretty close to the water area though if they are still around 😊
@@IndoorEcosystem atm there are no animals in this tank yet because I'm letting the water parameters settle and stabilize, it probably is a faulty heater but just thought that maybe there's an easy fix, the heater is all the way underwater, about two inches under, only thing I can think of that could block them is the plants I have in the tank
@@azaria7528They aren't the most reliable things in the world. I've gone through a few over the years. It's better that they break like this though, rather than boiling everything alive. The longer you wait the better the results are usually. Especially for the land section
Sure do! They are one of their favourite foods. I keep them in all my tanks but you need to have a side colony of isopods as vampire crabs will eat them faster than they can breed most of the time!
I just soak it in water for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then leave it out to dry for a few hours. That usually gets rid of an critters. It's not completely fool proof but it's pretty effective and I haven't had any issues yet.
The pump is a very basic design so won't clog up for a very very long time it will run for at least a year without any maintenance problems. But by then it will be time to make a new build anyway. If it breaks completely which is pretty ulikely I'll take it as a sign to start a new project. If you're worried about those issues you just have to place it in one of the corners and make a little easy access hatch just don't plant over the hatch and only cover that spot with leaves a rocks moss etc. Then you can get quick access.
@@IndoorEcosystem Would making a DIY filter/pump housing out of something inexpensive like future board/plan board be a good idea? I see this done on other paladarium/terrarium builds. I am currently making a paladarium for some vampire crabs and want to do a river bank/fallen over tree stump design. I want the back 3/4 of the tank to be a river bank with soil, moss, and other forest floor plants. I like how you put the filter substrate in the water area and then add the weed fabric on top to seperate the dry from wet. Have you had any issues with soil getting into the water using this method?
@@TheNoilif I've had little bits and peices of soil get in from time to time but it doesn't cause any issues. The plant roots and aquatic plants pull any nutrients out of the water pretty damn fast. Their roots usually find ways through and under and around the wet matting over time and will do a good job of keeping things clean. With the filter box you can use corigated black plastic. We call it coreflute in Australia and it's super cheap and works will for little shapes like this. That method is the exact one that I would use if I wanted my tanks to last more than 12-18 months. I think it's basically fool proof so long as you can hide it perfectly.
@@IndoorEcosystem yes we call corrugated black plastic future board in Thailand. Thanks for all the info. Your channel is one of the most informative for these sorts of builds on YT.
You are shooting yourself in the foot burying that pump, they should always, ALWAYS remain serviceable. Myself? 30+ years making these, owned an aquarium store in Los Angeles back in 95', so decades of experience with submersible pumps failing, burning out, freezing up and just getting dirty, no matter how many 'pre-filters' one uses, the time comes. The only people that catch this, are people who actually have built these and shot themselves in the foot, like myself.
It will eventually clog up you are correct but this tank will be rescaped long before that happens. They'll generally run 12 months before clogging up from my experience. If you want really long term you can just make a little trap door under a rock for quick and easy access.
