First Paludarium- Land Hermit Crabs and Fish?

[Penelope .R]

So this might be a bit ambitious but I've recently become fascinated with the idea of building a paladarium for my hermit crabs to combine my fish keeping hobby with my other animals...

I don't really know where to start, it feels like a huge project to me, even though I'm really only aiming to build a 40 gal tall paladarium with a 10 gallon water area (no less than 5 gallons for the water but hopefully more).
It will be a mostly arboreal set up to maximize space and allow for the addition of a small gecko or anole in the future (like one to two years down the line, I've wanted to keep an arboreal lizard for years now, ideally a crested gecko but I'm not 100% on their compatability yet and I worry about him falling into the water and drowning).

For the fishkeeping part- I'm planning in it being a nano sized water area, fully planted and stocked with some tiny non-aggressive freshwater fish. Originally I was thinking about adding another betta fish but decided against it, I want the crabs to be the eye catching thing about the enclosure.
I figured I'd build the water area with spray foam and silicone to water proof. I've watched a few videos, but I worry about water seeping out and growing excess bacteria in the land area, since hermits need plenty of room to burrow. Anyone have any input as to how to waterproof it?
Speaking of bacteria, I'm also thinking about attempting to make it bioactive, and maybe adding some creatures to break down the waste from the crabs and any food hoards. I have no clue where to start with that but at least I have an idea.

I'm looking at paladarium style tanks right now, tanks sold for the purpose of being a paladarium, but they're expensive... so I'm thinking about just getting a plain 40 gallon from Petco, turning it on its side, and getting some glass custom cut to make it water tight and make a door (the front door access is a big thing for me since I need to find a way to maintain the fish tank as well as the land area).
I also want to feed the pump up through the land area to make a trickling waterfall. It's not going to be my main source of filtration, but rather just a way to keep humidity high and keep the water moving.

Anyway, anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I'm taking this build slow, so I have plenty of time to plan and figure out a design.

 

[NannaLou]

I don’t know anything about crab/fish compatibility but I have seen a brilliant video on YouTube where a young lad turns an old glass cabinet into one of these…I’m going to go and see if I can find it…

 

[NannaLou]

That was easier than I thought it would be!

EDIT: this is to show how he waterproofed the bottom, more than copying the project itself.

 

[Penelope .R]

Hello again, I was wondering if anyone could take a look at this vivarium and have any insight on its quality? I honestly don't know what to look for in a set up like this.
This one is huge obviously, and if my math is correct would give me somewhere between a 10-15 gallon space to work with, more than enough for a small group of nano fish and a snail or two. Finding room for the water is proving to be a challenge because of the hermit crabs need for a 6 inch deep space to burrow.
My only concern is that it is a knockdown tank, and while the base comes assembled and waterproofed, I will need to silicone the rest of it for the design I'm going for.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0998ZQR6V/?tag=ff0d01-20

 

[Colin_T]

Land hermit crabs are best kept in an aquarium or plastic storage container so you can wash the substrate out each week. The sand/ gravel can get messy and the bacteria in it can kill the crabs. Having them in a container or tank means you can wash the substrate regularly and keep the container cleaner.

I wouldn't keep fish and reptiles in the same enclosure.

If the reptiles come from a dry environment, that paludarium from Amazon will be too humid for them. If the reptiles come from a rainforest it should be fne for them.

 

[Penelope .R]

That was easier than I thought it would be!

EDIT: this is to show how he waterproofed the bottom, more than copying the project itself.

Thank you, that definitely helps me to see the process. Most paladarium builds I've seen only have an intricate background for the land animals to climb, but crabs need space to dig, and a separate salt water pool. It's difficult because I'm also trying to match the needs of the future gecko. They have the same basic requirements (temp and humidity), it's more the set up I'm trying to fine tune.

Land hermit crabs are best kept in an aquarium or plastic storage container so you can wash the substrate out each week. The sand/ gravel can get messy and the bacteria in it can kill the crabs. Having them in a container or tank means you can wash the substrate regularly and keep the container cleaner.

I wouldn't keep fish and reptiles in the same enclosure.

If the reptiles come from a dry environment, that paludarium from Amazon will be too humid for them. If the reptiles come from a rainforest it should be fne for them.

I've had my hermits for years, they've had every manner of set up.
I'm looking into a bioactive style enclosure to minimize cleanings. I've dealt with the issue of hermits hoarding food before and the hoards getting moldy before I could find them so it's definitely on my mind.
And of course the lizard will be a tropical arboreal species, I wouldn't throw say a bearded dragon into a rainforest set up that would be crazy.

The hermit and the gecko aren't the parts I'm concerned about honestly, it's mostly the fish. Right now I'm trying to work up a design for a filter that feeds up to a water pool, and spills back into the main tank area. This water feature needs to stear clear of the dirt area completely, barring the occasional splash, and be slow moving enough not to disrupt the crabs and any other things living in the enclosure, while filtering the water for the fish/snails/shrimp that dwell in the bottom of the set up.
I also need to find plants that are compatible with these animals.
This project is going to span months, if not a year, and I'm fully expecting to spend an ungodly amount of money on it. It's always been a dream of mine to build a multispecies enclosure, I've had various reptiles for years and my oldest hermit is almost nine now. I think the filter system is going to be the biggest challenge to figure out.

 

[Colin_T]

The filter is an easy fix. A small AquaClear powerhead or similar internal power filter. Attach a flexible plastic hose to the outlet of the powerhead and run the hose up to the waterfall. If too much water gets pumped up, put a T-piece and tap in the hose and have some water going up to the waterfall, and the rest can circulate around the tank.

I would use an AquaClear powerhead with a Quick filter attachment. Use a cylindrical sponge in the Quick filter. You will get a good reliable filter with a decent sized sponge and the pump can be laid on its side or standing up.

The AquaClear Quick filter attachments used to come in 2 sizes, a small skinny one and a bigger one. The bigger one is about 6 inches long x 2.5 inches diameter. That would be the one to get.
You can also join the Quick filter attachments together to increase the filter size.

 

[Penelope .R]

The filter is an easy fix. A small AquaClear powerhead or similar internal power filter. Attach a flexible plastic hose to the outlet of the powerhead and run the hose up to the waterfall. If too much water gets pumped up, put a T-piece and tap in the hose and have some water going up to the waterfall, and the rest can circulate around the tank.

I would use an AquaClear powerhead with a Quick filter attachment. Use a cylindrical sponge in the Quick filter. You will get a good reliable filter with a decent sized sponge and the pump can be laid on its side or standing up.

The AquaClear Quick filter attachments used to come in 2 sizes, a small skinny one and a bigger one. The bigger one is about 6 inches long x 2.5 inches diameter. That would be the one to get.
You can also join the Quick filter attachments together to increase the filter size.

Definitely looking to build a space below the burrowing area where I can house the spounge and filter, as well as build a column behind the background/waterfall for easy removal of the pump. I've seen so many paladarium builds where they permanently foam or silicone the pump in place and that just seems short sighted to me since I'm bound to have issues with the pump eventually. To keep the crabs from somehow getting trapped underneath and drowning, I want to put together a removable wall of lava rock, with a fine net stuck to the back of it to keep the crabs and fish from squeezing through, also thinking the wall could be a good place for the beneficial bacteria to grow.
Looking at this design for the "cage" to hide the pump as best as I can while keeping it easily accessible, at minute 3:40-

Also, something I just realized? What water conditioner should I use so it is safe for a gecko. I've always bought different conditioners for fish and reptiles, but I'm wondering if Seachem Prime would be safe for the gecko? Definitely need to do some reading.

Also, this has nothing to do with my plans but I think it's amazing. This is the coolest paladarium I've stumbled on, it houses African mud skippers-

Edit: also the water area will be heavily planted. I've had success with my 20 gallon no filter set up using plants.

 

[Colin_T]

I can't watch videos on my current computer because it's too old

Find out if you have chlorine or chloramine and use an appropriate water conditioner for that. If it's safe for fish, it should be safe for reptiles.

 

[Penelope .R]

I can't watch videos on my current computer because it's too old

Find out if you have chlorine or chloramine and use an appropriate water conditioner for that. If it's safe for fish, it should be safe for reptiles.

Well in the first he builds a cage going up the back of the paladarium using egg crate light diffuser and a removable overflow box for easy maintenance.
The second is just a really cool brackish water paladarium with a tide feature where every hour the water gets sucked in and out of a sump cube so the display tank water levels go up and down. Just thought it was neat

How would this pump do? I've never had an internal pump like this before, so I don't know what I'm looking for.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000256566/?tag=ff0d01-20

Looking into care for geckos now-kind of have my heart set on a crested gecko and a few strawberry crabs, but I'm not sure yet.
Going to use lava rock for the background and water fall because it is light, wicks water for moss growth, and porous so the crabs can grip and climb it easily.