New Substrate Washing

Questions about designing a terrarium.
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crabsandhounds
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 2
Joined: 28 Jul 2019, 23:20
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 20
Total tanks: 1

New Substrate Washing

Post by crabsandhounds »

Hello all.

I am very new to the forums and about to get the first 2 crabs today for my sons 10th birthday today. I have been reading the forums and crab care to find this answer but didn’t see it anywhere.

I purchased the bag of playsand from Bunnings yesterday and washed until it ran clean under the tap outside. Was I mean to wash it with saltwater? .. does it need to be dried in the oven?

Thanks for your help.

Janet
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aussieJJDude
Zoea V
Zoea V
Posts: 432
Joined: 02 Mar 2012, 19:30
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 8
Total gallons: 65
Total tanks: 2
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Re: New Substrate Washing

Post by aussieJJDude »

With washing, I'd worry about contamination of heavy metals and chloramine from the tap water - especially if sourced from local city water. I've never washed my sand, and just add it straight into the tank from the bag.


You'll probably want to dry it out in some way, as washing the sand would mean its a little too moist and not be sand castle consistency.
246L/65G - 'Tidal Jungle' (Crabs) | 246L/65g - 'Backwater Pool' (Fish/Snails) | 96L/25G - ''Twisted Minds" (Fish/Snails/Shrimp) | 300L/90G Fancy Pond (Goldfish)

I've never had any problems with 'Impulse Buying'. They're just animals that I forgot I had planned to get.
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