Hermit Crab only tank

[skabooya]

This is something I have been thinking about for a while now. It will be for a second classroom tank. I have one planted which is a big hit. I would like to have a small saltwater one as well but very low maintenance.

Here is what I was thinking.
Get a small all in one pico tank or those nice betta kits. (light, filter, tank, etc)
Inside put a chunk of LR and only have 1 or 2 hermits (blue leg) and a bunch of shells.
Thats it. No coral, nuisance algae is fine.


Thoughts?

[chromakey]

Good Day:

I would say an Innovative Marine Nuvo 8 gallon all in one tank would be a nice fit. I have one in my daughter's room with various hermits, shrimp and a couple small nano fish. The stock light will be able to support some macro algae, green star polyps, mushrooms and rics. They don't grow too fast though. For $150 more you would get a 16 gallon with 2 stock lights.

I use GFO, carbon, 1 package of Purigen with filter sponges to catch the larger debris. I downsized to the one tank right now and have maxed out what I have in there for livestock. I do a 15% W.C weekly. I use RO/DI for my makeup and saltwater mix.

I did have an issue with cyanobacteria last and treated successfully with Chemiclean. However, I don't know how "low maintenance" you were thinking.

Later,

Michael

[Scuba Diver Gal]

I like to watch our emerald crab. And our coral banded shrimp. But then you might as well add a couple of clown fish too

[skabooya]

I want to keep this fairly small and simple as I need to bring water from home as it is. Our school water is not fish friendly. I learned that in 2011. So cleaning needs to be minimal as I can only dump water in the school drain and carry premixed water from home. As cool as fish would be they would add too much to a bioload.
Shrimp would be neat but I have never had success with them other than in my freshwater systems.
It would be great if I could find a sealed system so evaporation would be very minimal. And really the light only needs to be strong enough to see into the tank. I have heard of people keeping hermits in bowls like a betta bowl but I don't think that is fair, nor would the hermits live for very long.

My gosh I sound like a newb. Ive been in the hobby a long time and I just want opinions LOL.

[Coral Hoarder]

they seem to always kill each other in nano tanks till theres like 5 left lol

[Scuba Diver Gal]

Well, I am a newb

[BuschWacker]

i think an IM nuvo 8 would be perfect. ive got one. its awesome. a pre-mixed bucket of salt water will do at least a month worth of water changes. keep a bucket of RO for top ups. sounds like a good idea though. just choose your crabs wisely. i started with a few zebra hermits in mine. kinda ended up being survival of the fittest. ive only got one left. he killed the others, and pretty much every snail ive ever had in there. looks like an empty shell bone yard in my tank. i also have two scarlet hermits. they are awesome. just go about their business, and dont bother anything else.

[kien]

The fluval spec tanks are great for these sorts of things.

[pinkreef]

on the topic of nanos, is there anything small you can put in one
that will eat the bristleworms?

[BuschWacker]

Originally Posted by pinkreef

on the topic of nanos, is there anything small you can put in one
that will eat the bristleworms?

Arrow crab will eat bristle worms.