Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

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indo
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Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by indo »

i keep going to petco and buying mopani wood( african driftwood that wont rot). i use it in my crabitat in hopes of the crabs to clime on it. well they do. anyway, i also use play sand substrate and i put saltwater in it to keep the tank moist,but i found that my mopani wood jungle gym had MOLD growing on the bottom were the wet sand touches it. here are my questions.
1. shud i quit using mopani wood?
2. shud i stop wetting playsand after i bake it?
3. shud i change substrates completely?
4. can i use playsand and coco fiber?
5. shud i use wet playsand and coco fiber?
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!! -.-
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erikleeson
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by erikleeson »

I have mopani wood too, and mine has molded. Keep in mind that hermit crabs come across dead birds and stuff like that and consume them given the opportunity. A raw dead bird flesh and all versus a little mold in terms of likeliness to get sick is no competition. If you have a weak nose its not much to worry about, just try not to get the mold exposed into the actual air in the tank otherwise you may get sick.

If you are really concerned, you can scrub the mold off, boil in salt water, wait for it to dry and microwave it for 20 seconds. That should do the trick. Don't use any cleaning detergents.
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ladybug15057
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by ladybug15057 »

Molds in the wild are different than those that we get within our tanks due to how mother nature has her way of balancing things. Something we do not have as hard as we try in our crabitats, and where molds and bacteria can grow wild at astronomical numbers too. Not all mold spores are killed either even with baking at high temps or boiling. To try to prevent wood from molding, one can give it a good ocean water soak. (the type of ocean/sea mix sold specifically for salt water fish tanks) But any time wood comes in contact with a damp substrate there is the higher potential for it to mold. If you opt to try boiling it, keep a very close eye on it when you place it back in the tank for any signs of mold again. Sadly most times when wood does mold more times than not it should be thrown away. Try placing the wood on a rock or dry object within the tank.
As for your substrate, I would suggest to change from playsand. Not all impurities in play sand can be washed or baked out. Try taking a magnet over your sand, or placing it in the sand. (when dry) Check it for metal bits on the magnet, chances are you will be a bit shocked at what you will find.
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by vckums »

I use playsand and have choya wood and driftwood touching the sand. Nothings molded within the tank. 4 years of playsand(tried eco earth once, hated it).

If you're getting mold you should make sure that your circulation in the tank is good. I've got plenty of airholes in the lidof my tank.

Hope this helps! :D
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erikleeson
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by erikleeson »

I agree with all, and try using choya wood logs too. I don't think that they are real wood, its a skeleton of a cactus. But my choya wood doesn't mold.
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emmac350
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by emmac350 »

I use dried grapevine. I think that there might be a little bit of mold or something on it, but it may just be from me having accidentally poured salt water on it, and the salt dried onto the wood. I will take it out and clean it once my crab hiding under it to molt is finished, but I'm leaving it until then because I don't want to harm his molt.

I've had some problems with little spurts of mold growth in my 'tat because of how long it took me to get my humidity stable. Every time I'd notice it, I would take out the food bowl (that was what would mold) and boil the bowl and put in new food. It's under control now, though, and I've had the same dried food (which was molding before) in there for almost two weeks with no problems, so I think I have it good now. :)
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erikleeson
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by erikleeson »

I always change the food every day, especially with fresh fruits and meats. And hat keeps the mold down, I also have a grape vine which has a little mold, both wood branches should have the mold exposed as little as possible but its best to clean it. Once all 11 of my crabs are up I will do a deep clean and add a playsand and eco earth mixture and completely change the set up.
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emmac350
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Re: Mopani Wood, or the wet sand?

Post by emmac350 »

I'll be putting in playsand as soon as Benny and Rack are both up. I haven't put in any fresh food for a while as I'm gone all week and can only change stuff on the weekends (until after Christmas). I have this aquarium sand in there now, and it's a bit coarser of a grain than the playsand is, but the crabs had no problems making their little caves.

I just don't want to touch that wood to clean it until after Benny comes up because it's the lid to his cave and I don't want to collapse it and kill him.
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