Thanks done shedding for the season

[Jim Bright]

Just wanted to say thanks to the board for all the responses, bmails, and emails to help me get my closed system up and running this season. My son, daughter, and the rest of the family had a lot of fun helping out with the shed tank this summer. Gonna do it again next summer i hope.

[ChrisS]

Nice job, can you tell us your ups and downs over the course of the summer with your closed system?

Theyre certainly a challenge.

[Jim Bright]

Sure. The ups would include any time I tested the water and the nitrate levels were right, any time I spotted a buster in the tank, any day I put at least a dozen peeler in and fished a few soft out--and especially when i got that first soft crab. As for downs, all the trial and error that goes with getting it set up, the night I went outside and didn't hear the pump running (pump was trashed), all the times I checked the tank and fished out crabs that got hung up and died (that happened too much), when I missed a crab that she

[Jim Bright]

The times I missed a crab that had shed, the times I sorted em wrong and had crab cannibals attacking my busters and red lines, and last but not least the time I discovered my boy cut 3 jimmys loose in the tank to see what would happen.

[ChrisS]

yep, they hung up cause the ammonia was too high....its a tough game

[Mikie]

"the night I went outside and didn't hear the pump running (pump was trashed),"


One of the safeguards against pump or water failure is to have an emergency drain that will allow most of the water to drain out of the sloughing tank in the event of a failure. If the water remains in the tank, the crabs will use up all of the oxygen and die. If most of the water drains out, leaving about 1/2", the crabs can keep their gills wet and breath enough air to survive. We've all had a crab now and then that escaped the basket and ended up in a small puddle of water several days later very much alive! A small, maybe 1/4" hole in the drain pipe about 1/2" off of the bottom of the tank is all that is needed. It won't affect the water level when everything is functioning normally, but it will allow the water to drain out in the event of a pump or water source failure.

[jack1747]

"the night I went outside and didn't hear the pump running (pump was trashed),"


One of the safeguards against pump or water failure is to have an emergency drain that will allow most of the water to drain out of the sloughing tank in the event of a failure. If the water remains in the tank, the crabs will use up all of the oxygen and die. If most of the water drains out, leaving about 1/2", the crabs can keep their gills wet and breath enough air to survive. We've all had a crab now and then that escaped the basket and ended up in a small puddle of water several days later very much alive! A small, maybe 1/4" hole in the drain pipe about 1/2" off of the bottom of the tank is all that is needed. It won't affect the water level when everything is functioning normally, but it will allow the water to drain out in the event of a pump or water source failure.