We have hermit crabs in a 20 long and are wanting to add a stream or water area to the tank. We are trying to figure out what will work best for building a retainer wall so that the water doesn't simply seep into the substrate and dry up. Our best idea so far is to use plexiglass with aquarium sealant and gravel. Any ideas on this or any advice would be particularly appreciated!
Ideas for retainer wall?
- Thread starter the_de5olate_0ne
- Start date
I've seen people use a piece of slate or flat driftwood held in place with rocks in a setup like yours. Looks nice and natural.
Oh , and you just pile up the gravel high enough so that the top is over the water line for the dry part.
With the gravel only method, wouldn't the water leak through to the forest bedding substrate on the other side of the tank, though?
Eh, I was hoping for a quick and convenient solution, but I realize now that there's no way to cut corners with this. I want it to be as maintenance free as possible, so I think I'm going to use aquarium sealant and rocks to mason myself a retainer wall with a step ramp down to the water level. I don't want them cliff diving or erroding the edge by digging 
You will have problems with the two sticking if you go the plexi/silicone route and would be best to go with a piece of glass.. I have used a small plastic container and fill it with water, it wont be the most natural looking but I am sure you can coat it with silicone and then glue sang or gravel down to make it looks more realistic.
Put the media that you don't want to get wet in a plastic container then build up the gravel around it to hide it.