# 55 gallon tank, need ideas.



## VryfastRR (Jul 11, 2009)

So I have a 55 gallon former fish tank. I got tired of cleaning, changing filters, doing water changes, checking ph levels, etc etc. So I decided to get rid of my fish and get a B. Smithi. Here i am with a huge very nice oak tank and one spider. Currently I dont want to get anymore T's, but im not sure what to do. I want to make the tank look very natural but im not sure what a natural B. Smithi tank would look like. I know its a huge tank for one spider but its what I have so I am using it. Any help with what a "natural" setup would like?


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## jbm150 (Jul 11, 2009)

A 55 gal tank presumably has very high walls.  Please keep in mind a fall, even a very short one, is deadly to tarantulas.  Especially terrestrials like B. smithi, they are extremely fragile.  You could use it for an awesome terrarium for a Nephila species (orb weaver) or maybe a big huntsman.  If you like trues, that is


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## VryfastRR (Jul 11, 2009)

curently its just dirt and a piece of pvc to hide in.


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## evicton (Jul 11, 2009)

Its suggested that you keep the distance from the top of your tank to the substrate no more then 1 1/2 times your spiders leg span for terrestrials. A fall from anything more then that can be fatal. I go a step further and keep the distance the spiders leg span and no more.


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## VryfastRR (Jul 11, 2009)

no plan on having anything high enough to fall from. Just wondering if anyone has any cool large setups for their smithi.


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## Jerm357 (Jul 11, 2009)

This site has some pretty good tarantula habitat pictures. I dont see a smithi but there are other Brachypelma habitats that are similar. Heres the site...
http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/g.php/6


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## VryfastRR (Jul 11, 2009)

Found this one
Look very foresty, i noticed most people set theirs up more desert like. I would assume that is not correct?


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## evicton (Jul 11, 2009)

I believe most people keep theres in desert like set ups cause smithis like it dry, there similar to rosies in if the substrate is to moist they'll be climbing the glass to get away from it.


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## Sathane (Jul 11, 2009)

That is a great picture.


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## Totty (Jul 11, 2009)

Omg :?  Awsome picture!


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## Exo (Jul 11, 2009)

A 55 gallon Is way too big for a Smithi, Put a T.blondi in there instead.


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## blazetown (Jul 11, 2009)

I'm assuming that B. Smithi covers a range of natural conditions. That is very interesting that in your picture it's living in an almost temperate forest area.


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## ballpython11 (Jul 14, 2009)

Divide it with plexi glass and hot glue and put some peat moss and a big dry african forest background some sticks and 2 big King Baboons


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## Sathane (Jul 14, 2009)

_H. gigas_ with a nice big pond to go fishing in.


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## Jackuul (Jul 14, 2009)

I think that if someone's asking for a setup for their B. smithi, then suggestions of a different species might not be what they are asking for. 

You could divide up the tank's substrates into "zones" and make a kind of progression from desert to foresty, allowing for some of the substrate on one side to be moist, while on the other side bone dry (think of a siliconed plate of glass that reaches up near the top of the substrate).  Just remember about distances of falls for the spider, and the weight of the aquarium as you fill it up with dirt.  At 55 gallons I imagine the decorative side of the tank may be un-used by the spider, and possibly become a sanctuary for whatever food critters you use.  

Who knows, it might like the other side instead of the "dry side" though.  It's your spider and your aquarium.


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## mxslanksta (Jul 14, 2009)

Sathane said:


> _H. gigas_ with a nice big pond to go fishing in.


haha thats wut i did. she seems to love the water. no actual swimming more like basking in it and waiting for fish lol


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## VryfastRR (Jul 15, 2009)

i like the idea of half forest half desert. it would be cool to know which it prefers. here is what it looks like now


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## Moltar (Jul 15, 2009)

Yeah... see, that tank is just way too big for a spider that size. Right now you have a pretty significant fall risk. To rectify that you'll need to put a lot more soil in there. Also in something that big the prey can take up habitation in a section of the tank nowhere near the spider and just stay there. So you have potential feeding problems that will only be made worse by adding plants and decorations.

My opinion is that it wouldn't be worth the hassle of outfitting a tank that big for a spider that small, get a 5 or 10 gallon for it instead. Put fish or something in the 55.


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## Sathane (Jul 15, 2009)

A bearded dragon or two would love that tank.


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## VryfastRR (Jul 15, 2009)

i think i might get some plexi and split it into 4 tanks


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## Sathane (Jul 15, 2009)

That would be cool. 



VryfastRR said:


> i think i might get some plexi and split it into 4 tanks


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## NinjaPirate (Jul 15, 2009)

VryfastRR said:


> i think i might get some plexi and split it into 4 tanks


I did that with mine. I'll have to get my camera out and take a couple of pictures of it. Works great, hardest part is figuring out how you want to do the top.


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## cityzooguy (Jul 15, 2009)

this is how I have one of my B. smithi's





and here is the other





this type of setup is pretty easy to do, just mix some eco earth, zoo med excavator, and large sand/small gravel, add some water and go to town! if I were to built a 55 like this I would invest in alot of styrofoam to build up the under the substrate, so you dont waste the other materials. the burrows can be created by burring someting that you can remove later, like a balloon filled with sand, or something, or you can just dig them yourself. also this is a good way to keep up humidity the burrows will have 20-30% more humidity than the rest of the tank!
here is my first one in a 5.5g tank
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hope this helps.


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## VryfastRR (Jul 15, 2009)

very cool setup. looks like i might be spending my day at lowes and the craft store. thought this was gonna be a easy cheap hobby, but i guess as with most once you start you cant stop. Should be fun might start looking into getting a few more t's


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## Exo (Jul 15, 2009)

That setup is awsome! :drool: 
You've given me some ideas.....


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## blix (Jul 15, 2009)

VryfastRR said:


> So I have a 55 gallon former fish tank. I got tired of cleaning, changing filters, doing water changes, checking ph levels, etc etc. So I decided to get rid of my fish and get a B. Smithi. Here i am with a huge very nice oak tank and one spider. Currently I dont want to get anymore T's, but im not sure what to do. I want to make the tank look very natural but im *not sure what a natural B. Smithi tank would look like*. I know its a huge tank for one spider but its what I have so I am using it. Any help with what a "natural" setup would like?


http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=48951


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## Moltar (Jul 15, 2009)

VryfastRR said:


> looks like i might be spending my day at lowes and the craft store. thought this was gonna be a easy cheap hobby


It can be very cheap if you want it to be. Of the 50+ spiders I keep I have 2 enclosures that cost more than $40 (2 exo-terras) and only 5 or 6 more that cost more than $10. Plastic tubs for things like shoes or files or whatever can work great. So can big plastic jars. It's understandable though that if you only have a few T's you'll want to display them well. Just know that you don't *have* to keep them in aquarium tanks or kritterkeepers or whatever. Most T's could live in a coffee can or a cardboard box (which they would soon escape from) or the trunk of a car and thrive. All you need is physical containment, appropriate ventilation and the means to keep soil moisture where you want it and to put prey in there. I've seen some very creative budget enclosure ideas over the past few years.


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## ballpython11 (Jul 15, 2009)

*Get another one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!*

Well then get another B.smithi a 55 gal tank is to big for 1 B.smithi anyways tarantulas are a beuty , non expensive , and there ease of care makes them really cool pets so i recomend you get another 1  its really really fun to watch.


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## VryfastRR (Jul 15, 2009)

you cant have two together right? you need to separate them?


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## Moltar (Jul 16, 2009)

Yes, you absolutely need to seperate them. There are a few species that can be kept communally but that is definitely the exception, not the rule.


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## ballpython11 (Jul 16, 2009)

no 2 tarantulas cant be together.


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## Sathane (Jul 16, 2009)

As etown said, only certain species can be kept communally.  _Holothele_ and _Heterothele_ are some of the best examples of this and I also have a communal _Pterinochilus murinus_ project that has been going for months with no losses.  _Poecilotheria regalis_ is another good one for this.  

Most species, however, will not fare well in communal setups.  

Whenever considering a communal project you should do as much research as possible before starting it and you should also always prepare to accept any losses as, more often than not, you will lose some specimens.


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## ballpython11 (Jul 16, 2009)

*just thinking*

why not get an emperor scorpion insted of another B.smithi. Just saying if you where planing on geting another invertabrate of corse. I mean theres a difference but not much right.


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## ballpython11 (Jul 16, 2009)

*F.u.n*

Building terrariums for tarantulas is a very fun thing to do really you just make a safe beding artificial/real plants frome cactuses to rainforest plants put the T/scorp in and done it coud even be in your living room as a decoration. Just remember to clean and feed.                                            GET ANOTHER ONE;P


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## Spyder 1.0 (Jul 16, 2009)

Stand the tank upright and make a live backwall. Then get 30 or so P.regalis and do a communal.

Or use p.mettalica if you have 6000$


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## ballpython11 (Jul 16, 2009)

The poecilotheria family are mean :evil: . vryfastrr just in case if you lisen to the options here and plan on geting some thing else READ FIRST and ask questiones about it. God i like this forum alot jeff from arachnohobby in florida told me to come here.


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