Reddit mentions of Uniclife Aquarium Air Pump 4 Watt 4-LPM 2 Outlets with Accessories, Adjustable Oxygen Pump for 20-100 Gallon Fish Tank

A 5 gallon bucket (free to $10), an aquarium air pump and airstone($2-20), MegaCrop one-part plant food 300g sampler ($7 shipped). It's about as simple and low-cost as it gets, just sharing the love for hydro (in case you change your mind someday).

Looks great, good work. If you want to speed up growth, buy a small aquarium air pump, and a cheap airstone. They have a lot of combo's on amazon for under $15.

I too started because of Jeb, humorously enough and now I have 5 foot tall plants in my man cave. Grow for the stars.

Just a quick tip, if you put a word in brackets [like this] and then the link (in parenthesis) with no spaces, you get a cleaner looking link

But im with you on the sponge filter. Thinking of setting up a nano for work and still trying to decide how much to spend.

The airflow depends very much on the depth of the air exit, example "4-LPM, Pressure: 0.016Mpa." gives some ballpark numbers.
The flow will be 4 L/min when not submersed, deeper than 161cm (0.016MPa) the flow will stop, and should be 2 L/min at 80cm deep.
You can verify that by timing a measuring cup at different depths.

there are some very quiet pumps now and the sponge filter will be the shrimps fav place to graze. https://www.amazon.com/Uniclife-Aquarium-Outlets-Accessories-Adjustable/dp/B01EBXI7PG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520297185&sr=8-4&keywords=uniclife+aquarium+air+pump i use that turned wayyyyy down. the bubbles make more noise than the pump does lol. i mounted the pump with zipties under the tank to the stand and i put a piece of a towel cut to size between it and they stand to absorb vibrations. been running well over a year and no issues.

I’ve bought and used at least 3-4 different brands of pumps. The uniclife ones are my favorite for being the quietest and adjustable.

I have the 2.5 watt one but for your needs get the 4 watt one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EBXI7PG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vjBXDbG359GX5

The 4 watt pump has 2 outlets, so just get this to run it on 4 tanks

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTD8VPG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KkBXDbEKH34BS

The DIY fogger is a variant of what I've come across on YouTube and various vivarium forums. The one Ive created is very very light fog and doesn't place a settling fog at the bottom of the tank. Its not like the ones you see where people have bought an ultrasonic humidifier and attached a hose. So far I dont see build up of condensation or inconsistent moisture in the substrate. But as with most of this stuff its trial and error and some day i may find myself not using one, but for now, it works.

Parts i used:

Container:https://www.walmart.com/ip/16408650?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227009105318&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40343306312&wl4=pla-78303470552&wl5=9016832&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=16408650&wl13=&veh=sem
Airpump(any will work, but i went with a dual port to push more air):https://www.amazon.com/Uniclife-Aquarium-Outlets-Accessories-Adjustable/dp/B01EBXI7PG/ref=lp_2975471011_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1492781141&sr=1-5
Airhose:https://www.walmart.com/ip/11965102?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227001220049&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=82850562632&wl4=pla-163086726512&wl5=9016832&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=11965102&wl13=&veh=sem
stones(optional): (may come with the pump, but incase not)https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hagen-Elite-Cylinder-Air-Stone/19229845
ultrasonic fogger:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PAK21WU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (you can get the same unit on ebay for under $5)

For the PVC joints and hosing, i would just go to the hardware store and match them up. You dont want anything threaded. I believe the size tubing i use is 1/2". This is something you have to decide on though and it should all be pressure fitted. The hose should fit perfectly in the PVC joint with a small amount of play. What i did was wrap the end of the hose with electrical tape to fill it out just enough that is keeps a seal when I insert it into the PVC joint - like maybe 2-3 layers of tape. This makes it super easy to break down when you need to fill it or work on it.
PVC joints:http://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/3-4-sch-40-pvc-22-1-2-elbow-soc-416-007.html (this is a 45degree, you need 1 of these, 2 90 degree and 1 straight.
braided tubing:http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=HPpvc050-100ft&gclid=Cj0KEQjw2-bHBRDEh6qk5b6yqKIBEiQAFUz29hKHntmxN-a-cdxDRhJqAHmmI066ShSOIDXMjYX8YTYaAkBS8P8HAQ (You only need like 3 feet of this stuff. i got it from ace hardware and it was under $2 per foot.

I dont have any detailed pictures of it on hand, but i will follow up with some images of it so you get an idea of what it takes. Its very basic and works well.

As for how it goes together, you feed both air hoses into the container and have the stones or the end of the hose just above the bottom of the container. They need to go through the lid with everything else. You also place the fogger inside. the PVC is the exhaust that will fog your tank and bring up the humidity. I will get some pictures tonight and post them sometime between tonight and Monday.

I just bought a second one of these pumps for a future tank. So quiet, adjustable, and running a sponge filter and large airstone at about half power. Also comes with two check valves, hosing, two airstones and two tees. All for $16. Can't beat it.

Yass. This air pump installed: https://www.amazon.com/Uniclife-Aquarium-Outlets-Accessories-Adjustable/dp/B01EBXI7PG
It's not dead silent, but quiet enough to run continuously. Two air stones that I can put wherever I want. The water looks healthier already -- top scum is gone -- and no more listening to the biopod's pump kick on HMMMM.
How, you may ask, did I run the tube into the pod? One of the topglass clips arrived snapped off, leaving a hole exactly the right size.

this one maybe?

Would this air pump be good? Uniclife Aquarium Air Pump 4 Watt 4-LPM 2 Outlets with Accessories, Adjustable Oxygen pump for 20-100 Gallon Fish Tank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EBXI7PG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_x9hJBbA0X6KZS

What about a small aquarium air pump? People leave these on 24/7 in their tanks without issue

https://www.amazon.com/Uniclife-Aquarium-Outlets-Accessories-Adjustable/dp/B01EBXI7PG

I felt the same way a year ago when I bought a crab on impulse thinking it'd be a cheap and easy pet to care for. Once the tank is set up, they ARE affordable and low maintenance, which is awesome!

The Crab Street Journal, as /u/picklesfoley recommended, is a great resource. This sub isn't bad, but I find the Hermit Crab Association (HCA) forums extra helpful. They have tons of helpful guides, and the community is super responsive. There are also a decent handful of active Facebook groups for hermit crab owners.

As with any community (especially for pets), you'll probably run into some sticklers who can give borderline-harsh critiques when you ask a question, share a photo, etc. They're usually not wrong, and they usually mean well, but I often feel like their approach is detrimental. Don't let anyone make you feel overwhelmed or like you're doing a bad job. You're taking the necessary steps to create an environment for your crabs to thrive, and that's more than many crab owners can say. Getting up to speed doesn't happen overnight!

A couple of final tips:

• Keeping humidity up can be a huge pain without anything to help. Once I got an air pump for one of my pools, humidity was always on point! Air pumps are cheap and easy to set up. Here's the one I bought.
  
  
• Not sure how many crabs you have now or how big your tank is (10gal+ per crab is generally recommended) but if you're ever looking for more, there are plenty of people trying to get rid of hermit crabs. I adopted 2 through the HCA, and Crab Street Journal has an adoption program too. I've also heard about people adopting unwanted crabs through Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.

This comes with everything except the flow valve. I haven't used this so I cannot say anything about how well this one works but you can find similar packages online or in pet stores.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EBXI7PG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_supnDb2VGYJ68

Misting should be avoided, it causes floods over time and attracts bugs. With the right substrate mixture and a sealed tank your humidity should basically indefinitely stay perfect. Bubblers help raise humidity too.

"normal" hydroponics has higher yields due to higher oxygenation of water. If that is your goal by a cheap air pump. This one would do the trick quite well for your bucket.

Might be able to find something cheaper at a local aquarium store. Aim for 4-5 LPM min.