substrate mixes?

[DartfrogDan]

I was hoping someone would say that because I have already bought the eco earth and i think the drainage should be ok as im using a good few inches of hydroballs along with the moss and magnolia leaves.

[Meefloaf]

sorry to jump in here man, being a fellow UK'er, any sites you can recommend for buying supplies from

[BonnieLorraine]

The several inches of hydroballs won't really affect how damp the eco earth stays, its kind of like comparing the water retention of a sponge to the water retention of a hand full of sand. The sponge can drain all it wants, it's just going to hold a lot of water. ABG has some sponge like components (the lfs and peat moss) mixed with lots of things to create air spaces and add drainage. Don't forget that in gardening the air spaces in your soil are just as important as the ability to hold water

[Meefloaf]

anything we should look out for when creating ABG ? i've stumbled into a few problems so far to get info on equivalent UK items (drylok being the main one)

[deranged chipmunk]

anything we should look out for when creating ABG ? i've stumbled into a few problems so far to get info on equivalent UK items (drylok being the main one)

drylok is a latex based paint. i think you may be confused? ABG stands for Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

[Meefloaf]

drylok is a latex based paint. i think you may be confused? ABG stands for Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

sorry, i left key part of my question. basically i've joined a few forums to help get some knowledge, so far this forum has been the most helpful, however, mostly american. I know drylok and ABG are different, my point was that some of the stuff that gets recommended is different over in the UK, drylok being my example as you cant get it here and i've been searching for an equivalent UK version. so what i was trying to ask was, being in the UK is there anything you can suggest we look out for on packaging to avoid etc, like with the lumpwood coal, i'm not 100% but we may add something to it over here etc that could be harmful to our pets.

sorry for the mix up

[deranged chipmunk]

i gotcha. the difference in terminologies does kind of screw things up a bit. i do know of people here that use standard grilling charcoal that they crush up for use with abg mixes. but one must beware of brands with lighting fluid saturated in the coals. normally garden/plant centers that deal with orchids will have everything you would need to make the mix. possibly an online vendor of orchids and orchid growing supplies in the U.K. may have what you need. if you can find an online vendor, and you are unsure of an item, post a link and i'm sure someone can tell you if the item will be safe hope that helps.

[BonnieLorraine]

I'm not sure what the UK equivalent to drylok would be, but for the charcoal, garden centers, especially ones dealing with orchids, should carry some form of horticultural charcoal

[DartfrogDan]

sorry it took so long seapets is really good and they are really cheap

[Meefloaf]

sorry it took so long seapets is really good and they are really cheap

am sat here waiting for my 60x45x60 tank from them, got it with a dual canopy and 2.0 &5.0 lights, cost me £130, considering most places looking at 200

[DartfrogDan]

I got the same vivarium from them for £95 and got the lights off ebay

[Meefloaf]

was going to buy it and then the compact canopy seperate but they had the dual canopy on offer at half price

[DartfrogDan]

so are you going to make your own ABG becuase i cant find anywhere in the uk that sells it premade

[Meefloaf]

neither can i, i'm going to make my own up, was wondering if mixing in some dartfroguk dendrosoil would be a good idea, bit worried about setting up a springtail culture and their dendrosoil comes with springtails and woodlice in

[DartfrogDan]

yeah i was thinking about the dendrosoil,but i think i will probably make my own aswell,i was hoping id be able to use the eco earth so it didnt go to waste,but that's life