substrate mixes?

[DartfrogDan]

is it ok to use just Eco earth in a dart frog vivarium or should I create a mix,if so what with and to what ratio?
thanks Dan

[deranged chipmunk]

depends on whether or not you plan to have live plants or not. with live plants, an abg mix would be preferrable. the mix ratio has been posted numerous times in various threads. also, don't forget that darts love to ha e leaf litter covering the substrate as well.

[DartfrogDan]

thanks, I am getting live plants so i will probably use the abg,I was planning to get some get some dried magnolia leaves.

[poison]

I grow live plants in normal eco earth just fine. No need for all this fancy stuff imo.

[BonnieLorraine]

It depends on the plants, if you're growing very water tolerant plants like pothos or syngoniums, plain eco earth is fine. If you're growing plants that like more drainage (the majority of the other terrarium plants you see) they will most likely rot in plain eco earth.

[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

[Meefloaf]

cheers guys ! i've found things very frustrating when it comes to these things due to terminologies etc because most things on the net are american aha you'd think there'd be one brit doing a viv/terra background using masonry waterproofer, but no aha.

[deranged chipmunk]

believe me, it is just as difficult for us to recommend items as well, since we are unfamiliar with what is available over seas. maybe you can be the pioneer in bridging the gap between the two continents

[Meefloaf]

i shall be passing on any knowledge i gain from this new adventure in my life, once i've got it all set up and going i will have to write it all out.

[flybyferns]

Hi,

Great information for you here !

In October, I built (almost simultaneously) three dart new enclosures. Needless to say , I needed a lot of soil substrate. Note post #8 in this thread; BonnieLorraine is right. I mixed my own - along with with bags of purchased ABG. BUT did not add peat moss, as what I purchased seemed to be more peat than any other ingredient.

I used aquarium charcoal. It's costs more. Beware, if you get big chunk's it's a really dirty job for outdoors to crush it.
DO NOT inhale the dust !!!!!!

I tried crushing one hunk I had in a spring tail culture and that was all I need to convince myself I was not going to do that to make ABG. Note: the in ingredients refer to "fine" charcoal" , this does not mean lg chunks or fine dust. The aquarium charcoal is a perfect size.

The mix is:
2 parts fine fir bark ( sometimes seen as "orchid bark" in the list of ingredients)
2 parts fine tree fern fiber
2 parts milled sphagnum moss
1 part fine charcoal
1 part peat moss

When you add this to the enclosure (on to of the barrier layer) I would highly suggest it be very damp - first.
ie use a big clean bin to mix and dampen ahead of time. You might also consider drilling a drain hold in the back of the tank ( not the bottom) , attaching tubing that goes to a bucket ---- for automating the drainage of extra water. This is especially important if using a misting system or planning to use a misting system in the future. If drained , you will never have to siphon!!!!! Once in a while - I pure in clean ( de-chlorinated) water give things a flush.
It's a simple effective system!

http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...al-plants.html

see post #2
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...enclosure.html

One of our sponsors
ABG, Atlanta Botanical Garden Mix, Reptile Substrate | Josh's Frogs

Have fun !

[Meefloaf]

awesome info, i will be making my own mix as it seems like fun, as i only have one tank at the moment, if i made up a dry mix of the ingredients and kept it in a bin in a room temperature room would it keep ? can imagine i'd get the bug and end up with another tank or two hehe

[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