Changing substrate

[DonLisk]

Hey Lor,
You can add a drainage layer by putting in some pebbles/stones or store bought clay Hydro Balls below the substrate layer and separating the two with some substrate mesh or similar. The mesh just allows the water to drain down to the bottom layer to collect.

Just have a spot where you slip in a siphon hose to the bottom drainage layer in case it gets too full.

I ended up doing a full substrate change today on my Whites viv. I noticed a few days ago the substrate looking soaked so after a quick investigation, found the screen I used didn't work well at keeping the substrate out of the clay balls. So, I had a soupy mess of substrate and a sewer smell under the substrate. Glad I used the Zoo Med substrate screen on the Red Eye's viv.

Since I was home sick today, and the granddaughter was here sick too. We conjured up the energy to collect up the Whites and put them in the 12x12x12 Exo for the afternoon. They were not to happy with this change of scenery either.

Its a real job pulling out the bromeliad and snake plants and then ripping out all that smelly mess.

But in the long run, after putting in all new Hydro Balls, a real substrate screen, new Eco-Earth, and then cleaning all the poop from down in the plants, the White will now have a cleaner and better draining home.
They look relieved now that they are back into familiar territory.

[Kisa]

Gosh Don I have been wanting to clean out my White's tank FOREVER but unfortunately I don't have the money to buy all new materials and supplies, so I'm really glad I'm going to be putting them in the 131 gallon soon, I bet Bruce C. is gonna FREAK. XD

And Lor, you can check out any pictures in any of our albums and see what he means about the drainage layer. I have them in my vivs if you want to take a look.

[Immortal]

Yeah the drainage layer to me sounds a bit complicated lol. I'll have a look thanks.

[Kisa]

Yeah the drainage layer to me sounds a bit complicated lol. I'll have a look thanks.

I was scared about it at first too, but once I did it the first time I found it was a breeze, though I kind messed up the first time because I didn't have enough hydro balls, oops? XD; But take a look at my tiger legs enclosure, that drainage layer is all good. XD

[UncleChester]

I have just a few things things to add about a drainage layer-if you go the hydroton/hydroballs/leca route, it took some time to find it but the cheapest place I've found it was in Burlington at Frank's Magic Crops. It was obscenely cheap compared to my local petstore options. Might be other choices closer your way though.

For a screen between the hydroballs/gravel and the substrate, I've come to like landscape fabric- it's a thin black material designed to let water through but not dirt. It's much easier to use than fibreglass screen as it folds and bends easy and there's never any jagged bits no matter what shape you cut it.

A small piece of pvc tubing can be siliconed in a corner to provide access to siphon off excess water, just keep a cap on it when not in use to keep out bugs/dirt. Or you can make a pool at the bottom by building a little water-permeable substrate dam that goes right to the bottom of your tank Frog Forum - UncleChester's Album: Vivariums - Picture

For live plants, the easiest thing to start with (my opinion anyways) is the near-invincible pothos. Grows indoors, you can root cuttings in water to make more pothos in case you start killing it off, decent sized leaves, and cheap

[mommyof4froglovers]

With fake plants and no drainage how often do you change the dirt. It came with my exo terra terranium and it says nothing about changing it. But Froggy really doesnt need to get sick.

[cyris69]

Sorry for bringing back an old thread but I was wondering too, if I don't use a drainage layer do I still need to worry about changing the substrate or still less often than that of a nonplanted tank? I currently have ivy and pothos plants as well as red wigglers and isopods in the tank using a 75% coco-fiber to 25% organic soil. So will the worms and isopods help delay the change?