JessJohnson87
New Member
- Messages
- 290
- Location
- Portsmouth VA
I have been toying with the idea of going bio-active with my leopard gecko tank. Today I made the first steps in getting this project up and running. I went out and purchased the other materials that I needed and have been drawing out a plant for everything, don't worry there is a method to my madness if you think to yourself "What in the hell is she doing?" Trust me, it should work.
My fun filled afternoon of shopping:
Right now I'm in the planning stages of this: I have been picking my brain, reading an article on bio-active and indyana's thread and getting advice from a wonderful bio-active Facebook group. Finally, I came to the conclusion that this is how I want it to be, excuse the crap handwriting.
Now for the soil mixtures. There will be two different types of soil mixtures in this. One for my clean up crew (CUC) and one for the rest of the tank (Note: I will not be using the current hides in my tank, I will use one that I already have and make burrows for the other two hides that I need).
Humid Mixture-this is for the clean up crew and taken from a recipe from the bio-active article but I will be using almost the same things.
3 parts Zilla Jungle Mix (sphagnum peat moss and fir shavings)
2 parts sand
3 parts topsoil
I will be playing with this mixture tomorrow and see if I want to add less or more and then I will edit this mixture to my experimental findings.
Hard Packed Clay Mixture-for the rest of the flooring of the tank, also taken from the bio-active article.
4 parts Excavator Clay
3 parts sand
2 parts topsoil
Also going to experiment with this tomorrow and update the ratios to what I like best.
Plants:
I picked up a not so prickly Agave, a harwarthia, hens and chicks. I also have 3 succulents that are of the sedum species that I may choose to add one of those, still debating on that. I will be adding a fluorescent light fixture for these plants to aide in their growth and over-all well being, it will be on the same timer as my crested geckos light.
Clean up crew:
I have decided to utilize a mealworm beetle, a couple of meal worms, isopods, millipedes and I may order a Blue Death Feigning Beetle if the Black Death Feigning Beetles will not be in stock for a while. These guys will go into the humid soil and be nestled behind a wall of plants with a piece of cork bark for cover. I will put a drainage layer underneath the soil mixtures for both the succulents and CUC, then put a hard packed clay barrier around it to hopefully discourage digging. Ziggy will have his own little digging corner on the warm side by his warm dry hide.
Some isopods and millipedes from my yard with a bit of soil to add to their "home" in the tank to encourage microbial growth.
This one was a little bit harder to plan, I want to utilize my UTH still so any clay that goes under the hides, will be a thin layer (maybe 1/4" at the most) that way he can still get some belly heat inside of his hides. The thickest parts of this will be the cool side with the drainage layer, I plan to only do 1/2" of rocks then cover it with weed barrier cloth then soil, clay mixture and build the burrow (still debating on making that the moist hide since it will be over top of the drainage layer). I will be playing with soil mixtures tomorrow and when I find the one that works, I will begin construction either tomorrow or Monday and it should be dry within a week from the day I start. Ziggy will be renting out the 10 gallon during this process.
Inspiration for this goes to Rachel Gratis, without that gecko time article, I may never have become addicted to bio-active
Creating a Bioactive Leopard Gecko Setup - Gecko Time - Gecko Time
http://geckoforums.net/f175-vivariums/102660.htm
Also a big thanks to the folks of Reptiles and Amphibians Bioactive Setups Facebook group, they are a huge help with anything bio-active
Stay tuned for an edit to the recipes for the soil and clay mixture and also updates on the progress of this build. It should be a fun pain in the butt :shocked:
My fun filled afternoon of shopping:
Right now I'm in the planning stages of this: I have been picking my brain, reading an article on bio-active and indyana's thread and getting advice from a wonderful bio-active Facebook group. Finally, I came to the conclusion that this is how I want it to be, excuse the crap handwriting.
Now for the soil mixtures. There will be two different types of soil mixtures in this. One for my clean up crew (CUC) and one for the rest of the tank (Note: I will not be using the current hides in my tank, I will use one that I already have and make burrows for the other two hides that I need).
Humid Mixture-this is for the clean up crew and taken from a recipe from the bio-active article but I will be using almost the same things.
3 parts Zilla Jungle Mix (sphagnum peat moss and fir shavings)
2 parts sand
3 parts topsoil
I will be playing with this mixture tomorrow and see if I want to add less or more and then I will edit this mixture to my experimental findings.
Hard Packed Clay Mixture-for the rest of the flooring of the tank, also taken from the bio-active article.
4 parts Excavator Clay
3 parts sand
2 parts topsoil
Also going to experiment with this tomorrow and update the ratios to what I like best.
Plants:
I picked up a not so prickly Agave, a harwarthia, hens and chicks. I also have 3 succulents that are of the sedum species that I may choose to add one of those, still debating on that. I will be adding a fluorescent light fixture for these plants to aide in their growth and over-all well being, it will be on the same timer as my crested geckos light.
Clean up crew:
I have decided to utilize a mealworm beetle, a couple of meal worms, isopods, millipedes and I may order a Blue Death Feigning Beetle if the Black Death Feigning Beetles will not be in stock for a while. These guys will go into the humid soil and be nestled behind a wall of plants with a piece of cork bark for cover. I will put a drainage layer underneath the soil mixtures for both the succulents and CUC, then put a hard packed clay barrier around it to hopefully discourage digging. Ziggy will have his own little digging corner on the warm side by his warm dry hide.
Some isopods and millipedes from my yard with a bit of soil to add to their "home" in the tank to encourage microbial growth.
This one was a little bit harder to plan, I want to utilize my UTH still so any clay that goes under the hides, will be a thin layer (maybe 1/4" at the most) that way he can still get some belly heat inside of his hides. The thickest parts of this will be the cool side with the drainage layer, I plan to only do 1/2" of rocks then cover it with weed barrier cloth then soil, clay mixture and build the burrow (still debating on making that the moist hide since it will be over top of the drainage layer). I will be playing with soil mixtures tomorrow and when I find the one that works, I will begin construction either tomorrow or Monday and it should be dry within a week from the day I start. Ziggy will be renting out the 10 gallon during this process.
Inspiration for this goes to Rachel Gratis, without that gecko time article, I may never have become addicted to bio-active
Creating a Bioactive Leopard Gecko Setup - Gecko Time - Gecko Time
http://geckoforums.net/f175-vivariums/102660.htm
Also a big thanks to the folks of Reptiles and Amphibians Bioactive Setups Facebook group, they are a huge help with anything bio-active
Stay tuned for an edit to the recipes for the soil and clay mixture and also updates on the progress of this build. It should be a fun pain in the butt :shocked:
