Substrate help

[Trinity Cernohous]

I am getting a medium sized exo terra reptile terrarium (tall) the substrate I will be using for it comes in 8 quart bags...How many bags should I use as my terrarium will be planted. Also, I will be getting a 55 gallon long tank and going to be using a different substrate that comes in 10 quart bags so how many bags of that one will I need? Thanks!

 

[Styx]

I make my own mix and haven't really found one that's worked out in the long run for live planted vivs that is straight out of the bag. Usually there is too much of one thing, not enough of something else. So I can't help you out there, I just make my own mix and put however much I need in the viv and don't really keep track or give it much thought on volume.

You're putting in a drainage layer, right?

 

[Trinity Cernohous]

I am planning on putting in a drainage layer, I just need to learn how to do such

 

[Styx]

You put a layer of rocks or whatever down first, a couple inches deep. I use hydroballs/LECA and feather lite, but you can use rocks (weight issue for me, but more natural looking) or plastic light diffusers (lightest weight). Then you can choose to either put down a barrier between that and the soil with window screen mesh, or not. I have done both. I don't have a preference personally. A guy once told me it restricts the root growth of plants and isn't good for them, but I haven't really noticed a huge difference between the vivs that have a barrier and those that don't. Then the soil goes on top.

Dart frog forums have a lot of WIP builds of people's vivariums you can follow step by step. I guess next time I make one of mine I will take photos of the progress. But that won't be very useful to you since that won't be until next spring, or this fall at the earliest.

Edit, came across this step by step, and the guy is even using that Jungle Mix you were talking about in another thread:
http://bigalsonline.blog.com/2011/08/18/how-to-set-up-a-vivarium/

 

[Josh2]

Figure 4 quarts is about a gallon... If the soil doesn't compact too much you will get about the same volume as water