Comments for my 2nd to final phase of construction?

[Chano]

Well here is how i laid out my construction plans in phases so as to not get ahead of myself. As i am working each phase i am planning the next.

1. buy supplies - complete

2 build false bottom - complete

3 apply GS backround - complete

4 build waterfall - in construction 4.5 test waterfall

5 apply silicone and coco bedding to backround - finalizing plans to execute properly

6 and final construction faze - add substrate and plants (Rob from littlefrog is helping out a great deal with the plants Thanks again Rob.)


My question is this. When i add my cocobedding to the backround i was thinking about mixing it with Repti-bark I feel like this will give a more "treelike" or you could say textured look to my backround. In addition i feel like this will absorb moisture better than just coco bedding which in theory (mine at least) will be bennificial to any plants planted/climbing on the back wall. Does anyone see any potential problems with this or am i thinking wrong and this will not benifit at all and look stupid lol.

While i am at it i might as well ask another question for phase 6. I am leaning twords Jungle mix as a substrate as ABG contains tree fern fiber (from what i have read i could be mistaken) I really dont like that it (tree fern) is so widely accepted and used as it is non renewable. Anyhow i was wondering how much would i need for a 46g bow front? I dont really want to buy way more than i will use although i will be setting up a 65 hex soon as they 46 is up going and stable so i guess it would get used eventually. I am more worried about not getting enough as nobody close to me that i can find sells it so i have to order it online.

[jules77]

I just recently layed something similar to "repti-bark" on my background and ended up going with the coco fiber. A background in my opinion is just that, something you want to keep you from being distracted by cords and reflection of glass. I think if you use another type of covering it may become more noticeable detract from your true showing which is the plants and frogs that inhabit your viv. If you want it to be more beneficial I would think that adding more wood to the back ground would be better and have less coco fiber showing. Regardless I think stick with one type or another, I wouldnt mix it.

Buy more fern fiber than you need, Im sure you will use it in the future...

FYI Newb opinion

[Chano]

Originally Posted by Chano

ABG contains tree fern fiber (from what i have read i could be mistaken) I really dont like that it (tree fern) is so widely accepted and used as it is non renewable.

Actually i won't be buying fern fiber at all. But otherwise thanks for your opinion.

[Misskiwi67]

I don't know if its the best or not, but I'm using long-fiber sphagnum moss for my substrate, covered with a layer of some other moss from petsmart to darken the color and add some texture. I really like it as a substrate... the coco-fiber is just too fine grain for me.

[slaytonp]

"Tree fern" is really a kind of generic term, and may include several genera and species, but I wonder where the information that it is a non-renewable resource came from, since some species are often cultivated and harvested for use by orchid growers, and the Australian type is considered a pest in Hawaii, with plans to eliminate it from there, because it is so voracious. As with cork bark, which either can or cannot be a renewable resource, depending upon how it's harvested, I think we need more information on the tree fern bark and panels before eliminating this from our own resources. Sphagnum moss has the same concerns, or perhaps more so, as it is harvested from bogs en mass, not cultivated. Peat moss of the garden variety is even a more dubious concern, as it is also harvested from more ancient bogs of many, often ancient layers. It is not renewing as fast as it's being used. Neither the New Zealand nor Canadian sphagnum mosses are cultivated deliberately as renewable resources that I can discover. I'm just a bit confused here about the concern over tree fern vs using sphagnum, and wonder where the information came from.

Consider organic compost as an alternative, although I still think the long brown sphagnum is close to being a necessity, at least a bit of it in a mix, because of its incredible qualities.

[Chano]

Ill try look up where i was reading about it, and ill post the link. From what i read it is mainly the south american varietys that are being threatened by over harvesting. Brazil has banned harvesting. Tasmania and most (if not all) of austrailia regulate their harvests and only allow one typee of tree fern to be harvested so it isn't as bad with those varietys.