[dylan p22]

What isyour favorite substrate blend thats not pre-made? I'm looking for some ideas lol

 

[AeroWRX]

What isyour favorite substrate blend thats not pre-made? I'm looking for some ideas lol

What about making your own based on the ABG ingredients?

 

[MeiKVR6]

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/70538-genuine-abg-vs-abg-equivalent.html

One of the better threads about ABG in my completely unbiased opinion.

Either way - there's no true substitute for a good substrate mix. A few sponsors sell it now, there's no excuse to make a bad mix.

 

[Dizzle21]

What isyour favorite substrate blend thats not pre-made? I'm looking for some ideas lol

I get a bag of eco complete, some orchid bark, coir, spagnum moss, carbon and mix it all together till its fluffy works for me. no special formula

 

[Okapi]

Do a search for clay substrates.

For my last tank I did a false bottom, gravel (to give the ground some slopes), clay substrate, a few hand fulls of bark chips, then leaf litter. When I planting, I added some sphagnum around the roots.

 

[Neontra]

I won't consider this the ABG mix, but it has tons of room for microfauna growth and it's much more airy than regular ABG.
2 parts (well, really 3ish in my tank ) Cypress mulch
2 parts tree fern fibre
1 part sphagnum moss
1 part carbon charcoal
1 part peat moss
This is really just the ABG with cypress instead of orchid bark. I don't know if it really is better for the plants in the long term, but it seems to have a light advantage over the regular ABG mix. Correct me if i'm wrong though! You can even mix in some hydroton to make it a little bit more airy and even more room for springs/isos to breed on.

 

[frogparty]

Coco coir, coco chunks, madrone bark, crushed leaf litter, horticultural charcoal, long fiber sphagnum over a gravel drainage layer is what I've been using since I'm redoing all my tanks. I don't have time to do a clay based substrate. This mix is airy, allows for microfauna to travel freely throughout, and holds enough moisture to keep plants happy. I don't have ratios, I just eyeball it.

 

[Neontra]

Coco coir, coco chunks, madrone bark, crushed leaf litter, horticultural charcoal, long fiber sphagnum over a gravel drainage layer is what I've been using since I'm redoing all my tanks. I don't have time to do a clay based substrate. This mix is airy, allows for microfauna to travel freely throughout, and holds enough moisture to keep plants happy. I don't have ratios, I just eyeball it.

Would you recommend peat or coco fibre if someone would do this mix?

 

[Pumilo]

A calcium based clay substrate may be the best substrate you could do for your frogs. They are a bit labor intensive but your frogs will love you for it. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/63732-clay-substrate-how.html

 

[frogparty]

Would you recommend peat or coco fibre if someone would do this mix?

Peat is non sustainably harvested from bogs better left alone to serve as wetland habitat and carbon sinks.... Coco coir is more sustainable and less acidic

 

[FIT BMX]

Will organic hardwood charcoal ( like what you use in a BBQ grill) work?
I have used it in my tanks that don't have frogs in them, and have had good luck so far.

 

[frogparty]

Sure, it's all pretty much the same stuff, but I prefer smaller sized pieces to some of the bigger charcoal used for cooking

 

[FIT BMX]

BBQ charcoal is cheap, so I just break it up with pliers.

 

[kickedinthevader]

I use an old hand crank meat grinder on large hardwood charcoal to make it the size I want

 

[AeroWRX]

BBQ charcoal is cheap, so I just break it up with pliers.

Isn't bbq charcoal bad?

 

[phender]

Isn't bbq charcoal bad?

They are talking about the natural wood chunk charcoal, not the processed briquets.

 

[FIT BMX]

I use an old hand crank meat grinder on large hardwood charcoal to make it the size I want

That's great! I even have a old meat grinder.

 

[jpstod]

I Start with 100% Natural Compost..add Some sand...And cover it with several layers consisting in New Zealand Sprahgrum Moss Covered with Leaf liter, Rocks and Sticks, Cork Tubes