Homemade Substrate
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What about making your own based on the ABG ingredients?
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1,173 Posts
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.
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.
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998 Posts
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
I currently only have Leucs. I've kept aurotaenia, auratus, bicolor and imitator in the past
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1,448 Posts
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.
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.
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701 Posts
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.
2 parts (well, really 3ish in my tank
) Cypress mulch2 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.
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8,313 Posts
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.
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701 Posts
Would you recommend peat or coco fibre if someone would do this mix?
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10,415 Posts
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
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8,313 Posts
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
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I use an old hand crank meat grinder on large hardwood charcoal to make it the size I want
Isn't bbq charcoal bad?BBQ charcoal is cheap, so I just break it up with pliers.
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1,756 Posts
They are talking about the natural wood chunk charcoal, not the processed briquets.Isn't bbq charcoal bad?
That's great! I even have a old meat grinder.
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