[Guest]

I'm in the process of setting up a 55 gallon vivarium that will house dart frogs. I purchased some organic epotting soil at Home Depot. I'm going to mix the soil with some coconut fiber. The soil has a pH of 6. At what point is soil and/or water too acidic for a dart frog?

Thanks for any help you can offer,
Nick

 

[AlexB]

did u make sure that the soil you bouight from home depot does not have any fertalizers? if it does its going to be harmful to your frogs.

 

[*GREASER*]

How do you guys feel about the plain old expandable coco fiber stuff for substrate.

 

[mindcrash]

coco fiber doesn't drain well, so you will want to cut it with something, like orchid bark. I use the Orchid Mix from Home Depot (Scott's i think) and mix the whole bag with a brick of coco fiber.

Works well for me so far....

 

[snmreptiles]

Thanks mindcrash, that could be my problem . How I posted on misting and that my substrate always seemed soggy...its straight expandable coco fiber. I'll have to give the orchid mix a try. Thank you :wink:

-Shelley

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I'm sure it's free of fertilizers. I was very careful about that.

 

[Guest]

Thanks mindcrash, that could be my problem . How I posted on misting and that my substrate always seemed soggy...its straight expandable coco fiber. I'll have to give the orchid mix a try. Thank you :wink:

-Shelley

Oh noo I think I did the same thing in my tanks too. Thats the stuff that comes in a brick right?? Unless I keep my glass top closed it is so hard to get it so stay moist!

 

[Guest]

the ground coconut fiber is an interesting substrate. For my frogs, i mixed in coconut chips and gravel and that works great in the terrarium, but for some of my potted plants, i used nothing but the straight fiber and it works great there too. I think it all depends on how tightly you pack it and how long you let it dry before you plant in it.

 

[snmreptiles]

the ground coconut fiber is an interesting substrate. For my frogs, i mixed in coconut chips and gravel and that works great in the terrarium, but for some of my potted plants, i used nothing but the straight fiber and it works great there too. I think it all depends on how tightly you pack it and how long you let it dry before you plant in it.

I have also used it for my potted plants, it does work great. I also didn't let it dry out at all before I used it in my terrariums.

-Shelley

 

[Rain_Frog]

soil

I have used organic potting soil plus peat moss / pine bark mulch mixture. I haven't used coco peat. The tank is doing just fine. However, my tank is very moist, and plants that like lots of moisture are best, despite drainage false bottom layer. Many bog or amphibious plants like Ludwigia repens do very well. Standard houseplants like dumbcane, marantha, philodendron, etc, do equally well. Plants that prefer soil that dries out faster or better drainage like Rabbit foots fern and phaleonapsis orchids I leave in pots or grow epiphytically.