after completing the background in my tank i have a tone of eco earth left over. in my tank its a false bottom covered with weed block. like i said i have a tone of eco earth leftover and sphagnum moss..i planned on mixing this up to put down. is there anyhting else i should add to this? i am going to be planting in the substrate and already have a few broms still in the pot.
substrate questions. please help
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You should mix in some orchid bark and either aquarium or regular charcoal. Maybe even some fern root.
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Although I haven't used a false bottom in any of my tanks I believe that you should be good to go. I like to mill the moss down quite a bit before I mix it in with my other substrate. But, this is just personal preference since I don't like the long strands of moss mixed in with my other stuff. As I am sure you've read elsewhere just make sure that your water level is below the false bottom. If any part of your "dirt" is touching the water it will suck it up like a sponge.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
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Mix it all up. It will be much better for the plants.
the bark is in big chunks so should i try and make those smaller as well? that aside is that an ok substrate? i plan on getting this tank setup and growing putting some frogs in, and once it gets closer to winter i am going to build a nice tank for a winter project so i really didnt go all out on this tank. the glass is crappy and all scratched and foggy and i didnt really spend my time on it. on the new tank im going to get brand new tank and tod quality substrate like abg. i just didnt wat to get crazy on my first build
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It's ok if they're big. Can't really type to much right now because I just stabbed my self 2 inches deep into my hand...
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On no, that's rough. You'd better step away from the keyboard and take a few months of quiet time to heal up.
OP, after you've mixed your substrate up and have it to your liking, make sure you throw a healthy layer of leaf litter over top. Most people use oak or magnolia leaves. If you don't have a tree you trust nearby (pesticides, etc), there are tons of sponsors/hobbiests that sell leaf litter. Trust me, your frogs and bugs will appreciate it.
Speaking of bugs, also make sure you seed the tank with springtails and isopods! Best of luck.
Wow! That tank looks great! Now for substrate. I've used a few substrates before with whites tree frogs and I have made a mix like the ABG, but i've had better results. I take 3 parts of bark and 2 parts of tree fern root. It drains better than the abg, and from what i've had results with, the plants root even better.
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It's not fern root, though, it is tree fern fiber. For the orchid bark and charcoal, a good particle size to shoot for would be about 1/4 inch pieces. Mixed in is better than layers. The orchid bark and charcoal help to provide air pockets and proper drainage. If you are using just things like Peat, coco fiber, and sphagnum, you will end up with a saturated substrate.
Those links that GoldenState hooked you up with are some good reads.
AfterDark is speaking some wise words, too!
Hello, Pumilo. What is the difference from tree fern root and fiber? I've kept whites using grounded up tree fern roots. Thanks!
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Oh, ok. Thanks for clearing that up!
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On purpose?
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I thought maybe it was a valiant effort to stop the hand from typing the posts. 
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