#Bioactive Enclosure

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solemn cedar
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I currently have a non bioactive enclosure , but I need to change my substrate. I’ve seen the best or one of the best substrate is the Earthmix arid supercharged from Arcadia. Will I need to completely swap to a bio active enclosure in order to have this mix or can you just use it as you would with a non bioactive enclosure. Could someone also tell me if there’s any benefits to switching to a bioactive enclosure and what I would need to change?

celest ether
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Do you not have access to topsoil and playsand? or do you just wanna use that? /gen

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some benefits are: you wont have to change the sub

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thats all ik..

astral prawn
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nqa the only big difference between a naturalistic and bioactive enclosure is that you wont be changing the sub or cleaning poops^^ you still need to clean urates

if you are gonna use a premade mix though, earthmix arid is actually one of the better options. you can have the sub without making it bioactive though. bioactive is the addition of real plants and cuc (isopods, spring tails, darkling beetles etc)

spring smelt
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NQA bioactives need substrate, live plants, and a clean up crew (CUC). Benefits include: it’s more natural and the plants and CUC keep the tank clean (you’ll only need to remove urates and don’t need to change the substrate). I believe there is a command that has more information !bioactive

graceful sequoiaBOT
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Bioactive enclosures are a system of multiple components working together to create an ecosystem. This includes plants, clean up crew (cuc), and proper loose substrate to be a true bioactive system. When one of these components is not there, it is not a true bioactive tank.

In order to get started with setting up a bioactive tank for a leopard gecko, you should have proper overhead heating in the form of a halogen or DHP, UVB, and most likely will need an LED for plant health. Choose plants that will do well in an arid environment and that are safe. Common clean up crew includes temperate springtails and powder oranges/blues, darkling beetles or giant canyons.

Substrate should be the same loose substrate we advocate for, a 70:30 mix of organic topsoil without additives and play-sand, with possible additives like excavator clay and leaf litter. Please note that baking topsoil kills microorganisms and beneficial bacteria within the dirt, meaning that dirt can become overwhelmed with bad bacteria. Because of this, we do not recommend baking dirt before adding it to your bioactive tank.

When starting a bioactive tank, we recommend quarantining plants outside of the tank and culturing cuc as well. It is ideal to then let the tank establish for at least a week once you put those components together. However, that is not possible for all keepers, and that is okay. You will just need to keep a close eye on temperatures, humidity, cuc population, and plant health.

solemn cedar
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Thanks for all the answers