Hello! My name is Neon and I have 3 geckos tanks that I am looking to turn bioactive!
#Going Bioactive
prime harness
knotty magnet
are you wanting like an overall what goes into it?
prime harness
Yes please
knotty magnet
So a tldr of a bioactive enclosure is:
Drought tolerant safe plants ( #plant-chat message)
Substrate (70% soil/30% playsand mixture)
Clean up grew (springtails and isopods generally . porcellionides pruinosus are the most commonly used isopod species for leo tanks. can also use darkling beetles and stuff)
A growlight (can find on the shopping list we have!)
Moisture spots for your isopods and springtails
safe Leaf litter (Maple, basswood, oak, poplar, beech, apple, magnolia for example)
knotty magnet
i use powder blues or porcellionides pruinosus! they're what's most commonly used. they come in other colors as well like orange, koi, oreo crumble, etc :3
i like powder blues cus they blend in
prime harness
Gotcha gotcha. And would you be able to find them on MorphMarket?
knotty magnet
possibly! tropicalisopods and isoflora also have them, you can also look at isopod facebook groups and local people :o!
dubiaroaches.com and pangea also sell them
prime harness
Also, should I wait until I get my geckos all in their own 40 gallons? They each have a 20 gallon right now( I know not the best, but planning to upgrade asap )
knotty magnet
i personally would yeh! it also gives you time to research and learn the care of the plants you want! since each plant has a different watering requirement etc :3
prime harness
Alright thank you for not jumping on me and tearing me apart for having them in a 20 g 😅
knotty magnet
it's atleast surviving minimum and you have them seperated so you're good ❤️
prime harness
I really want them in a 40 g as soon as physically possible
But the only thing that is really stopping me is the where to put them because I have the space, but not for 3 tanks without a shelf
knotty magnet
check out dubia and the ecoflex 36" tanks if you're looking for more budget but good ones!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086LHXHKT/ref=twister_B0CD3N2WFR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
https://dubiaroaches.com/products/18x18x36-50-gallon-leopard-gecko-enclosure
We also have some shelf options on the shopping list :3
prime harness
😲 Those are really cheap!
And let me go look at the shopping list again
So would this work for those enclosure you just recommended?
untold scaffold
Nqa but I want to add Dubia has stacker spacers that you can use to stack your tanks without the need for a shelving unit. If I could do it over again I’d get those, but I’ve already invested way too much money on glass Exo Terra tanks and massive shelving units
knotty magnet
Nqa but I want to add Dubia has stacker spacers that you can use to stack your t...
i wouldn't trust the dubia stackers with like a full on bioactive and properly cluttered tank
the'yre heavy when they have 4-6 inches of substrate and decor in them
untold scaffold
Ah. Thanks for making me feel better about my choices!
knotty magnet
most of the enclosures that have the stackers from dubia are bare ass , no substrate, nothin 
prime harness
To continue on with this thread, is there specific topsoils and play sands that are recommended? If so, can you send me links/pictures of them. I found some powder blues and oranges on MM.
What about springtails? Is there a specific color I should be looking for or?
knotty magnet
To continue on with this thread, is there specific topsoils and play sands that ...
Yeh I can when I’m home!
prime harness
Thank you!
knotty magnet
i fell asleep LMFAO
knotty magnet
I am getting a 50/55 gallon tank!
just make sure that it's atleast 36x18x18 in dimensions or 648sq in in floorspace ! 55 gallons are commonly below thriving minimum (36x18x18) because they're extremely shallow !
knotty magnet
To continue on with this thread, is there specific topsoils and play sands that ...
so in terms of topsoil we do have a graphic (that is broken atm) that shows common brands but topsoil is regionally based! so you will need to go in person and examine the dirt yourself! !soil
grave hedgeBOT
knotty magnet
playsand wise quikcrete and sakcrete playsand are the two commonly used sand brands i see in the states!
springtails i've always just gotten temperate white springtails
i have moisture pockets for my isopods and such anyways so they hang out there with them :3
knotty magnet
yeee so that looks like it's 12 deep which would make it below thriving minimum
you can measure it tho
prime harness
Could I potentially make it work?
knotty magnet
temporarily sure but longterm not really
it's only slightly bigger than a 20 gal long in floorspace
if you measure it and it turns out to be like 18 inches that may work tho but it looks like a 12 deep from that angle
prime harness
Let me measure it real quick if I can find the tape measure
I measured it and it’s 18!
knotty magnet
Woo!
knotty magnet
did you get one for each of them?
prime harness
If I were to get some isopods, could I keep them in a container until I was ready as long as I fed them?
tough cliff
yeah