Substrate

This is where you discuss the conditions of your crabitat -- temperature, humidity, substrate, decorating, etc.
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FairyDefender
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Substrate

Post by FairyDefender » Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:45 pm

I know the mixing ratio for sand : coco fiber is 5:1 but I'm still a little confused. Is that by weight or volume? I was looking at the bricks of eco earth & it says they expand to 8 times their size. So do I go by that measurement or weight before expansion? I am doubling the size of my tat. Right now I have 60lbs of hermit beach so I know I need 60 more lbs but I want to mix myself to save some $. So would that be 50lbs of sand & 10lbs of eco earth? Anyone know how many bricks that would be?

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aussieJJDude
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Re: Substrate

Post by aussieJJDude » Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:56 pm

I know it's by volume. Bascially you have a container of some sort, 5 scoops of sand and 1 scoop of EE.

As for the amount, I'm pretty horrible at that and just judge by eye...

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FairyDefender
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Re: Substrate

Post by FairyDefender » Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:59 pm

aussieJJDude wrote:I know it's by volume. Bascially you have a container of some sort, 5 scoops of sand and 1 scoop of EE.

As for the amount, I'm pretty horrible at that and just judge by eye...

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Wow..... pretty sure I'm over thinking it, lol. I never thought about just using a scoop. I was just just trying to figure out how much to buy Image

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Scarletfire
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Re: Substrate

Post by Scarletfire » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:19 pm

How big is your tank?

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FairyDefender
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Re: Substrate

Post by FairyDefender » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:27 pm

Scarletfire wrote:How big is your tank?

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Right now it is 18x18x18 terrarium (25gallon) will be upgrading to 36x18x24 (55gallon). I'm hoping to use the sub I already have but also would like the tank completely set up before the hermies move so I may need to start from scratch. Plus I have one molting so I'm considering keeping the small set up for emergency iso (hope I never need it).

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doth
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Re: Substrate

Post by doth » Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:21 pm

when I did the calculations for my upgrade earlier this year I estimated 50lbs of sand to be just under 15 liters, and a brick of eco earth expands to about 7-8 liters. so maybe only buy 1 brick for the amount you're using? the EE also comes in a loose bag which might make your calculations easier, but afaik the bricks are a better value

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Re: Substrate

Post by FairyDefender » Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:29 pm

Thanks!!

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odelayheehoo
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Re: Substrate

Post by odelayheehoo » Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:01 am

You couldn't pay me to figure out what ratio of substrate I have mixed in my tank, it's basically an accumulation of sand and eco earth that I continued to add over a year or so. It really doesn't matter what route of mixing you choose, whether it be straight sand, or straight eco earth, it'll be fine as long as you've moistened it to sand castle consistency with either freshwater or marine saltwater.
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crabby33
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Re: Substrate

Post by crabby33 » Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:10 pm

Mine is a 5:1 ratio. I bought 20 lbs of play sand off of Amazon (I know, expensive. But I don’t drive and I’m in a 3rd floor apartment) and then bought a brick of EE. I mixed in the EE and it gave me about 3” of sub. I then bought another 13 lbs of play sand. Which brought it up to 4”. I am planning to buy another brick of EE to mix in. I will also need another 20 lbs of sand. That will get it up to 53 lbs of sand. Some people say 100 lbs but I think 53 lbs is enough for a 20 Gallon tank.

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Re: Substrate

Post by wodesorel » Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:26 am

50 lbs of sand works out to around 5 gallons once moistened and fluffed, and one brick of EE fills around 1 gallon when expanded. It's not that bad to figure out how much you'll need, once you figure out how high you want to fill the tank.

Tip - expand the EE and use it to mix the dry sand, and then add water slowly to get it to the right consistency. OR, use half the water the instructions call for with the EE, make it as hot as possible, and let it sit for around an hour to fully puff up. There is always too much moisture in the EE if you follow the directions and you can end up with a sloppy mess!
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curlysister
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Re: Substrate

Post by curlysister » Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:53 am

Wode's tip - expanding the EE first and mixing it in with the dry sand, then adding water - is gold! LOL, I learned that the hard way!
I also use the 'volume' method. I just use a big margarine container, and count out how many scoops of each.
I have upgraded from 10 to 20 and then from the 20 to my current 55 gallon. I am not exactly certain as to how much sand I have in there, as I used the old sub and added new with each upgrade. But I would say I have at least 200, maybe 250 pounds of sand. It has settled, and next time I am in the city where I can get play sand, I am going to add another bag or two with EE.
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