Substrate tests

[fandt94]

So I’ve been doing the pencil test along the front of my tank and it holds, however how else would I be able to tell if my substrate is holding enough moisture? I’m aware of squeezing it too but would that tell me that overall it is good? The caves I can visually see are holding up...of course under one side of a pool and out the other side lol. I’m pretty sure mine is all good but for future reference and what signs to look for ...

[hprmom]

How deep is your sub? You could try a smoothie straw (large diameter) and poke it down to the bottom, kinda like removing a "core sample". What you're looking for besides the hole not collapsing (wet enough) is that it doesn't fill with water (too wet). You might need to shine a light down the hole to see. My sub is 12" deep so I always had trouble testing! I probably shouldn't admit this but our 65g environment is super stable (heat and humidity not usually a problem in FL), so after we'd been established a good long while I stopped testing...

[fandt94]

Right now I’m at 6-7 inches because it has settled so much so going to start to add more over the next week or so. What a great idea with a smoothie type straw...I have TONS of those!