ReptiBark as Substrate?

19 years ago

I'm going to make a terrarium in an old aquarium tank, which until recently has been the home of an anole lizard. The anole moved on to that Great Sunning Rock in the Sky, so I can clean out the tank and plant things. However, I still have a bag and a half (about 6 quarts) of ReptiBark. Could I use this as the substrate for a terrarium? According to the bag it is made of fir bark, carefully processed to remove sticks and reptile-unfriendly things. If I put a couple inches of this in the bottom of the tank, top it with some window screening, and then add soil, would it be OK?

Brenda

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Comments (6)

mrbreeze
19 years ago
yea I think it will work for awhile anyway. eventually it will break down but in the meantime it will give really good drainage. I would just skip the screen or instead use something organic like a layer of sphag. moss. My tank that has been doing well for around ten years is layered thusly: gravel/moss/potting soil/charcoal/peat & sand mix
so in my case the gravel won't break down but serves the same purpose that your bark would. another consideration is the types of plants you want to use. I say go for it.
brendainva
Original Author
19 years ago
It was going to be a fairly simple terrarium, mainly revolving around plants that are available -- ferns and moss, a kind of woodland look. Perhaps a miniature sinningia if I can find one. I could get some egg-crate and put it in the very bottom, before adding ReptiBark?

Brenda
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Hi. I used a regular insect screen that I stapled on to a frame when I sifted a bag of turface MVP. It was a pain, I tell you and I never did it again. As an alternative, I just get crushed pumice which can also be difficult to find in some areas. Crushed pumice is a bit pricey on Amazon but considering how irritated I got sifting turface, I decided it was worth it. Napa floor dry and turface are also interchangeable. Chick grit #5 (for chicks up to 10 weeks old) is smaller than poultry grit (for chicken 10 weeks and older). I also had a hard time looking for poultry grit of any size so I just use pea gravel. The pieces are significantly larger but it turned out to be less important than getting the powdery bits out of the other ingredients. The individual components of the gritty mix are there for their varying ability to absorb and retain moisture. The granite holds only as much moisture as would stick to its surface while turface or pumice will hold as much water as will be trapped in their pores. The bark fines, on the other hand, will expand a little bit as they absorb water and keep it longer. As an example, all my adult adeniums are in a substrate made up of 5 parts bark, one part pumice and half-part pea gravel. If I am using chicken grit, I would put in one part of that. I have a couple of aroids in the same mix and some tropical plants in bark and turface only. There is really no hard and fast rule--the magic of this substrate is that it can be liberally adjusted depending on your watering habits, instead of the other way around. Also, I suggest using pots with multiple holes. I drill two or three more holes in my pots if they only have one. And I do not top-dress my pots, I think it interferes with the aeration. Goodluck with your future fruit trees. I hope this helps! Pagan
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mrbreeze
19 years ago
I don't think the eggcrate would benefit anything. Seems that people use it for making a 'false bottom' for terrs w/ water features allowing the water to drain through the eggcrate whereupon it gets pumped back to the water feature.

So...unless you're planning to do all that...you shouldn't need the eggcrate. The bottom line is that there really are no rules w/ terrariums...you can do just about anything and it w/ work pretty well.
brendainva
Original Author
19 years ago
Super. So at this point I am looking at a layer of ReptiBark on the bottom, some sphagnum moss, and then what? Perhaps some potting soil?

Brenda
sahoyaref
19 years ago
I think you could just put your bark straight in there and use it as the potting medium. Many orchids are grown like that, and even if it breaks down and looses it's excellent drainage, so what? Ferns and plants like that won't mind. I think sphag would break down faster, as well as staying more soggy. But what do I know? =)
mrbreeze
19 years ago
It all depends on what you want to grow in it. If only orchids, then bark would be fine. If only terrestrials then you don't want to use the bark by itself. I think you should do a few different zones with one area (maybe in the middle w/ the most light) using only bark, another zone using bark plus peat/potting soil, maybe a section that is only sphagnum moss.

ReptiBark as Substrate?

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ReptiBark as Substrate?

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