How to plant into an exoterra?

ButterflyGirl89

ButterflyGirl89

New member
I promise I really really tried to find the answer to my question before posting it. If you have a link, go ahead and just send that on!

I just want to know how to go about planting into an exo terra 24 x 18 x 24? I know you need a drainage level... gravel or something? That's literally all I know.

I have GDG's and am thinking of snake plant, philodendron, bromeliad, pothos. I've decided I'm tired of fake plants and really want to real (even though I've never had a green thumb.)

What makes up the layers of substrate? How thick should each layer be? Should the plants be in pots or directly in the substrate?

I've seen some people create a potting situation right into their backgrounds for plants. How does that work?

I really really appreciate any input/help I can get. Thanks so much in advance!
 
Aimless

Aimless

Super Moderator
hi there -

you're not necessarily going to find the different ways to do this in just one thread. if you go here to the DIY subforum and skim the topics, you should be able to find several examples, along with photos, of what you need to make decisions about your build.
 
C

CrestedRick

Active member
You can go to this forum or the DIY underneath this topic and look at my post titled "it starts" and get an idea from there on how you want to customize planters in to your backgrounds. Also try to plant the tallest plants in the back and slope the substrate upwards towards the rear of the tank to give it some depth.
 
zuper8

zuper8

New member
I am no expert, but I was in the same boat as you last year so maybe you can try what I did. I had an ExoTerra 18x18x24. 2" layer of HydroBalls (pet store), plastic window screen from the hardware store (cut it to fit with scissors, was cheap), and like 3" of coco fiber with organic potting soil and moss. I did some research too, but I still didn't really know what I was doing. Still kept my plants alive and healthy for over a year, I had a pothos, creeping fig, and some tropical plant I don't know the name of lol. So it worked just fine for me and my Tokay...

This year, I got a bigger tank so I tried again. The only thing I did differently was 4" of hydroballs and 4" of the soil mixture to give the plants more room for roots. Still had window screen from last year. I use HydroBalls because I read a lot of places that gravel was not a good idea, can't remember why at the moment.

Hope that gives you an idea... I say give it a shot!
 
C

CrestedRick

Active member
No problem! The guy that wrote those is my breeder and my herp supplier, really knows his stuff. He and his gf really helped me when I first go into Cresteds.
 
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