My New Planted Viv (DUW)

[Enigma]

For a drainage layer, I either use larger (1cm+) gravel or hydroballs. I find that bark (for me, anyway) absorbs too much water and molds. I then layer fiberglass window screen, and then egg crate on top of the drainage layer. My substrate goes on top of the egg crate. For my crestie vivs I'm using Eco Earth (I'm experimenting with a Wandering Jew growing in that), or the ABG (Atlanta Botanical Gardens) substrate mix for plant-only tropical terrariums.

[TryBallPythons]

Thanks Shelley, I still haven't decided which route I want to go. I like the idea of a light weight drainage layer such as bark chips, but I hadn't even thought about molding.

Maybe Gravel is the best way to go since it is easy to get, and you don't really have to worry about molding or anything like that. I think I read somewhere that Hydro balls can collect a lot of bacteria... is that true?

I have more than enough egg crate/screening, so I will more than likely use that in addition to whatever I choose as my main drainage layer.

Thanks again everyone for all of the advice!

I will keep you posted, and any additional feedback you have definitely helps!

Rob

[Enigma]

If you're planning on putting anything in the viv that will dig, I would use both eggcrate and screen. The eggcrate on its own isn't a good choice, as your substrate will fall through the holes and mix with your drainage layer. I use the eggcrate more as a "critter guard" for the screen. And, to be quite frank, the egg crate looks terrible and can easily be viewed through the side of the terrarium. If you won't have any diggers in the viv I would just use the screen for improved aesthetics.

All surfaces can collect/grow bacteria. The more porous the surface is, the more bacteria you'll have. Keep in mind that there are essentially two types of bacteria to be concerned with: good and bad (to keep it really simple). If you were to be building a palladium that was going to house critters, you would want a substance in there that the nitirifying bacteria (ammonia---> nitrite--->nitrate) could populate readily and aggressively. It is entirely possible that the hydroballs could encourage more bacterial growth than gravel. In this case (depending on what your final plans are), if an abundance of nitrifying bacteria isn't required, it may be a better option to use gravel. The gravel looks much nicer and more natural, I find. The hydroballs look like garbage. You'll get a mix of good and bad bacteria with whatever you use.

I find that the larger gravel works the best, as it leaves voids where the water can collect: there isn't as much displacement. When using really small gravel the water is displaced much more and it takes a lot less water for it to reach your substrate. I learned this lesson the hard way with a tropical plant terrarium I created last year: the whole thing rotted out as I wasn't watching the water level in the drainage layer as closely as I should have.