Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if I could use organic potting soil in the vivarium or should I just stick with the bed a beast?

Hello,

I've been using a potting soil called, "SuperSoil", and it works great! I've used it with all my PoisonFrog enclosures.

-cobaltblue/Byron

I use NO soil, I have not had a plant yet that will not grow just fine in gravel. I had a fern that more than one person said it would not grow in just gravel, and it has been doing great for about 6 months. I think that unless you require soil for a plant to go with out it. This is just my opinion. so far my tanks without soil are growing better than my first tank with soil. I plan to redo that tank soon and go with only gravel.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
0.0.2 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

I just plant directly in the gravel substrate. In some of my vivariums I use my own soil mixture consisting of long fiber spagnum moss and ground up coconut husk. This adds nutrients and raises the pH some. All of my plants thrive in this manner. Hope this helps.

Yeah,
All my tanks have gravel and magnolia or oak leaves over the gravel.Most of my tanks have basically epiphyic plants anyway so it doesn't matter what the substrate is for me.
Mark W.

I think soil adds a lot to a vivarium. Reptiles magazine's Living Vivarium column by Rex Lee Searcy gives several recipes for potting soil that are easy and not terrible expensive. Searcy, something of an expert in this area, doesn't conceive of a frog tank without soil. I have two: One 20 gallon long which houses leucs and a 40 gallon that houses p.terriblis. I can't imagine that it is easier to keep a gravel tank clean than a well-planted vivarium with beneficial bacteria and fungi to break down nitrates and other waste. Plus, it's great medium for spring tails and it looks great as well. IMHO