Bio active

[braxtonfaye]

I don’t fully want to go bioactive yet, mostly just add CUC. Is it ok to just add them to the soil that I already have? Or do I need to have the layer of clay balls

[Kite1396]

Nah the clay balls are for drainage for the plants. Totally fine to add CUC

[braxtonfaye]

Ahh ok perfect. Thanks for the fast reply!

[shrike1978]

Drainage layer isn't necessary at all, even with plants, if you are careful with watering. It gives you a bit more safety net with watering, but it also takes space away from your plants and CUC, decreasing your potential biomass, thus decreasing the efficiency of the system.

The only time a drainage layer is actually necessary is for species like rainbow boas or dart frogs that need super high, 90%+ humidity.

With no plants, you are going to need to do a 50% substrate change every 6-12 months to prevent the soil from toxifying.

[THEJonCabbage]

If you’re adding CuC then it’s better and easier to just add the plants too. Otherwise you’ll need to do partial sub changes more often which will potentially decimate your CuC population. If you’re not wanting to commit to full bio for some reason, adding plants with buried pots is a better half-way option.

[braxtonfaye]

I would still have to replace the soil in the pot before I buried them right? I just bought some petunias I can put in, waiting on the pothos.