How To Bio-Active

Fill the bottom of your enclosure 5-7cm deep with a drainage layer, this can be comprised of stones, plastic eggcrate, hydroton or a combination. The drainage layer always somewhere for excess water to go instead of sitting amongst the substrate causing it to go stagnant and rot.
Now is the time to add a length of PVC (optional), make sure that it’s as long as the combined total of your false bottom to top of substrate +2.5cm, a notch must be taken out of the bottom of the pipe. Put the notched end on the bottom and place this through the drainage layer. Put an end cap over the exposed top opening of the PVC pipe.
The PVC pipe allows you to drain your false bottom if needed, and causes a better bottom to top humidity gradient (great for burrowing scorpions).

The False bottom barrier is used to keep the substrate out of the drainage layer. You can use our false bottom barrier, window screen (this does allow small particles and microfauna to fall through).
Cut the false bottom barrier 2-4cm larger than the dimensions of the enclosure, cut a X where the pipe would be and then place into the enclosure over the top of the drainage layer.

Here you’ll want to add you’re substrate layer, you have a lot of options here depending on what you’re housing. The deeper the better, in most cases a minimum of 10-15cm is needed
– Red Desert sand (Ideal for burrowing scorpion species, Skip steps 5 and 7)
– Forest Floor Mix (Ideal for subtropical/tropical bio-active setups, will facilitate plant growth best out of our substrates)
– Burrower mix (Ideal for tarantulas and scrape dwelling scorpion species, not good for growing plants)
– Pulpy wood (Coming Soon) (Best for beetles, millipedes and isopods)

Now we will need to hardscape the terrarium with any rocks or large branches, then add any additional substrate.
Once you’ve done this its time to plant large plants into the substrate.

Cover the entire surface of the enclosure with a thin layer of sphagnum moss this gives the microfauna somewhere to hide away and helps retain humidity.

Cover selected areas or entire surface with a layer of dried leaf litter. This gives the microfauna food, somewhere to live and will eventually break down and provide nutrients to your plants and mosses. Herbivorous inhabitants will also eat it.

When watering your mosses and liverwort, never use town water, chemicals in the water will often kill the mosses and liverworts.

Springtails are a must have, isopods are a luxury. They will help to break down detritus and keep mould at bay

Finally time to add your inhabitant/s