Bio enclosure messed up..

[DutchChams]

Hello beautiful people!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

I run into some serious trouble while cleaning bioactive enclosure.. I didnt notice any of the problems before because it was in the back and all the plants were growing in front off it. Basically the substrate ( bodem ) is not exceeding like it should. There was a serious amount of white mold in the back and when i removed some of the plants i noticed a very sour smell.. Not good..

Ther were also some rips in the expanding foam sodes.. Dont know what caused this to happen though..

I decided to act immediately and change up the enclosure. I know its not a good thing to change and switch enclosures to many times. But i will not risk my chams health because i made a mistake with the bio enclosure.

For now i split the enclosure in to 2 parts! The upper part is still the same as it was. This has the lighting, the cham and the misting system ofcourse. I closed the bottom part off with a substrate tray i still had lying around.

I dont know if i should empty the tank and redo the entire thing or to go for a new enclosure ( same i build for Loki ) because that eco system seems to have a lot of succes.

What do you guys think?

Added some pics of the molt and how i split the enclosure for now!

 

[Sonny13]

In the beginning there’s always (at least almost) mold and that’s pretty normal. Do you have springtails in there? They’re normally good with mold. Did you add a fan in lower part? if not I would add one to create more airflow in lower part. Don’t give up yet

 

[MissSkittles]

The bottom part looks like a glass tank. How have you been managing excess drainage? A little mold wouldn’t concern me much, but a bad smell with the mold would. You should have only a rich earthy smell. Do you see any of your isopods or clean up crew moving around?

 

[Sonny13]

a bad smell with the mold would. You should have only a rich earthy smell.

Good one, forgot to mention it

 

[MikeyBen]

Hi, springtails are the best to help control mold growth. Also what are you using for the drainage lair?

 

[DutchChams]

My god...

I started digging in the substrate this afternoon and it was worse case scenario.. a thick layer of standing water, rotting plant matter and god knows what.. The smell was absolutely disgusting.

This is gonna sound a whole lot of stupid but i forgot one of the most important steps with bio-active enclosures... Drainage .

Idk why or how i forgot it but it happend.. I think i was so busy with trying to figure out the substrate mixture, expanding foam walls and all the other steps. I just slept on it..

But there is no excuse. I made the mistake and nothing is gonna change that. I feel like shit to be honest. Disappointed aswell.. Spend a lot of hard work and money on the project.

But looking forward its a mistake i will never make again..

Thanks for all the nice replies btw!!

 

[DutchChams]

Hi, springtails are the best to help control mold growth. Also what are you using for the drainage lair?

Springtails were in there! I used laica/lyca or how you call it. The small brown balls.

 

[MissSkittles]

The best way is to use a piece of pvc pipe with a cap to be able to suction the excess water out.

 

[MikeyBen]

My god...

I started digging in the substrate this afternoon and it was worse case scenario.. a thick layer of standing water, rotting plant matter and god knows what.. The smell was absolutely disgusting.

This is gonna sound a whole lot of stupid but i forgot one of the most important steps with bio-active enclosures... Drainage .

Idk why or how i forgot it but it happend.. I think i was so busy with trying to figure out the substrate mixture, expanding foam walls and all the other steps. I just slept on it..

But there is no excuse. I made the mistake and nothing is gonna change that. I feel like shit to be honest. Disappointed aswell.. Spend a lot of hard work and money on the project.

But looking forward its a mistake i will never make again..

Thanks for all the nice replies btw!!

It's an honest mistake so don't feel bad. It's how we get better. @MissSkittles response about the pvc pipe is a great resource to use jn fhe future.

 

[DutchChams]

The best way is to use a piece of pvc pipe with a cap to be able to suction the excess water out.
View attachment 338765

Oow woow, that's actually a really brilliant way!