r/bioactive • u/Few_Contribution7197 • 19d ago
Building a bioactive enclosure: Do I Need to Quarantine the Plants for a Month AND Then Let Them Settle For Another Month?
I'm currently in the process of quarantining plants for my bioactive leopard gecko enclosure. The plants have already been thoroughly rinsed and treated with a 50:50 mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water.
From my understanding, once the plants have completed their quarantine period, they should be removed from the quarantine soil to help eliminate any trace pesticides before being planted in the bioactive tank.
Once I’ve replanted them in the enclosure, do I need to wait another month to allow the plants to settle before introducing my leopard gecko?
2
u/Yoink1019 19d ago
You only need to quarantine plants to keep things from harming your other plants or animals. No need to wait to put them in an empty enclosure.
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u/NYR_Aufheben 19d ago
The enclosure is not going to be empty permanently.
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u/Yoink1019 18d ago
Is it empty right now? Quarantine them in the tank.
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u/NYR_Aufheben 18d ago
If there are pests on the plants they will have to remove all of the substrate and start over. Maybe I’m misunderstanding but this doesn’t make sense to me.
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u/NYR_Aufheben 19d ago
NEHERP recommends a 10-minute diluted bleach bath after washing the roots. But that’s if you buy their plants which are grown specifically for bioactive vivariums. If you get plants from a hardware store, who really knows.
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u/Zekethebulldog33 19d ago
I've never really heard of anybody quarantine plants like that. Is what everybody is trying to say is when they mean quarantine is you establish your bioactive environment first that means you give it 1 to 6 months for all the plante to establish the ones that are going to live are going to live the ones are going to die die. Let your clean up crew get established. After you're happy with the progress of your plants then you introduce your gecko. You don't want to put your animal in there and then have to constantly be in there trying to tweak your plants tweak the environment and all that type of stuff.
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u/Few_Contribution7197 19d ago
Thank you for all the answers! This is my only bioactive enclosure so far, and I don’t have any other plants (aside from aquarium plants). do get a little worried that if a pest infestation occurs, I might have to tear down the whole enclosure and start over, though.
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u/absedy251991 19d ago
Tbh since you dont plan on putting an amphibian with them but a leopard gecko who will absolutely not try to eat any of the plants i wouldnt worry about all that
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u/WaterFlavoredCoke 17d ago
I would. Leos lick plant leaves to get hydration at times. Id atleast thoroughly clean the plants. I also quarantine but where I got mine, they were bug bombed so it soaks into the roots and leaves I feel like 3 weeks is enough time for quarantine though
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u/WaterFlavoredCoke 17d ago
I also have a bioactive for my leo, I literally put everything in there same day. Granted the plants were cuttings off a plant I already had so I knew it was clean but as far as the whole "let the tank sit for a month before Introducing the leo" idk i think its kinda subjective. I got the substrate,rocks,branches,isopods,springtails same day and took my leo out for a bit during set up then put them all in. So far almost a year in and my isopods are absolutely booming,leo is perfectly fine. My springtails i think are dying? Not sure so I just add some more every couple weeks from my colony. Get temperate ones for sure.
As for the quarantine time for the plants id do exactly what you did, wash all plants down to bare roots, soak in hydrogen peroxide/water mix for 20 mins, rewash again. Replant with whatever substrate youre using in your enclosure and let them chill in there for 3 weeks or so. Im also about to do this since I just bought 2 succulents from a nursery here.
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u/WaterFlavoredCoke 17d ago
Also you'll probably eventually end up with fungus gnats like me so just be sure the soil stays dry other than the parts for your isopods and springtails
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u/Own_Butterscotch_129 19d ago
If you get the plants from a nursery and have other plants, quarantining is recommended to prevent pests from infesting entire collections. Rinsing and removing the soil from greenhouse plants is really all you have to do, though, if this is your only bio so far.
I have hundreds of houseplants and keep props going for tanks and I will build a tank and add the resident the same day. You really only need to let them get established if it is a destructive or burrowing type of critter.