Eco Earth ...

jt39565

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 28, 2010
Messages
179
Just wondering how to dry out my eco earth. Im trying to rehouse a couple of T's, saturated the brick. Now I need to dry it out, what technique do you suggest?
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
2,208
Lay it out as thin as possible on a large piece of plastic, like a garbage bag cut in half and laid flat. Should dry in no time.
Also, depending on the species and how wet the coco fibre is, you could just let it dry on it's own in the enclosures.
 

Ictinike

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
460
I've take a microwave safe dinner plate and placed a heaping portion and nuked it for a few minutes.

You have to watch tho because it will steam up and get very, very hot!

I stop every minute or half minute to move around the substrate with a spoon or something similar to get the more moist areas moved around and typically within a few mins it's bone dry.

Use caution though because I tried on the same type of dinner plate but a smaller version and it ended up exploding inside the microwave. I believe it just go too hot and it popped up and BANG! into several hundred if not thousand shards :)

I've done this so many times on a large plate though I'll do it again and honestly think something was wrong with the plate itself and the added heat just stressed it to the point of bursting.

Remember to use pot/pan holders cause the plate is extremely hot and you'll have to let it cool or spread it over a cool cookie sheet and it's ready to use in just another few minutes.

Again, USE CAUTION and at your OWN RISK.

Cheers,
 

SarahAntula

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
Messages
46
Just wondering how to dry out my eco earth. Im trying to rehouse a couple of T's, saturated the brick. Now I need to dry it out, what technique do you suggest?


This is a pain in the carpace to do if you do not have the luxury of a warmer climate and need the coco fiber asap. This process requires close attention and monitoring do not leave substrate unattended in oven.

You will need Aluminum foil,
Buckets
cookie sheets
fans
Plastic cups for moving substrate.
Milk jug
Plastic spoons or forks for rotating/grading substrate

Here is what I do to get it dry.
After wetting it
with 3.75L
I have cut a milk jug in half or used another bucket
Take chunks of the coco fibre and squeeze the moisture out of it into milk jug or other bucket, set the squeezed fiber aside.
I take 3 cookie sheets lined with aluminum foil and spread it out as thin as possible I place on convection bake @ 230-250 degrees (do not go up to 400 i have burnt the coco fiber {D) you will see the color change in the oven from dark to light.
keep moving the soil every 10 min or so to get the moisture out.
I then lined my entire kitchen table with foil and layed the baked substrate out on it as thin as possible I used 1 clean fan and had it on setting 1-2 to further dry and cool the substrate keep rotating it.
The whole house smells of baking substrate {D almost better than the smell of thanksgiving ;)
btw make sure you keep a vacuum cleaner at the ready.
And don't forget your potholders and a good Tarantula book to read
 
Last edited:

Ictinike

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
460
I'm about half ready to make this "spinner" as seen like in this vid :D

[YOUTUBE]1J3kGxdonzY[/YOUTUBE]
 
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