how am im going to do this :/

popcangenie

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 6, 2010
Messages
135
im trying to dry out some coco fiber just want a quick reply what temps for my oven? do i just put it in a big dish how long?


thank you
 

venom45

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
3
Ive tried this it kinda works I put the oven on the lowest temp, took a lot of mixing and checking because the edge dries out faster so had to keep an eye on it and mix it up repeatedly, I would just leave a thin layer sitting out and just let it dry out on its own
 

phoenixxavierre

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
1,293
My T's love coco fiber. It's all I use now. :D
I've always used peat, or a mixture of peat and sand with plain old without chemical additives potting soil.

I'll have to buy me a brick one of these days and give it a try. Thanks!
 

Offkillter

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
149
I've found that if you take a flat blade screwdriver and a hammer and split the block along the edge into thinner wafers it takes far less water and can be reconstituted sill fairly dry. It takes a little work adding water little by little and breaking it up by hand until the fiber is all separated but doing it this way I can use it immediately even for my most arid loving T's.
 

phoenixxavierre

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
1,293
I've found that if you take a flat blade screwdriver and a hammer and split the block along the edge into thinner wafers it takes far less water and can be reconstituted sill fairly dry. It takes a little work adding water little by little and breaking it up by hand until the fiber is all separated but doing it this way I can use it immediately even for my most arid loving T's.
That's good avice, thank you, I'll remember that!
 

jt39565

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 28, 2010
Messages
179
I just went through this a few days ago, after burning some in the oven, running my microwave far too long, I found spreading a very thin layer on a couple of sheets of newspaper it was bone dry overnite.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
419
I tried the brick once... will never do it again. Such a mess! I use the bagged Eco Earth now. Muuuuuch better.
 

Canth

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 16, 2005
Messages
655
I tried the brick once... will never do it again. Such a mess! I use the bagged Eco Earth now. Muuuuuch better.
That's sooo much more expensive isn't it? I see that and just laugh. There's no way you get the same amount.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
419
That's sooo much more expensive isn't it? I see that and just laugh. There's no way you get the same amount.
Actually, it's about the same price here. Plus since I'm livin' with my mommah, and mommah said no more bricks.. well.. no more bricks! Lol {D
 

0siris

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
Messages
127
I wrung out my eco-earth as much as possible and spread it out on a few cookie sheets and baked at 250 tossing with 2 spoons every 10 minutes. It takes a while to get it bone dry. I'll probably go with the bagged eco-earth next time around instead of the bricks.

just be sure to stir it on a regular basis
 

captmarga

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
339
I buy the bricks, drop them in a plastic trash bag that is inside a small wastebasket. Soak the whole thing, prep the cages a couple of days before I get the T. Stir it up occasionally to let the rest in the bag dry out. Then it's expanded and ready if I need more, and I can just close up the trash bag as needed. Half a brick can be put in a gallon ziptop bag and expanded, then left not-quite closed to dry out slowly if needed. It's messy a bit, but better than some of the other substrates.

Marga
 

venom45

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
3
I buy the bricks, drop them in a plastic trash bag that is inside a small wastebasket. Soak the whole thing, prep the cages a couple of days before I get the T. Stir it up occasionally to let the rest in the bag dry out. Then it's expanded and ready if I need more, and I can just close up the trash bag as needed. Half a brick can be put in a gallon ziptop bag and expanded, then left not-quite closed to dry out slowly if needed. It's messy a bit, but better than some of the other substrates.

Marga
yes the bag trick work wonders
 

MS6582

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
16
I just went through this twice, the first time I put in 3 cups for a brick, took several days for it to dry. This last time I just added 1 cup, waited an hr, half the brick was wet and the other half was a hard (but looser than it was), no water in the bucket left. Took the half of the brick that was till hard and broke it up by hand mixing it with the wetter fibers, pretty much got the fiber to a reasonable moister level then I just put it out in the sun for a couple hrs until it was fully dry.

I've learned it doens't take much water to expand these bricks, just a little more work to break them up.
 
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