soil trouble

[dilonredo]

when i built my terrarium i usedegg crate, but couldnt find any fiberglass screen, so i layered the crate with large pebbles, small pebbles and then soil. however, my soil is leaking into the water pool that comes from my waterfall, and then it ends up going through the pump and back down the waterfall and it goes on and on, how can i clean the water and keep my soil from eroding?

[Athen]

as far as using a layer on your eggcrate you can use almost anything that is semipermiable.. meaning cloth...poly foam fabric.... window screen... and so on I myself use both poly foam fabric and window screen ( obviously new not used) it is simply a layer that will allow water to flow through but not dirt because the pourous hole in it arent large enough to allow dirt to get through id like to wager that the way you did it layering different sized rocks still allowed for enough gap for the dirt to get through. but if you have a water flow going over any part of dirt in your viv you can almost count on getting dirt into your water since the water will run off into the pool with it so the dirt in your water table may not even be because the dirt worked its way through the rocks and into the water table. i cannot be certain though since i am just making assumptions id have to actually see your viv. do you have your water fall going directly in to your pool or is there a stream/river running to the pool? at any rate the only way i see to clear it up is to at least remove your water clean it out and possibly make a few minor revisions if you are using a stream/ river try making a sort of bed for it using PVC pipe cut in half as a mold and coat it in GS then carve it and cover it in silicone and put some dirt and pebbles and such on it to make it look natural. if there is no stream/river you may have to remove all the rocks and at the least get an old T-shirt and layer it over the egg-crate to make a semipermiable layer it wouldnt be the best or most effective way of doing it but it would nonetheless work =) i hope i helpedand if you need any clarification feel free to ask

[froggsong]

The only problem with using a t-shirt or other regular cloth (especially cotton) is that the cloth will disintegrate after awhile because it will decompose. If you have a window screen that is broken or whatever, just clean and disinfect the screen and use that. When you just use rock, every time water gets into the soil, it will run into the rocks and then into your water table. Just make sure that what you are using is NOT metal screen, because it WILL rust and poison the water table. They have the screen at Wal-mart, btw, for repairing window and door screens. You are likely going to have to break down the vive and rebuild it. Good luck.

[Athen]

Originally Posted by froggsong

The only problem with using a t-shirt or other regular cloth (especially cotton) is that the cloth will disintegrate after awhile because it will decompose.

which is why i said it wouldnt be the best or most effective way nut will nonetheless work =) eheh but i do agree with her try using screen and if you absolutely cannot get ahold of any form of screen or poly foam fabric as a last resort use a cloth of somesort

[Rainfrog]

I use weed barrier from my local Home Depot. it is a 10 year fabric designed to allow drainage but not seepage or wicking. it is about 13 to 15 dollars for a 3' by 50' roll.

[kristy55303]

does the weed barrier have nay harmful chemicals on it? never heard of this idea. i just use window screen...cheap at home depot. kristy nice to meet you

[froggsong]

As far as I know (I have used it with my aunt in her garden), it is just a type of fabric that weeds cannot grow through.

[Waterkeeper]

weed barrier is a good option, and can be found at any walmart in the garden section.

[kristy55303]

does the weed barrier, as i am interested now, let the rooted plants root through it though while still allowing the substrte from seeping through? kristy

[Fisherman 1991]

Originally Posted by Waterkeeper

weed barrier is a good option, and can be found at any walmart in the garden section.

Except for putting in your garden to stop weeds from growing. We layed this down everywhere. And weeds till grow though it. we sold it at a garage sale The roots of plants should grow through it, but I'm not 100% certain though.

fisherman