How To Build A Bio Active Leopard Gecko or Crested Gecko Tank! 🌺
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Step-by-step guide to building a bio active reptile and/or amphibian tank from scratch, looking at all the products you can use and how to use them!
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I tried to get my Leo to hit the like button but she couldn’t she just scratched my screen so I pressed it 😂
😂😂 her little foot wasn't heavy enough lol
Great video, I especially like the picture depiction of the different vivarium layers.
Thank you :)
Yeet
Thanks for the help it took me forever but now I have a pet lepard gecko
aw awesome, good to hear :D
Thanks his name is Phoenix
Very helpful!! 👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you :)
Victoria Raechel love ur vids💞
I realize I'm kind of randomly asking but do anyone know a good site to watch newly released series online?
@Vicente Cason Flixportal
@Jesus Adrien Thank you, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there =) Appreciate it!!
I love guides that show not only what to do, but what can go wrong and how you overcome these problems. This is why I love your guides so much, they're not just black and white :)
Thank you 😊😊
Hey there, thought I'd give u a quick update in Eli. i wanted to say thank you, I'm picking Eli up more confidently now and we are building more trust with each other thanks to your advice. he trusted me enough to lick some calcium powder off my finger, thank you so much for your videos and advice and tips. it's thanks to you im learning how to propally look after my gecko and your videos helped me research everything I know and new info I'm gonna know about being the perfect parent to my baby Eli so thank you and keep up the amazing videos.
aww that means so much! I'm so glad to hear you're getting on well. It's one of the big reasons I love doing what I'm doing -- hearing about a leo thriving in captivity and getting on with it's owner is brilliant :D
Hello I have a story about one of my leopard geckos: last July my leopard gecko escaped its terrarium and was lost I was devestated and upset in the morning my dad bought me a new gecko so I wouldn't be upset 8 months later I found the lost gecko he was very malnourished me and my mum brought the gecko to the vet and we got the gecko some medicine we also got the gecko a new terrarium so the gecko wouldn't be housed with the other gecko the vet was amazed the gecko survived that long. The reason I shared the story is because I want to know how u can check my gecko for parasites. I hope you read my comment I'm a big fan of your channel and I love your videos
ah wow! a friend of my dad had a leo and it escaped for 10 months but fortunately for that one, it was very chunky when they found it. It must have ate all the bugs in the house lol
That’s crazy! About a year ago, I got home from work to find out my girlfriends cat unfortunately made its way to the top of my terrarium and broke through the screen. I thought for sure my gecko was chilling in the litter box in poop form. I was devastated being that I had her for 3 years. About a week later I was woken up in the middle of the night by strange noises coming from my closet. It wound up being my cat so I shoe’d her away. I went to go back to sleep and for whatever reason I just got this strange feeling to go look in the closet. I lifted up one of my girlfriends shoes from her shoe pile and boom, there she was just staring at me in fear. She didn’t look any different and she’s still alive to this day. Had her about 5 years now.
I'm currently cyling my paludarium that has a similar substrate build and have been using outdoor weed barrier fabric as the separator. Durable and porous enough to drain!
I've used organic soil for years with no problems. And the plants thrive like crazy. And worm castings and charcoal and you can't go wrong
I’m building one of these for my leopard gecko this summer and I’m so glad you made a video
Ah brilliant! No problem, good luck :)
you READ my mind!! ive been thinking of going bioactive but could barely find any good information! love u xx
haha perfect! Thank you :)
Glad to know you are helping more people get into bios I have had one for my Crestie for over 2 years and it is doing great
Yeah i really love making the arboreal tanks, my geckos will use every aspect of them. Just now I was looking for lyra and she was on a branch under and giant leaf, just chilling 😅
When you have a bioactive setup - how often do you need to change anything out? Like soil, clay drainage balls, etc? What does a cleaning look like for bioactive? I'm assuming its not completely self-sustaining?
I've been watching so many videos on how to set up a bioactive setpu for my leo, John B, and this is THE best video with the most information and best visual, with the steps and recommendations for where and what to get along the build of the bioactive tank. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Dear Leopard Gecko, well done! Love the little diagrams of each step. I have been replying to leopard gecko care videos for some time now. Then I finally decided it was time for me to step up my leopard gecko husbandry, so I just ordered supplies to do a bio-active setup. Know why? Because one day I took one of my LG's to an outdoor box turtle enclosure and let it run around. After a few minutes, it burrowed into the soil and under a piece of cork. Yes, leopard geckos burrow! News to me. And here I have been keeping them on non-soil substrates that do not allow burrowing. Time to change. Bio-active just makes so much sense.
thank you very much!!! when my crestie gets older i hope to relocate him into a bioactive enclosure. but im sooo nervous!!!! im scared its going to be messed up in the making stage and then you cant turn back because youve added foam and what not. but thanks for the advise ill be putting it to good use!!!
I'm currently setting up a crested gecko bioactive tank and your advice and links are super helpful, thank you so much :)
good timing! i'm going to a reptile expo tomorrow, hoping to get my crested geckos their adult enclosures and really want to go bioactive as i work at a nursery selling hundreds of plants, including lots of "houseplants"
awesome, yeah you can take a whole shopping list to the expo lol. That's super handy with the plants! I'm always having a look round the house plant section seeing what I might add into the tanks lol. I have found fittonias almost always bring fungus gnats to the tank, they will eventually go, but they're a bit of a pain.
thank you so much for this video! after i got a leopard, i decided to get a crestie as well and i want a bioaktive tank for it. This video helped me sooo much
excellent just set it up following your instructions minus backing the tank looks pretty awesome tbh
thank you! Hoping to start a bioactive setup for my leo tomorrow. you've been a great help!
Your videos are a huge help. I love your channel!
Ty! My gecko is still pretty young, (I suspect under a month or a little over) and I’m setting up a bio active setup soon :)
When you finally finish the leo bio-active sub and have it running for a few weeks will you give us an update on how well the cleanup crew is working in arid conditions? Also, any word on if Earthmix Arid will ever come to the US?
Yeah will do, but sadly I don't think it'll be for a while. I want to eventually get them bigger tanks and make them bio active, but the only time i can do that is when I move out into my own house... so it's going to be a while. :(
Amazing video I made a in ground hide with a balloon and it turned out amazing you should try it
Great video really helpful thanks !
The photo description was really helpful
Great content and so helpful. Now I am contemplating redoing my leo's tank.
Thank you :)
I am lucky with eco earth. I have a spider plant in it and it is still growing. I don’t know what I am doing but whatever it is it is keeping it alive
I love your videos! They help so much!!!
Thank this was so helpful especially the back I wanted to stick something on the back but I wasn’t sure what to use but this video has really helped me out 😀
Thank you so much for this video! I was on the fence about going bioactive, because despite really wanting to, I was having a lot of trouble researching. This helps a ton, and I can't wait!
what species of isopods and springtails do you use?
Usually I've seen people who have the cork backgrounds use some sort of water proof screw to attach any branches logs etc coming out of it.
Yeah I was going to say to screw it in, then i thought 'oh no what if it rusts' im not very DIY savvy so i didn't think of waterproof ones lol.
@@leopardgeckotalk Considering all of the stuff you've made I'd count you as DIY savy :) Adding all of the air vents and stuff to the vivs and attaching the backgrounds and what not.
Use pond underlay for your barrier
You teach me how to keep buddy healthy! Your amazing!
aw thanks so much :D
@@leopardgeckotalk np!
I would also suggest alternatively to actually add the isopods early to allow them to reproduce before you add your gecko. You can easily feed them with fish food to help them grow and populate to get established before the dragon enters 🙂
hello!!! i have led strip lights like the kind you would put in your room or something and i was wondering this would give enough light for the plants? thank you!
I don't know if they'd provide the lighting that plants need but im no expert
Very detailed and good diagrams. Thanks
Hi I love geckos you are the best TH-camr ever you helped my mum like Leo’s you are the BEST
aww thanks so much!!
I love your channel and the good info you share with us. 👍
thank you :D
Love your channel!!! I got three leopard geckos after watching you Rocky Mathias and Lemon even watch with me lol.
You're 4th, still pretty good
@@StainedBrain Thank you. my phone just updated!
@@sarahmarie5555 No problem!
Ur 7th
@@m3t4l.f4c3 ya i know. somone2else said they were firsy everything and they were like 5th
Can you use wood chips as a drainage layer?
I used eco earth and sand mixture and it worked amazing and is a lot cheaper
OMG,this is so helpful i always wanted to change my leos tank to a bio active
Perfect, good luck :D
@@leopardgeckotalk Thank you👍
I was the first like and comment 😭❤️
Congrats my dude
woo
Marissa Steele well done xx
Thanks i now have a amazing terraraim for my crested gecko named gooby
Where do you get your rock? Great video as well 🙌
PLEASE HELP! where do you buy arcadia earth mix? i looked on the website and i’m not seeing a “add to cart” option.
I buy my earth mix from swell reptiles, if you're in the uk :)
I wish I had tanks like yours, mine is really bad... great vid though!
aw thanks :) I always see tanks as a work in progress, especially bio active ones, they're always growing and changing :)
Leopard Gecko I have an aquarium because I used to have fish. I’m not even planning on doing a bioactive tank, I just enjoy watching your videos 😂
Do you have a video on the cleanup crew?
This is going to help me out quite a bit, want to try a natural setup for Toaki's upgrade
awesome, good luck!
I love watching your video with both of my crested geckos 😂 idk why
aww haha thank you :)
Always for the pro :)
Awesome! Very Helpful.
Damn! I just bought my leopard gecko a big 67 gallon tank and followed another video that said mixing dry play sand and cocoa fiber together was fine (one of Wickens Reptile videos from a couple years ago). I'll have to add the drainage, mat layer, and better substrate. Is play and fine to mix?
Thanks! I think I’m gonna make my gecko’s tank way more natural looking, even though it’s already natural ish
oo Awesome :D
Are clean up crew necessary? Would it still work if I am just spot cleaning
Do u need the the drainer layer?
I am very new to leopard gecko keeping. I am 13 and I got my first gecko a few months ago. I started off giving not the best care 😳. I found your channel and you helped me so much. I just ordered pure calcium and multivitamins. I am now gut loading my mealworms. I also got eco earth, and for my birthday i will be getting more hides. I am honestly so grateful I found your channel because you are helping me learn more and more about my little gecko and i am becoming a better owner. I am continuing to research on feeding, hides and temperature. I will most likely buy a thermostat soon if you have any recommendations for cheaper places i can buy one please let me know. My gecko is currently in a ten gallon with a heat mat and two hides. (Im getting better ones in the future. Currently i have a moist and warm and will be getting a cool one asap. I have paper towel as substrate and its temporary and i have a reptile carpet but i cleaned the tank a few days ago. I love my gecko so much and i want him to have an awesome life. I will continue binging your videos and learning more and more to give my gecko and awesome life. I subscribed and turned on notifications. Tysm for your help 😃👍🏻😆
I power is a great cheap thermostat on Amazon. You need it ASAP before the heat mat overheats and burns the gecko or starts a fire. Make sure you have a digital thermometer as well. The minimum for an adult is a 20 gallon long and bigger is better. Is the gecko’s main diet mealworms?
Fiona Shepley yes the main diet is gut loaded mealworms. Thanks so much for the recommendation! Ill look into it asap!
Brilliant Bettas mealworms are fatty and difficult to digest, crickets or Dubia roaches would be a much better staple :)
Fiona Shepley okay thanks for the advice. I am a beginner and got my gecko a few months ago. Trying to learn alot as I go I most likely with upgrade but right now my little leo is a juvenile so when he is bigger ill upgrade
@@John-pp5vr if you still have this acc and you see ur notifs, how's your gecko doing now? 4 yrs later lol
Does your geckoes doesnt have dust on there noses when they burry on those loose substrate?
Polypropylene weed blockers what I use, and for just £5 you can buy 5 x 1 meters of it. I use organic top soil with no additives, sand and sphagnum moss for my soil mix. 2 parts top soil, 2 parts sphagnum moss 1 parts sand.
Ah very interesting, yeah there's plenty of alternatives but I've never mixed my own soil so I wouldn't want to advise people on what to do 🙈
I was about to say you should upload videos, but just saw you have. I will go check them out :)
@@leopardgeckotalk yeah, I'm in need of a good camera and editing software 1st and with the holiday coming up this year I don't have money for it. I will be borrowing my dads camera for the holiday tho, so I will likely get some footage of the jungle and the local species up close, well at least the ones that aren't aren't venomous or dangerous anyways. Stich it together with some trail software and see how it goes.
What can I add to eco earth to make it work? I literally bought it yesterday because not a single of the x amount of videos I watched mentioned this. Now I have it and have to make it work.
Edit
Ok I'm going to add this in case anyone else has the same issue and may find it helpful. I've done some research and what I'm going to do is make my own fertilizer essentially. I'll be making a mix of eggshells I will grind in a mortar, banana peels, tea leaves, salad/veggie/fruit scraps (ground as small as I can get them), coffee grounds, a bit of baking powder (recipe said 1 tsp), 3 tsp molasses, 3 tbsp hydrogen peroxide. That should fix this issue. If needed I can always go in and add more powderized eggshells/coffee grounds etc (god knows we have a shitload of coffee grounds in this house) to keep the nutrients up for the plants. I'm only growing a few succulents since it's a leo gecko enclosure so it shouldn't be too hard to upkeep as they don't need as many nutrients as a lot of other plants.
I figured I'd leave my entire monologue up in case it may help someone.
What I should also probably add for context is that I am really taking my time with this bioactive enclosure setup. I am slowly getting everything together and will first get my layers/substrate sorted, add my plants and then let them settle in and get established, then add the cleanup crew which I'll have to provide nourishment for and get them well established, in the meantime I'll be making my decor and airing everything out to the max and then decorate and get all the rest ready, have a final look over it all and see if it's just perfect (biome-/lighting-(yes I'll be adding UV)/temp-/decor-/general setup wise) and only THEN am I getting the leopard gecko from a local breeder. I really don't want anything to go wrong so I don't mind taking a couple more weeks on this, I've waited 5+ years to get a leo gecko, what's a few more weeks... plus getting everything ready is half the fun imo
How did your mix turn out for your succulents. I’m doing pretty much what you said did you mix benefit plant life
If so can you send me that fertilizer recipe!!!!!
If your making a bioactive tank, the critters will fertilize. However, I would reccomend mixing the eco earth with some sphagnum moss, orchid bark, and a little sand. This will allow the soil to breathe while retaining moisture.
Thank you, i will now try a natural tank for my leopard gecko😁
awesome, good luck :)
Thanks
Should I be adding a heat pad anywhere for that cool to hot gradiant in the tank for the gecko or do the growth lamps take care of the heat stuff for the gecko?
Add a Heat mat I have growth and heat lamps and UVB but a Heat mat is 100% necessary
You can add one on the side of the tank if it gets cold in your house, but make sure you put on the outside and use a thermostat to make sure it doesn’t burn them
hi! this was so helpful, but where would you put the heat mat with this set up? im getting my leopard gecko next week so i really want to be prepared :)
This is such a motivating video !!
Thank you :)
I had a bioactive tank a while ago with eco earth, I used some bamboo as the only plants though and bamboo could probably live in your toilet. If I was going to remake it I would definitely do it properly though.
Haha I have a couple bits of 'lucky bamboo' in lyra's tank, though they aren't technically bamboo, but they grew well for a bit, then they got too tall lol
Biodude sells a soil that works really well for leopard geckos and succulents, and it does not require a drainage layer or substrate barrier. I recently saw a bio-active leopard gecko tank that someone has using the arid biodude soil - it is like a year old and the person never has had to clean it. Their gecko looks amazing as well. His feet are perfect, not dry like so many leopard geckos you see.
Where do I put the heat mat then? Do I still need one?
Eh...
I typically make the area where the heat mat lays shallower than the cold area
were do you get the clean up crow please?
Heya!,small question , isn't spray foam toxic?
Thanks so much for this! Definitely gave me some confidence to jump into a bioactive setup once I have the funds :) May I ask how often you have to do a proper clean of the tank?
koppukokoro if you do everything fine the cleanup crew will clean it perfectly and it can last for years. You'll just need to regulate the umidity and feed the geko. Make sure that you choose the right insects/isopods, once they started a nice colony everything will be good
@@Crock509 Awesome. Thank you!
This video was a great help, thank you! ❤
where do you get the leaves from?
Sorry if this is not the proper video to ask on but could you leave a link for the temperature control system you use? please and Thank you
Do fish pebbles or gravel a good drainage layer
Yeah that works roo
Hi :) IMPORTANT QUESTION: I have a cresty in a bioactive 10 Gallon Tank but it’s not tall enough for him to climb at all. My big question that I want to know is would you recommend me changing all of the current media (coco husk and moss) to brand new media and buying all new mold eating bugs and such.. and the drainage balls for the bottom of the tank too. OR am I able to keep the current stuff and plants and just place them into the new tank??? I will probly forsure replace the drainage balls but the coco husk and moss is what I’m wondering. I’ve had them in there for a year now.
Where did you get the rocks
How long after making your set up would you say to wait til you add your cuc? For both leo and cresty
Is there any chance that the isopods could harm the gecko
simply girly i don’t believe so, i think the geckos will eat them if they find them😂
Another great vid! Love your channel:3
Thank you! :)
Where do you get the rocks for your background and am I able to get them in Canada?
Can you use crestie life as bioactive substrate
What kind of plants do you use for a bio active tank for a created gecko
Guys, if u want to make a bio active enclosures, please do your research, as there're a lot of opinion, especially when it comes to substrate and false bottom. There're a lot of youtube channel that explain about vivarium, including SerpaDesign. So please do as much research as possible. 🙏
Serpa design is one of my favorite along with The Biodude
I’ve always used the normal plant mesh…. It’s way cheaper and seems to be near the same thing as the reptile mesh. Then again I live in the country where I don’t have many reptile friendly stores
Can you do another one of those gecko setup videos? Where you check their geckos setup. Also great video by the way!
Yeah will do, probably for May. If you follow me on Instagram @leopardgeckoyoutube that's where I usually put up a notice when I'm looking for setups :)
Are small pebbles able to act as a replacement for hydroballs?
Yeah the water just needs a place to drain out
Hydro balls are better as they absorb the water too
I’m getting a Leo soon!!
Would crestilife be ok for substrate on a bioactive?
Cool video!
thanks :)
quick question : do i NEED to add the little bugs to let the plants grow?? i really kinda hate bugs haha
I'm no expert so don't quote me on this, but to my knowledge the bugs are what keeps the whole 'self-sustaining' part of a bioactive terrarium 'self-sustained'
Looking at getting a Leo! I want to do a bio set up. What lights are required for the gecko and the plants? Is a Arcadia jungle dawn light enough?
Where did you get the coconut home For the crested gecko ?
You can get them from pet shops or buy them from places like ProRep if you are in the Uk
What are the benefits of having the worms in the tank?
I was wondering if I were to do this with a crested gecko cage would I have to water the plants more than just the few squirts a day or can I just stick with the mist that my geckos lick off the leaves
Yeah I usually water the plants as I spray down the tank :)
Leopard Gecko Ok thank you I have been thinking about this for a while thank you for the tips👍
So all the videos I watch conclusion is build the tank a month or so prior to putting anything in so you can test and make sure everything is regulated with temp and humidity with little effert
Mr Gecko says: 'When will I get my Freedom in the backyard, like you promised?'
Quick question on this bio active tank type stuff. How often would you need to do a deep cleaning because that would be quite the task having to deal with the clean up crew, the substrate, and even the background. So how do you deal with that??
I would love to see you review leapin’ leachies rhac formulas! I’m not sure if they ship to the UK but it’s worth a shot!
Omg i've seen them in shops, i love their names!! I may look into getting some :D
You won't probably see this but where do you get your rocks from
I came as soon as I heard-
Edit: I didn't know Eco Earth coconut fiber doesn't suppose plant growth? I was planning on using that for my future leopard gecko bioactive encloser.. dang.
But I wasn't first
@@lycaptain I was trying to do a Hamilton reference 😂
@@lycaptain Maybe next time 👌
Yeah, you can use it to build up areas, but it doesn't have the nutrients plants need :)
I would say don’t use it as your main substrate use a combination with organic soil and some leaf litter and moss to get a goof substrate
How do you clean your tank considering you have to change the mesh do you take out all the plants? Do the roots go through the mesh?
Other types of mesh can last for years without needing to be replaced. Bioactive enclosuree don't need anything more than spot cleaning and to clear the glass.