# How to Dry Coco Coir Made from Brick



## Aristotle (May 17, 2011)

After months of purchasing Coco Coir in a bag, I recently bought the (much cheaper) Coco Coir in brick form. Tonight I soaked it per the instructions. But now I have a bucket of VERY WET coco coir. I would appreciate it if someone can tell me the best way to "dry" coco coir.

Thanks a lot.

Best,
Kristina


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## coreyc (May 17, 2011)

Just drain the excess water out if you have a tarp or a piece of plywood spread the Coco Coir out in a thin layeri n the sun it will dry


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## lobovasco (May 17, 2011)

I lay the really wet eco brick out in the sun to dry in a kids wading pool. If you happen to have any coco coir from the bag mix with the wet to dry quicker. Now next time you know not to add too much water


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## dmarcus (May 17, 2011)

I agree with above, to lay it out and dry in the sun...


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## Kristina (May 17, 2011)

A window screen set on a couple of cement blocks works really well too.


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## Aristotle (May 17, 2011)

Awesome solutions! Thanks so much. I like the "sun-dry" method, but today happens to be the one day of the year it rains in SoCal!! So I will spread the wet coco coir on plywood in the garage and pray for sun. Thanks for all the ideas.

@ Alan - I DID add way too much water. (That's what happens when you clean your tortoise house at midnight!!!) My climb up the tortoise care learning curve is a very slow one!!

Thanks,
Kristina


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## Jacob (May 17, 2011)

yep its raining in la county today!


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## SnakeyeZ (May 17, 2011)

Coconut coir always dries so fast for me by just the air... maybe my house is too dry but when I mist down my enclosures it's only hours before it's completely dry.


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## Yvonne G (May 17, 2011)

You can pick up a lot in handsfuls and squeeze out the water.


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## dmarcus (May 17, 2011)

SnakeyeZ said:


> Coconut coir always dries so fast for me by just the air... maybe my house is too dry but when I mist down my enclosures it's only hours before it's completely dry.



I have the same issue with Coco coir, I have started to just pour water in there and then mist until the misting is not enough.


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## SnakeyeZ (May 17, 2011)

dalano73 said:


> SnakeyeZ said:
> 
> 
> > Coconut coir always dries so fast for me by just the air... maybe my house is too dry but when I mist down my enclosures it's only hours before it's completely dry.
> ...



I do the same weekly. I add about 2litres of water into my russian enclosure and mix it all in.


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## lobovasco (May 17, 2011)

I did the same thing the first time lol. I added way too much water, and to make it worse it rained for 3 days, but one full day in the sun did it. Now i always add water little by little. If you maintain your coir too wet insects can start to grow in there so watchout. 





Aristotle said:


> Awesome solutions! Thanks so much. I like the "sun-dry" method, but today happens to be the one day of the year it rains in SoCal!! So I will spread the wet coco coir on plywood in the garage and pray for sun. Thanks for all the ideas.
> 
> @ Alan - I DID add way too much water. (That's what happens when you clean your tortoise house at midnight!!!) My climb up the tortoise care learning curve is a very slow one!!
> 
> ...


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## pdrobber (May 17, 2011)

I added too much water in my red foot's and I started to see some bugs. I think it also contributed to the shell rot problem that developed. You have to make sure it stays warm enough if you're adding water.


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## Aristotle (May 18, 2011)

pdrobber said:


> I added too much water in my red foot's and I started to see some bugs. I think it also contributed to the shell rot problem that developed. You have to make sure it stays warm enough if you're adding water.



I finally got it all dry! Thanks all. Given the comments above re: bugs, I have a question. Before I resorted to the brick on Monday night, I used a bag of "ready" coco coir in the table, and within an hour as I was setting up everything in the table I noticed at least one tiny little bug - it kind of looked like a flea, jumping around all over the place. This was DRY coco coir, as I hadn't sprayed it yet. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, what is the solution? Do they spread from the tortoise house into my house? Is it okay for my tort? BTW - I don't have any other animals in my house (unless you count my two sons!  ) so I don't think the bugs are fleas (like cats and dogs get).

Thanks in advance.

Best,
Kristina


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