Looking for advice for setting up an enclosure

[NihilistEnthusiast]

Hello!

I'm looking to get back into keeping a leo or two, but I want to go as natural as possible, plants and the like. I've kept them before, but that was quite some time ago now.

My first question is however, would a 30 gallon Hex tank be an alright enclosure for Leopards to begin with? I have that and an empty 15 gallon tower, but I definitely don't think the 15 would be enough floor space. If either, or neither, would be fine I also have a 25 gallon biocube style tank and a 29 gallon high (I would just have to shuffle some fish around! haha)

After that, recommendation on brand(s) of:
heating pad,
substrate (used to just use sand, but doubt that would be enough for even just succulents),
type of plants,
would some wood be okay? (I have some pieces of drift would sitting around)

Lighting I think I might be okay on, I have a few just regular CFL and also a spare Compact Repti-Glo 5.0 from Exo Terra

Thanks in advance!

 

[acpart]

There are some really good Gecko Time articles about bioactive leopard gecko enclosures written by a forum member (Indyana). Here are the links to the 2 most recent articles. Hopefully she will chime in here soon:

Holistic Design in Bioactive Vivariums: Leopard Geckos, Part 1 - Gecko Time

All bioactive enclosures have the same basic requirements, but the needs of your main inhabitant dictate the ways in which you can support bioactivity. Many people have claimed it impossible to create a bioactive desert terrarium, but let’s not forget that life persists all over the earth, even...

www.geckotime.com

Holistic Design in Bioactive Vivariums: Leopard Geckos, Part 2 - Gecko Time

This is the fourth article in this series and part 2 of leopard geckos. Gecko Time readers might recognize this enclosure from a previous leopard gecko bioactive article. What happened? Superworms! Zophobas morio overpopulated and became a smelly nuisance, and the worms escaped through gaps...

www.geckotime.com

Aliza

 

[NihilistEnthusiast]

Thanks, I read at least one of those. (and the other just now)

I guess I'm just looking for brands that would be good. I've never actually found top soil that didn't have ferts in it, for instance.

Also types of wood that would be safe. I have a feeling most of mine wouldn't be safe because of sharp points on them, but not positive.

Also, heating. I watched some youtube channel called The Bio Dude and he said you could place a heating pad on the side. I had never heard of this. If so, could I make my substrate deeper? If I did, would I need two heating pads?

The dimensions of the tank are:
The greatest distance across in the tank is 21 1/2 inches while the most narrow is 11 inches. The tank is 25 inches high. Probably should have mentioned that before.