"you need vermiculite or purlite" this stuff must be fertizler free.. I also got caught unprepared a couple years back. I set up a 10 gal tank with the hatch right from the pet store ( 2 4qt backs ( about 8 bucks then) and just added water and set all on a heating pad set to medium. ( not the brightest think but it worked) until My hobuvator arrived. I set it all up and had it running about 24 hours then placed the eggs in there. ( also had to squeeze the extre moisture out ) I now got the tub preset up and just add a little water every couple weeks until they eggs are laid ( am going to cut the grattign for these smaller tub tomorrow )