Hum... maybe I will just go with the mini bioactive practice set up sort of thing. I mean, I like plants, I like bugs, and I have a couple of empty little exo terras and accessories, so why not? I think I have some plant lights somewhere, too, just have to find them...

What would you think if just doing a clean up crew? No plants. Would the substrate still need to be as deep? I mean, I still have a CHE and fixture, I decided to just use the heat pad, but it wouldn't be hard to switch back.

I may look more into arid bioactive setups since I'm going to be building a wooden enclosure for my leopard gecko. That way I can make sure it's built to be able to accommodate such a set-up if I decide to go that route. The only other reptiles I have are kenyan sand boas, and bioactive doesn't seem to be the way to go when you have to dig through the substrate to find your critters :/

Anyways, thank you so much for the input. :)