? on new substrate

[mom2reds]

I just recently changed the substrate in my ten gallon tank. I took out he old aquarium gravel and replaced it with eco complete and also put in a piece of mylasian driftwood. I love the way my tank looks and my plants are alot happier looking. My question is do I need to get some sort of snail to keep the eco complete stired.

Thanks

 

[jcarlilesiu]

im assuming you are asking this question because of the possiblity of gas build up from waste in the substrate. Typically, gravel vac-ing at water changes will prevent this. Snails are usually always a good addition to a planted tank, like MTS, just make sure you don't get snails which are going to munch on your plants. Also be aware that some fish are not compatible with snails as they find them a nice treat.

 

[mom2reds]

How do I vacume(sp) the eco complete with out clouding the water all up again. What kind of snails do you all recomend

 

[jcarlilesiu]

I have never used eco-complete... I always use laterite under my substrate for planted tanks. Maybe somebody else with eco can come answer, but i would think that if its a standard stand alone substrate you should be able to vac it.

I have MTS in my tank

 

[JRagg]

You don't want to deep gravel vac if you have plants, that's the "good stuff" that the plants use. Just stir up debris on the surface and suck that up.

I'm not sure that Eco needs stirring, but I'd wait for a response from someone who uses it.

 

[gheitman]

If you want to put some snails in the tank that has Eco-Complete as the substrate I would recommend MTS. That is what I do and I just siphon the surface of the substrate.

 

[JohnPaul]

Eco-complete is treated like any other gravel, you can vacuum it as much as you wish. As for the need for snails, no, eco-complete is a gravel and not a sand, so it doesn't compact the way a sand substrate does. But like others said, MTS tend to be a nice addition to any planted tank, they certainly don't hurt and to whatever degree they do mix up the substrate, that's not a bad thing.

 

[mr funktastic]

i am going to disagre with u john paul. eco is half sand have fine gravel. and it does compact. if u start trying to vac it u will sick up alot of the sand. i usggest getting a handfull of MTS(i am sure a member of this site could help u out) and throw thm in. they will keep the gravel stirred and prevent the gas from building. when u want to clean it up just wave the vac over the substrate and it will kick up any loose debris. i dont vac mine at all. but if u look at it u will notice all the finer sand of the eco will start to settle to the bottom and most of the gravel part of it will stay on top. i love eco over all other substartes. looks agreat and is awesome for your plants.

 

[JohnPaul]

Well, I'll disagree in return, Mr. Funk. Yes, there are some smaller particles in Eco-Complete. But if you go to CaribSea's technical specs, you'll see the the size range on Eco is 1.0 mm to 6.0 mm. By comparison, grain sizes on any of the sand substrates are 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm.

So even the smallest particles in Eco are three times larger than the largest particles of what could be called a sand substrate.

However, I will concede that because there is quite a range in the sizes of Eco, there are some ways it is similar to sand. And so yes, it does in a sense compact, though I would also have to say that I had a 2" bed of eco as my substrate for 1 year plus without having a single MTS and without ever "stirring" the substrate, and I never had any problems with anaerobic pockets developing. Whereas in another tank where I had a 1.5"-2" bed of sand and no MTS, I had all sorts of problems.

 

[mr funktastic]

i was just kinda speaking from personal experience. it also depends on your vac. i have a 2 1/2" head on my vac so it has ALOT of suction power and quite easily pulled up my eco. not alot of it but enough that i didnt want to do it again.

 

[JustOneMore20]

i have a 2 1/2" head on my vac so it has ALOT of suction power and quite easily pulled up my eco. not alot of it but enough that i didnt want to do it again.

I had the same experience as Mr. Funk. I can't vacuum my Eco because the smaller pieces are on top and my Python gravel vac sucks it up.

I'd recommend just hovering over the Eco to get the nasties up...just try not to suck up the Eco. If you have alot of plants in the tank and you trim and replant often, that will keep the Eco stirred up. To me, its more like a bigger grained sand with some gravel sized rocks mixed in. I don't stir mine often, or have MTS, but I do trim and replant atleast every 2 weeks, and that moves the say around a bit. I also have Yoyo loaches that like to dig around in the sand.

I love Eco Complete. It is great for the plants, you don't have to rinse it, and its nice and dark so the plants stand out more. You couldn't ask for anything better! You'll love it!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, I'm running Eco Complete in my 4 (edited, forgot about my 2 10G tanks with eco) planted tanks (using over 300lbs of Eco, 16 bags total between 4 tanks). Yes, it is is part gravel and part sand, and you do not deep gravel vac it. By doing so you will remove all the good fine Eco that helps the plant roots stay in place. With Eco complete, you only suction off the top of the Eco by waving the gravel vac over the surface and sucking up any loose crud. So I completely agree with Mr. Funktastic, he has it absolutely correct. And as for the specs, I have not seen the specs that were given above. My Eco contains grains that are like dust (much finer than the pool filter sand I have in my 55G) all the way up to gravel almost as big as aquarium gravel. And that is another reason you don't rinse Eco before adding to the tank. MTS is an excellent addition to any planted tank, as they will keep the gravel churned, and don't give the tank an eye sore like other snails do. Usually they are under the gravel, with an occasional appearance. And they don't eat plants either.

 

[mr funktastic]

thanks lonewolf i know what u mean about the dust suzed stuff. thats what gives u that tiny bit of cloud when u first fill the tank not very much though and its gone within a few hours. MTS are great becasue of all the previous things mentiond and they also eat dead plant matter. and algea of the plants. i will occasionally see mine suiciding off of a leave 15" up in the tank. its actually funny to watch. and they do vary rarely show themselve but when they do its more of a treat than a nuisance. plus they look cool. here is a pretty good pic of the MTS.

 

[JohnPaul]

very nice close-up pic of the snail!

 

[mr funktastic]

thanks john paul

 

[Tostada]

I've got Eco in my 30 gal hex. It seems more like potting soil with sand and gravel in it to me. Just running a vac over it really clouds up my water.

In my tank, I just put 20 lbs. Eco and 10 lbs. black gravel on top of it. I also have MTS. I think it looks a little better with some regular gravel on top, and things don't get all messy when I vac. I've got panda cories rooting around in the gravel, and the contrast is really nice. I think it looks a lot better than just seeing them rooting around in the dirt-looking Eco.

Looking at Mr. Funk's picture there, I think maybe I got a finer grain batch of Eco than he did.

Really, it's whatever you like. If you like the look of the Eco, it's not like you're hurting your fish by stirring it up a little when you vac, and it only takes a couple hours to settle and clear up.

 

[mr funktastic]

miner never clouds when i do my vac..... all the sand if my eco seems to have settles down a bit deeper in the substrate aswell. all the larger gravel size chunks surfaced. i really like how earthy it looks. i think it really adds to the appearance. i hate the look of gravel now that i have the eco but that is just personal preferance.