Eco Complete or Flora Max - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

malkore · 11-21-2005, 11:46 AM

Its not that over 3" is bad for plant roots, its that its un-necessary. At an average $30 for 20lbs, it can be cost prohibitive at times...thus no need to exceed 3 inches.

gfink · 11-21-2005, 12:24 PM

[acronym:24ac6a326e="For your info"]FYI[/acronym:24ac6a326e]...I've posted this before, but here it is again. This is an e-mail response I got from customer service when I asked a few questions about Eco-Complete:

************************************************** *****Hi there. Thank you for your inquiries about our Eco-Complete. Yes, there may be some dust, that is normal. Your outside filter should clear that up pretty quickly. As lots vary, you may see some bags look a bit murky and some don't. It really does not have anything to do with anything critical like the bacteria. However, you do want to make sure that you are not seeing a lot of white rocks in the material. We had a batch go through with a calcium carbonate contaminant (causes increase in pH) a long time ago, but I'm not hearing much about it recently as most everything hass been recalled and replaced. Obviously if you suspect a problem we will replace it, but what you have so far sounds normal.

What is Eco-Complete? It is actually very cool stuff. If you look closely you will notice that most of the grains are round and porous. It is volcanic material, but not just the rock ground down, but the spray that comes out during the eruption. This is why is is mostly round, we don't grind or crush it down. It is therefore, very root and fish friendly becuase it does not have the sharp edges like gravel. We also mix in a bit of finer material to give it two distinct grades for optimium oxygenation to the roots. Eco Complete also contains live bacteria for not only a faster cycle time in the traditional sense, but it also converts fish waste to usuable plant nutrients faster, so the plants don't see the lag time you find with regular substrate set ups. Plsu, the material is geologically recent, so more trace elements like iron are available sooner and longer. There is a reason laterite is red, the iron is so locked up in the mineral that it harldy delivers iron at all. However, when you grind up the rock, it reads high in iron, but it simply can't get out. Eco-Complete is much more soluble for not only iron but other good stuff like potassium, calcium, and more

Anyway, to make a long story short, its good stuff. A well thought out "Complete" substrate that does a lot more than look pretty. I'm sure you'll like it.

Sincerely,

Betsey Moore
CaribSea

dharris · 11-21-2005, 12:35 PM

Thank you all for the information. I will be mixing one bag of Eco complete with one bag of black substrate from Kordon due to money issues, should bring me to a 3" depth. I will also be supplementing with fertilizers and such. My tank is a 24 [acronym:258a69a8ae="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:258a69a8ae] deluxe Nano Cube. Is one bag of [acronym:258a69a8ae="Eco-Complete"]EC[/acronym:258a69a8ae] mixed with gravel enough nutrients from the substrate???

11-21-2005, 11:46 AM	#11
malkore Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nebraska, USA Posts: 6,540	Its not that over 3" is bad for plant roots, its that its un-necessary. At an average $30 for 20lbs, it can be cost prohibitive at times...thus no need to exceed 3 inches. __________________ Visit my aquarium pages - see specs on my tanks, and photos of how they've evolved My other passion: TheNinja 500R - updated 9/18/05

11-21-2005, 12:24 PM	#12
gfink Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 398 Images: 7	[acronym:24ac6a326e="For your info"]FYI[/acronym:24ac6a326e]...I've posted this before, but here it is again. This is an e-mail response I got from customer service when I asked a few questions about Eco-Complete: ************************************************ ***Hi there. Thank you for your inquiries about our Eco-Complete. Yes, there may be some dust, that is normal. Your outside filter should clear that up pretty quickly. As lots vary, you may see some bags look a bit murky and some don't. It really does not have anything to do with anything critical like the bacteria. However, you do want to make sure that you are not seeing a lot of white rocks in the material. We had a batch go through with a calcium carbonate contaminant (causes increase in pH) a long time ago, but I'm not hearing much about it recently as most everything hass been recalled and replaced. Obviously if you suspect a problem we will replace it, but what you have so far sounds normal. What is Eco-Complete? It is actually very cool stuff. If you look closely you will notice that most of the grains are round and porous. It is volcanic material, but not just the rock ground down, but the spray that comes out during the eruption. This is why is is mostly round, we don't grind or crush it down. It is therefore, very root and fish friendly becuase it does not have the sharp edges like gravel. We also mix in a bit of finer material to give it two distinct grades for optimium oxygenation to the roots. Eco Complete also contains live bacteria for not only a faster cycle time in the traditional sense, but it also converts fish waste to usuable plant nutrients faster, so the plants don't see the lag time you find with regular substrate set ups. Plsu, the material is geologically recent, so more trace elements like iron are available sooner and longer. There is a reason laterite is red, the iron is so locked up in the mineral that it harldy delivers iron at all. However, when you grind up the rock, it reads high in iron, but it simply can't get out. Eco-Complete is much more soluble for not only iron but other good stuff like potassium, calcium, and more Anyway, to make a long story short, its good stuff. A well thought out "Complete" substrate that does a lot more than look pretty. I'm sure you'll like it. Sincerely, Betsey Moore CaribSea __________________ 10 Gal Planted, 3 [acronym="Watts Per Gallon"]wpg[/acronym], Eco-Complete and Tahitian Moon Sand 29 Gal Planted, 1.2 [acronym="Watts Per Gallon"]wpg[/acronym], Estes Gravel

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
eco complete	xander	Midwest & the Dakotas	4	02-21-2008 11:07 PM
Eco-Complete?	hc8719	Freshwater & Brackish - General Discussion	8	11-25-2006 10:02 PM
Flora Max	melissa1977	Freshwater & Brackish - Planted Tanks	6	08-31-2006 11:50 AM
eco complete	RoLeX	Freshwater & Brackish - Planted Tanks	6	07-25-2006 06:42 PM
eco-complete	aquazen	Freshwater & Brackish - Planted Tanks	3	11-04-2004 01:40 AM

11-21-2005, 12:35 PM	#13
dharris Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 53	Thank you all for the information. I will be mixing one bag of Eco complete with one bag of black substrate from Kordon due to money issues, should bring me to a 3" depth. I will also be supplementing with fertilizers and such. My tank is a 24 [acronym:258a69a8ae="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:258a69a8ae] deluxe Nano Cube. Is one bag of [acronym:258a69a8ae="Eco-Complete"]EC[/acronym:258a69a8ae] mixed with gravel enough nutrients from the substrate???