substrate

[fisheyes]

Okay so after reading this forum for a while i've realized a lot of things, one of them being that i don't have the right kind of substrate for plants (i have plain ol' gravel). Anyways I do like the way the gravel looks so i was thinking of just adding something like eco-complete and mixing it to a 50/50 ratio. My question is how do i get it in without freaking my fish out, I don't want to just dump it in and give them a heart attack. Anyone else ever had this problem? What did you do? Thanks for your help!

 

[shannen]

You should take the fish out of the tank. Keep them in a bucket full of tank water and a heater (if you think it's going to take a wile) then proceed with the change out.

A slower way would be to do it all one handfull at a time. But your still going to make a mess in your tank. You can limit this by doing a really good gravel vac before you start.

I'm not 100% sold that you have to have any sort of special plant substrate. I have both eco-complete and reg gravel with equal results. Most of your plant substrates will become depleated of their mineral content over time anyhow. Just make sure your reg gravel is about the size of a pea.

That being said. I do really like the way the eco looks, and it is extreemly non restrctive to the root growth. So I guess it's just personal opinion.

I wouldn't do a 50/50 mix tho. I would wait until I had enough to do it all .IMO it's just better to go one way or the other. Why spend the $ on the eco if your not going to do it all. You'll prob end up doing that eventually. Think about how hard it would be to pick all that gravel out of it. lol!

Wish ya luck!

 

[AlexPerez]

I have to agree with shannen and not go the 50/50 Mix, I did that in one of my tanks to save money and now I wish I hadn't.

But I must say that with the 60/40 mix of eco/regular black gravel I do get great plant growth. Its that over time all the eco has settled to the bottom and the regular gravel is on top and it doesn't look as good as all eco would.

 

[SteveM]

Anytime I've had to add or change gravel in my tanks I've just left the fish in there. They do tend to get a little spooked, but IMO they'd be more freaked out if I hunted them down one by one and netted them into a bucket. I just go slow - I put in 1qt cupfuls at a time and lower the cup to the bottom before pouring the new gravel out.

 

[tetrin]

i mixed 2 bags of eco-complete a few days back to my existing regular black aquarium gravel...partial cloudiness lasted for the night despite rinsing eco-complete twice..didn't want to rinse too much as i was afraid i'd rinse everything off...!! ...

 

[shannen]

tetrin, Prob not a good idea to rinse eco out at all. I've put it in 2 tanks and it does in fact come out crystal clear without rinsing. Rinsing it out will just wash out the benificial bacteria that is already in it. Just an FYI for anyone who reads this.

 

[tetrin]

i purchased eco from aquariumplants ...and they specifically mentioned rinsing it...despite whatever is mentioned on the bag... :? ...
i don't know if any bacteria would be able to survive in a closed system without access to oxygen for a long time...i.e i don't know if nitrosomas and nitrobacter would...because they are aerobic bacteria...
anyway...i didn't need them actually...established tank... ...

ahh...maybe i'm just trying to justify my folly...forgive me shannen...

 

[malkore]

some bags of Eco Complete have been contaminated lately, which is likely why aquariumplants.com suggested rinsing it.

The liquid in a bag should be clear. If its cloudy or milky, you have a contaminated bag.