Eco Complete

[jonnyb1425]

I am moving a newly established (2 months) planted tank to a new house. I am currently using plain old gravel, but am looking to possibly take a shot with eco complete. Am I going to screw up the balance in the tank if I put a bag of eco complete over my already established gravel when I empty the water out to move? Also, is eco complete going to be OK for an apisto tank (hopefully a breeding tank actually)?

 

[malkore]

eco complete is fine for any tank.
I personally wouldn't mix it with normal gravel. It'll look like crap, and by diluting the eco with gravel, you lose much of its benefit.

I know you plan to layer it, but they will mix in with each other...its inevitable.

 

[JohnPaul]

I just moved my tank over to an eco-complete one, and I second everything malkore said. Although it will be a lot of work, if you want eco-complete, I'd drain your tank (or at last mostly drain it) and scoop out all your old gravel first, then add the eco-complete.

BTW I love the stuff--the black looks really great and the variation in grain size (from almost as small as sand to almost as large as aquarium gravel) gives it a really "natural" look. Since I've never grown plants in anything else I can't speak about it as a growing medium, but from the "looks" standpoint I am in love with it.

 

[travis simonson]

I would never recommend placing fresh substrate over the top of existing substrate. This can cause a condition known as 'capping' in which beneficial bacteria in the existing substrate are sealed off and die, leading to pockets/dead zones beneath your fresh gravel that are extremely detrimental to both plant and fish life in your tank. Harmful gases can build up from decomposition and, when released into your water column, harm or kill your fauna, while also causing damage to plant roots.