Can EcoComplete go bad?

[lyquidphyre]

I've had the same EcoComplete in my tanks since ~2004/2005 and it has been placed in various tanks since (also, I acquired it from someone else.. so I'm not sure how old it really is). I lost all my plants on this last move and I really want to re-establish the tank that has been plantless for the last two years but I want to make sure the EcoComplete is still "good"

If it can go "bad" is there anything I can add to the tank to re-establish it?

 

[Xand3r]

I'm not really sure what you mean by "go bad;" However I can tell you that during these 5-6 years it may have lost its nutrients (that is if you don't use any ferts). EcoComplete is a porous material, it absorbs the fertilizers and pretty much anything you add to your aquarium. So if you lost your plants after you added the substrate you acquired from someone else there's a chance it had something, but if you had that substrate for a while without any problems there's the chance that you added something else that killed the plants, such as salt or a medication. If I were you, I would put all of the substrate in a 5 gallon bucket, add water and let it there for a while, then I would boil it or bake it just to make sure that there isn't anything. and then just add regular doses of fertilizer, with time it will reabsorb all the good stuff.

 

[jetajockey]

It eventually breaks down in time. As far as nutrients go, the initial ones in the product don't last very long at all.

If it were me I'd probably start with fresh material, but it'll probably be fine as it is.

I don't think that the plant loss was related to the tank, at least it doesn't read that way.