Eco Complete or Flora Max

[dharris]

I plan on using either of these substrates for my planted tank.
How deep should the bed be? I was think around 40# for my 24G Nanon Cube. I have used fluorite in the past, boy what a mess I remember that being.

 

[malkore]

Aim for 3" average depth...usually a little deeper in back, shallower in front.

And eco complete is teh preferred substrate IMO.

 

[azn_fishy55]

3" I think is the best because it is not too shallow or too deep, and eco-complete is the way to go.

 

[dharris]

Can I mix Eco-complete with regular black gravel from Kordon?

 

[TankGirl]

You can certainly mix it, but I would do it only if the cost of the plant substrate was prohibitively expensive for the tank size.

BTW, I use Fluorite almost exclusively because it is cheap locally and I don't have to pay shipping, and I do not have any problems with it being a mess. Once the initial cloud clears it does not cloud ever again, even when rearranging the tank, IME. If I could get EcoComplete plant substrate locally I'd use that, tho.

 

[malkore]

and if you do mix, make sure at least 50% of it is eco complete...otherwise you dilute its nutrient retention properties, making it less effective. 100% is best IMO.

 

[fastfly48]

3" I think is the best because it is not too shallow or too deep, and eco-complete is the way to go.

Too deep? how does the depth of the substrate affect the plants? :? Surely a deep substrate couldn't hurt the plants? Needless to say I don't really understand this!
Sure...if it's too shallow than the roots don't have enough space/nutrients etc...etc...but too deep? Or am I reading in to this too much? or is it just a figure of speach/type.
confused.
Ry.

 

[Jason the Lost]

If you're looking to mix things up I added some regular "pebble" type substrate in patches to the bottom of my tank. Breaks up the plain black of the eco complete, makes things look a bit more dynamic along the bottom of the tank with beds of rocks between patches of eco complete/planted areas. Kind of off topic, haha....

 

[gfink]

I ordered 1 20lb bag of eco-complete for my 10 gal. It wasn't enough, so I added another 10 lbs of tahitian moon sand which I bought locally. Now I have 2.5 -3 inches. Looks very nice.

 

[sudz]

I have 40 pounds eco complete, and 25 pounds of brown river rock. It looks very natural, and the plants are growing, even though its seriously under-lit.

Eco complete is probably THE best out there... IMO, anyway.

I have 3 inches in spots. maybe more. But usually its around 2. I textured it. little hills and valleys of about an inch fluctuation. 65 pounds for a 44 gallon tall is plent, I think. I am really pleased with the result. Check out my gallery, the latest picture.

Ttyl

 

[malkore]

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]

FYI...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]

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 gal deluxe Nano Cube. Is one bag of EC mixed with gravel enough nutrients from the substrate???