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Eco-complete ok or no?

7K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Ashkat 
#1 ·
so ive had some trouble getting my plants to grow in my tank. i use root tabs for my amazon swords. i have a liquid fert that ive used twice now, once when i got it about two weeks ago. and then i added some when i did my weekly water change. my swords were looking really bad but some color has come back. ive thought about changing over to a substrate like eco-complete but im wondering if using it in my whole tank is overkill for a lightly planted tank. i would like to expand on the live plants i have over time so cost isnt the issue.

so would eco-complete in a lightly planted tank be too much nutrients. like would it make algea grow better also. hope you guys can help.

also should i try a diy co2 injection instead?
 
#2 ·
ok is my question just that dumb or what. no answers out there at all?

im just trying to think of the long run what ill want and i really want to keep some kind of loach probably 4 - 6 khuli loaches. the gravel i have in there isnt sharp but its large and id rather see them dig around in something like sand. but ive heard people say there loaches do fine with eco-complete so ive thought about switching over to it that way i could grow some nice live plants.

hope someone out there responds.
 
#3 ·
I have zebra loches, corys they like rooting in the eco complete I would not worry about it my plecos don't mind either

I have 80 lbs of eco complete in a 55 gal tank, I also have a area in front of tank that is a gravel the eco complete doesn't seem to mix with the gravel. IMHO if you are going to add more plants go the eco complete way if you want a area of gravel do that also.
 
#6 ·
a single 18 watt 6700K bulb on a 29 gallon tank if i didnt mention that. thanks for the help. i think im going to order a bag of eco-complete soon
 
#7 ·
I was having difficulty with my plants until I added eco complete. I absolutely love it - so do my plants. The only thing I would say is that it can take a few weeks before you'll start to see any siginifcant difference, but once it starts taking effect the result is incredible. The only ferts I use alongside it are root tabs.
 
#8 ·
How did you go about adding the substrate? Doesn't it involve digging up all your plants and replanting them? I'm thinking I may end up having to do this in my 28 gallon, but I only just got most of my plants in there. I'm hesitant to pull them out, not to mention stressing the fish out again!

Any suggestions?
 
#9 ·
When I changed from sand to eco complete I removed most of the fish first of all (except the kuhlie loaches which are next to impossible to catch). Then I removed all of the existing plants, put into a bucket of tank water, removed the sand with a gravel vac then added the eco. It clouded the water for a bit, and I waited for the cloudiness to subside before planting.
 
#10 ·
It's mostly just really annoying and a lot of work, but it can be done. Keep in mind that a lot of the beneficial bacteria in your tank is in the gravel, so you may go through a mini-cycle if you're not careful. One way to combat that is to fill a nylon stocking with the old gravel and leave it floating in the tank for a while. I also recommend upping your gravel vac regimen beforehand to try to keep stirring up gunk during the move to a minimum.
 
#11 ·
Wow, so I did a substrate addition today. Took a long afternoon. I think I'm going to post a thread with photos. Suffice it to say, it was a lot of effort, but the tank looks freaking awesome now.

I put 25 lbs of flourite in my 28 bowfront and then put the original 25 lbs of gravel from that tank back in on top of it (for the look of it). I may eventually reduce the amount of gravel on top, but for now, I am loving the look of the deep substrate.

I think I'd be much less tired after the whole thing if I hadn't spent a long afternoon just yesterday aquascaping the SAME TANK. The gravel just wasn't enough to hold the plants I was trying to put in. So I went for it with the substrate, and I think I'll be much happier in the long run.

Cheers, and Goodnight!

Ash
 
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