Carib Sea Eco Complete substrate? any comments?

[LORENZO]

Yes i was thinking of getting this substrate for new tank. I hear it is very good for plants. Does anyone here use it? Is it black? or red?

[Dave66]

Yes i was thinking of getting this substrate for new tank. I hear it is very good for plants. Does anyone here use it? Is it black? or red?

It's actually a dark grey, Lorenzo. It's also rather sandy, which Corydoras catfish like to nose dive into. Both myself and DougZ use Eco-Complete. You can see how it looks in his tank.

Dave

[LORENZO]

NOW sandy so a good substrate for cats,clowns, plecs.yo yo...okay now how good is this CArib sea eco complete for plants?? i have seachem flouritie and oh that needed alot of well rinsing. Very good substrate though. A good investment.now how much did you rinse this substrate? But i like the idea the granules then are tiny. How expensive is it? It would look good with discus i imagine. But you probably have afican cichids in this sand?

[Drip Loop]

Its not really "sandy" perse, but as far as gravel goes, its of the softer variety. I have been using it for about a year now and have great success.

[LORENZO]

are you growing plants though in the carib sea substrate?

[Red]

I use it it for plants and it's good. The only complaint i have with it is hard to clean some times...

[Wild Turkey]

Agree with the above posters.
EC is a great investment, has a few small drawbacks, but the benefits far outweigh them. Great stuff

Some will tell you not to use it since it will eventually loose the nutrients, and they would be right, if you are gonna have the tank for a decade and never replace the substrate...so it usually it doesnt even come into play.

It is more rocky than i originally thought, because the smaller particles fall to the bottom, but as previously mentioned it is a softer variety than pebbles or whatnot, no problems with the cory's barbels and they seem absolutely love the substrate as dave mentioned.

[doug z]

Here's a close-up:

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Just make sure you get the bag on the left, not the bag on the right..

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They've had some quality control issues..

If you DO mistakenly get a bad bag, call Jud McCraken at customer service.. The number is on the bag..

[doug z]

PS

I'm surprised at the accounts that Eco is hard on the barbels of corys, etc..

In my opinion sand is much more harmful..

Ever rub sand between your thumb and forefinger?

They don't call it sand paper for nothing.. :)

Eco is more like pea gravel, with rounded edges..

As you can see by the pic, my corys have been in there since Oct, and their barbels are fine..

[Wild Turkey]

PS

I'm surprised at the accounts that Eco is hard on the barbels of corys, etc..

In my opinion sand is much more harmful..

Ever rub sand between your thumb and forefinger?

They don't call it sand paper for nothing.. :)

Eco is more like pea gravel, with rounded edges..

As you can see by the pic, my corys have been in there since Oct, and their barbels are fine..

I agree, Though the ec looks kindof uninviting for corys, looks are deceiving. They seem to do excellent with it, and no barbel damage.

[The Wedge]

I think Corys are going to scrape their barbels regardless of the substrate...I think the fauna (bacteria) in the tank at that moment will determine if they lose their barbels. However, I used Eco Complete when I had a FW planted in my aquapod and the glossostigma, and other plants flourished with about half of the dosing of ferts.

[LORENZO]

:goldfish: :goldfish: OKay cats should be okay in it. i have the flourite by seachem and they love that I have to agree with DougZ there. This flourite is clay not exactly the softest stuff and I have loads of catfishes in there with the discus. But i have one question how hard is this to settle down ? I don't want something that might harm the XP3 impeller. ARe you also telling me that in time the flourite too would lose its iron? That would take now a long time! I do love that close up shot by Doug Z oh nice cats. They look good on that gravel. Imagine colourful discus. Here is my cat on flourite...11845

[doug z]

But i have one question how hard is this to settle down ? I don't want something that might harm the XP3 impeller.

All the sand-sized particles in Eco settle to the bottom of the tank within days, and you are left with the pea-gravel sized bits, which are no problem at all, as far as clouds kicked up by fish or siphoning getting into filter intakes..

Besides, all cannister filters have more than enough filtering going on before anything ever reaches the impeller.. :)

[LORENZO]

I think this Carib Sea would be a good idea a little less sharp i would think than the clay flourite i have. What do you think of silica sand have you ever tried that? I won't use that here... i would not mind with clowns they eat plants but since i want plants i have to get a good growing substrate. And i did not go wrong with the Seachem flourite and that was not cheap. dougZ that is one nice looking tank you have there. You must be reading Amano?:hmm3grin2orange:

[doug z]

You must be reading Amano?

All 3 Nature Aquarium World volumes, yo.. :)

Sand is ok, but like I say, even more sharp than Eco or pea gravel, in my opinion..

And siphoning is more of a hassle..

AND poop, etc. shows up alot more than in Eco, which has flecks of different coloured rocks in it, to break it up, hence things blend in better..