Big Problem With Eco-Complete

Update

No response to my snail mail yet from CaribSea, but then again I have not received my Certifed Mail receipt. I mailed that out on Feb 24th.
Since that time I have done 3 (25% or so) water changes, as of yesterdays change I see pH going down to 7.2. (tap is well water 6.8)

No drastic changes in GH/KH since day one.
I noticed this same subject being discussed on other fourms (sites) so we are not the only ones. Some folks indicated it may be the Amazon Water that is packed with the stuff.

Bottom line here, looks like its going to settle out with time.

I will say that my plants are doing just fine with the EcoComplete. Now for a little more light and some CO2.
 
I've done a bunch of water changes, even up to 80% but my pH is still high. :mad: Plus the spike messed up my bio so now I'm having to deal with that too. I'm hopping mad.
 
A response from CaribSea

I finally got a response today from CaribSea regarding the pH jump when EcoComplete is installed...the quote from a portion of the e-mail.
Quote:
"Sorry about the pH problem. Sometimes people experiance a temporary pH elevation with our eco-complete product. It usually subsides after a few weeks when some stray carbonate is neutralized."

Unquote

Well then why don't they put that on the package???

I will admit that is what it took for my pH to settle out at 7.2, about 3-4 weeks.(7.6 to 7.2)
I have only seen one point of KH change as near as I can tell but it has stayed around 4.

Plants are growing and system is stable. Case closed for me, EBANG I wish I had the knowledge to help you out but I just got started with this Aquaria stuff. Good luck to you and looks like quite a number of knowledgeable people here to help you.
 
I saw in another forum that someone contacted Caribsea and they told the person that they were changing the process of how they screen it and bag it and that they were also coming up with a way of nutrilizing any stray carbonate.And that some of the issue is caused by the water that it is packed in.
 
I had emailed Carib-Sea about thier Echo-Complete to ask about PH and the rep told me that they are doing something that "burns" off the stray carbonate. The older bags of the product that haven't been treated thus will still have the stray carbonate...that is perhaps why some folks who are using it experience no problems, while some do. I don't know how you find out if the bag you have is the "older" product or some that has been treated with this new process.


Here's the content of the email I recieved from Carib-Sea......

"Hi there. Sometimes a few stray grains of calcium carbonate sometimes gets into the Eco-Complete and can cause an initial pH raise. Once they burn off, your pH should remain low for the life of the tank. Recently, we have been acid dipping the raw material to eliminate any of the calcium grains, but if you have an older bag, you might run into this. No gravel can actually lower pH, but it can be pH neutral, and bacteria growing in the gravel can also help to drive a pH down. "
 
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Hey all,

Caribsea is basically running Eco-complete through a monster calcium reactor and using CO2 to release release any stray carbonates. Once the water runs at a neutral Ph it's ready to go. They also changed their screening process so hopefully there will be no more big chunks that make it into the bags.

Hope this helps.
 
I never got any response to my e-mails. So I have reported them to the BBB and asked for a refund, plus the shipping. See if anything happens. My tank finally came online with the cycle again, and I've switched to fish that like alk, hard conditions, but not before losing some critters. Makes me very angry that they just ignored me. I think they should have recalled the stuff. I got it recently from aquariumplants.com and I'm sure they go through plenty of it, so it shouldn't have been old stuff.
 
I recently bought some echo complete for a few planted tanks I have and they're doing great ! My PH pretty much stays at 7.6...which is good for my water...the usual reading I get is 7.8-8.0.

I've been very happy with the stuff....must have gotten one of the NEW bags ! ;)
 
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