ECO-COMPLETE OR FLOURITE???
- Thread starter TheFishBoss97
- Start date
Yeah,
Flourite Sand is soft for loaches and other catfish
Flourite Gravel is less soft for loaches and other catfish
Eco Complete is in between soft and less soft for loaches and other catfish
Thank you and that is a good and complete answer. And all 3 have the same effect on plants, right?
I have been using Eco Complete in my 29g for about two years now. I definitely like it better than the sand that I had in there before. Unfortunately I never set the tank up properly, so as some one mentioned above, it's less black now than when I bought it because there's so much algae attached to it. I don't know if any one has tried it but I'm going to give AquariumPlants.com own substrate a try. It's considerably cheaper and looks very similar to Eco/Fluorite. If you have plants that are heavy root feeders then you're going to have to use root tabs. Substrate alone will not provide the necessary nutrients unless you put down some soil. At least that's what I've gathered from my research.
TBH planting isn't an issue when you have deep beds. Its suggested you get a 3" or deeper bed for planting with eco. Once you get that deep nothing really lets loose except shallow rooted plants, which would be hard to root in sand too. I have eco complete and flourite sand and I like both equally. If you are going bottom feeder heavy go with flourite sand. If you are going with heavy root feeders or more demanding plants go with eco IMO
Is it possible to get eco complete and flourite sand and mix them?
Has anyone done this? And will it look bad?
thanks
Has anyone done this? And will it look bad?
thanks
I like Eco MUCH better than flourite sand, I haven't tried regular flourite as I'm a botton feeder keeper & it looks sharp in comparison. It's all about the loaches IMO, lol.
you could mix them, but they will separate into layers eventually. larger grains always make it to the top due to smaller ones falling between the cracks. in this case, the larger grains are lighter too.
if you want a good plant substrate with plenty of ferts, use natural (organic) planting materials and cap that with something heavy and smooth. aqua soil grows plants like crazy, too.
other options are to layer root tabs and such right into the substrate of choice. a good cec and fe content don't exactly count as "soil" in my book. even under water...
there are plenty of things that can be used as caps. you pretty much have your choice of natural colors if you know what you're looking for. lapis lustre might be available to you beings you're on the west coast. then you've got fluorite sand, estes sand, aquarium gravel, eco, tms, pool filter sand, play sand, etc., ...
you could also use kitty litter (just make sure the ingredients list is clay... period... just clay...), oil-dry, coco-fibers, worm castings, leaf litter, etc. for or to amend your soil to your liking.
if you are going to use something with actual fertilizer, you might want to consider mineralizing your soil before your inhabitants are introduced to it. this can be done in a separate container if you wish.
if i had to choose between the 3, (eco, fluorite and fluorite sand) i'd say loaches would appreciate the sand better most likely, but eco shouldn't be an issue either.
that's my story and i'm sticking to it.
if you want a good plant substrate with plenty of ferts, use natural (organic) planting materials and cap that with something heavy and smooth. aqua soil grows plants like crazy, too.
other options are to layer root tabs and such right into the substrate of choice. a good cec and fe content don't exactly count as "soil" in my book. even under water...
there are plenty of things that can be used as caps. you pretty much have your choice of natural colors if you know what you're looking for. lapis lustre might be available to you beings you're on the west coast. then you've got fluorite sand, estes sand, aquarium gravel, eco, tms, pool filter sand, play sand, etc., ...
you could also use kitty litter (just make sure the ingredients list is clay... period... just clay...), oil-dry, coco-fibers, worm castings, leaf litter, etc. for or to amend your soil to your liking.
if you are going to use something with actual fertilizer, you might want to consider mineralizing your soil before your inhabitants are introduced to it. this can be done in a separate container if you wish.
if i had to choose between the 3, (eco, fluorite and fluorite sand) i'd say loaches would appreciate the sand better most likely, but eco shouldn't be an issue either.
that's my story and i'm sticking to it.
