Eco Complete vs Sand? Is it really worth it

Eco Complete vs Sand on a Long term basis

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E

Eastside Game

AC Members
Dec 14, 2010
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Hello everyone,
I am new to planted tanks and soon will add plants to my 20 gallon high. I was thinking about buying eco complete and then add a layer of sand on top. As i was doing my research i read that eco complete has the necessary nutrients at first but after a while the plants use them up and fertilizers are needed as well (so it will be as good as sand). I also read that eco complete raises the ph for a while so i was wondering how do i deal with that? I was planning to have low to moderately planted tank. So do you think its worth it to buy eco complete or just stick to sand?
 
Definitely go with a planted substrate. If you want to be cheap, get oil dri, turface, or sms. Ecocomplete or flourite will work, but with all of them you'll need to supplement the substrate with root tabs.

The other cheap and viable option is to make mineralized topsoil. It's fairly cheap, but it does take some time and effort to put together, but the end result is a nutrient rich substrate comparable to the very high end planted substrates.
 
MTS is a good choice. Basically, with Eco or Florite etc. your getting a Porous substrate thats good at retaining nutrients. I bought a 50lb bag of Special Kitty cat litter at Wallyworld for ~$4. All it is is fired clay gravel. I use it in my snail tank and mix it with my potting soil for Succulents. I think its great.
 
Jetajockey is just being modest, his MTS is effing incredible and can be shipped to your door for less than half of what eco-complete costs (and its more effective than EC too) then you just top it with your sand or gravel of choice. I highly recommend it.
 
Jetajockey,

You have a mineralized topsoil mix that you sell? I am restarting my 20g planted tank for my office. I need something low-maintenance - I will be there every day of the week, but obviuosly will not be around on weekends and holidays. I had one in my old office and had a million guppies and some java moss. It worked very well. Is your stuff too advanced for my needs? I had large gravel previously, but I seriously think that it was too porous for plant roots. Thanks.
 
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