Is it worth to spend the money on eco complete or the florite. I will be growing fairly easy plant like some java fern, dwarf grass, some polysperma, etc
wat is the best plant substrate?
- Thread starter Lucas9919
- Start date
put it this way there are alot of options. thing like eco-complete and fluorite have elimants like iron in the substrate that is accessible to plant. thay also have the ability of absorbing firtz into them and releasing those first to plant roots over a longer period of time. thay are good but not necessary allot of people use other things like pool sand SMS and Schultz's aquatic soil. also some people mix the substrates with other cheaper substrates. so say some one might mix 3M colorquartz with fluorite black sand.
for you tank i don't know, how big is the tank and what is your lighting for it?
for you tank i don't know, how big is the tank and what is your lighting for it?
Yeah, depends on how much you need to buy . I use cheap playsand from lowes , it takes several bags on my large tanks and works very well. Only a few bucks for 50 lbs compared to whatever the expensive stuff sells for.
I just recently uprooted my 120 and the roots were well spread in the sand. I really had to pull to get them out . Also , I never used any kind of substrate ferts.
Here you can see what it looked like before and after.
I just recently uprooted my 120 and the roots were well spread in the sand. I really had to pull to get them out . Also , I never used any kind of substrate ferts.
Here you can see what it looked like before and after.
I use flourite, personally but I cannot say what the true comparison is because I've never used eco-complete.
The best substrate available now is Aqua Design Amano's (ADA) aquasoil amazonia. It grows plants way better than the rest of what is available.
There are very few local fish stores that carry it so the best bet would be to order it from http://www.adgshop.com. Jeff Senske is awesome to deal with and well respected in the US aquascaping community.
There are very few local fish stores that carry it so the best bet would be to order it from http://www.adgshop.com. Jeff Senske is awesome to deal with and well respected in the US aquascaping community.
it should pointed out that stuff is expensive and some people get ammonia spikes with it. thats not saying i would not use it hell if i had the money all my tanks would have it but man it expensive. also i believe there are difrent variations ADA aquasoil
Those "ammonia spikes" are not just random occurrences that just pop out of no where. Ammonia spikes only happen on the initial set-up of the soil. I'm not even sure if that should be called a spike, since spikes are usually more like "sudden jumps". Aquasoil needs to be cycled first before being added into a tank w/ fish.
Also, the only time it will cause an ammonia spike post the initial cycle is when you slush around the aquasoil and cause everything to stir and fly. Then again, what gravel doesn't do that?
In any case, I hope I cleared up that random "ammonia spike" myth.
NOTE: I use aquasoil in 2 of my tanks. (Type I and type II)
I never had any problems. They are AMAZING substrates. When compared to eco complete, the few extra dollars more you are paying for aquasoil makes it well worth it. Actually, someone did a calculation awhile back with all the good plant soils. They are all around the same price, a few dollars difference, give or take. Aquasoil was included in that list. So really, the price difference isn't that gigantic. If you can get your hands on aquasoil, take that chance.
thanks for the clear up actually that is what i was thinking up when i wrote that and i have heard of that persisting for a quite along time but this is not unnecessarily for all batches.
when i set up a new tank i think i might actually buy the stuff because looking at the prices it is not as much as buying say eco from my pet store.
when i set up a new tank i think i might actually buy the stuff because looking at the prices it is not as much as buying say eco from my pet store.
hell take that back just checked how much it would cost to get a bag of fluorite black sand (15.4 lbs) at big als it $29.99 i feel like it was cheaper when i looked last fall. and eco-incomplete ( 20lbs and take out the water it probably weighs less) is $34.99 on there.
hell and a 9 litters (about 20 lbs according to ADA) of aquasoil Amazonia 2 cost $28, hell i'll go for the amazonia 2 that stuff is cheaper now then ether fluorite black sand or eco-complete
hell and a 9 litters (about 20 lbs according to ADA) of aquasoil Amazonia 2 cost $28, hell i'll go for the amazonia 2 that stuff is cheaper now then ether fluorite black sand or eco-complete
Dr foster and smith sells eco complete for about $20 and black flourite sand for $21, just FYI.
Oh yeah, they don't charge freight to ship either.
Oh yeah, they don't charge freight to ship either.
