Carib sea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate yes or no

[nemo14]

Hello everyone !

I would like your opinion on Carib sea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate i would like to use this in my 150 gallon aquarium and cap it off with gravel. Now what i'm trying to do is have a substrate that i can grow any type of plant. I have a high tech tank with strong lighting T5 HO and pressurized CO2.

I'm using gravel at the moment. Now the question is do i really need the  Carib sea Eco-Complete to grow all the plants? or can i get away with the gravel with root tabs and dry fertilization. 

Thanks in advance .

[charlie]

The main benefits of eco complete and similar plat substrates is it is rich in minerals & has the ability to absorb & store nutrients. I think eco is now discontinued & there is still stock floating around.
Another alternative is the tropica plant substrate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSRAa4By2dw

[nemo14]

Hey Charlie!

I like the video link to the tropica plant substrate that is a good substrate as well but i see no beneficial bacteria to make the cycling of the aquarium go  faster.  Eco-Complete as this in it. Another quick question if you don't mind.

With ether substrate when i dose my fertilizers like i'v been doing every day and the Eco- complete stores the nutrients in the substrate and releases it slowly do i keep with the same dosing regiment or do i need to readjust the amounts because of the substrate?

Thanks in advance charlie any advice you give well help.         

[charlie]

Personally , beneficial bacteria in a bag sitting on a shelf is not a determining factor in my buying it.
As to the build up , yes it will accumulate over the years that is why amount dosed & water changes along with good plant growth is important.
I honestly have non of the scientific knowledge of the build up equation, never bothered delving into it since I never had this issue, others like wolfiewill & exv152 are more rounded in this area.
Regards

[exv152]

The two online dosing calculators that I've used and that provide a graph for nutrient accumulation over time, seem not to be responding, or the websites are no longer up. But honestly, I wouldn't alter the dosing because you're using eco complete. Eco complete will not provide your plants everything they need to thrive.  

[wolfiewill]

With ether substrate when i dose my fertilizers like i'v been doing every day and the Eco- complete stores the nutrients in the substrate and releases it slowly do i keep with the same dosing regiment or do i need to readjust the amounts because of the substrate?

As with most questions, the only quick answer is: It depends. Using the EI method you won't need to worry about that. On the other hand, using the PPS method requires regular water column testing for the three macro nutrients, after which you would dose to your targets, and do water changes only when the three are out of balance. EI requires weekly water changes of 50% or more, PPS does not. Either way will provide good results if you are disciplined and adhere to the regime as required. I have no experience with Eco-Complete but Dxpert has, but I think he regretted it. I use a substrate that absorbs cations, and phosphate is a cation that is depleted in less than two days. At some point it will be saturated and you will need to know when. The only way to be sure is to test the macros with test kits. If Eco-Complete works that way then you had better learn the PPS method from the start. Once the substrate is saturated, then perhaps you could do the EI method if you are so inclined.

[Dxpert]

I do regret the purchase. When I do it over again I'll be using ADA. The different coloured specs of gravel in Eco complete are not great looking. The plant growth in the tank has been just ok, I do need to add fertilizer to the water column and root tabs to the substrate. If you'd like to come over and have a look we can figure out a time, PM me for details. The Big Al's in Kanata also has it as a substrate in one of their tanks. Substrate is such a plain to change once you have it in the tank that you really want to ensure you have got what you are going to love.

[nemo14]

Ok thanks everyone for the great info helps out a lot.