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Eco-Complete or Flourite which one is best for a planted tank? Any differences between the two? Anyone with experience using both?

Setting up a new tank and will use one or the other, but wanted some input from anyone with experience in using either one. Thanks.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Well I use flourite but imo the gravel size is too large and pointy and its kinda hard to plant with delicate stem plants like red luiga etc.. I also like dark substrate and flourite is too red imo..

I have the eco complete in my 29 gallon. It is alright but i think that the flourite is better. Eco complete is to fine to do a gravel vac in and it holds alot of gunk. My dad has flourite is his 75 and his plants grow well.

Both Eco and Fuorite are great substrates. I use Eco in my 125G with 3 wpg and no CO2. Plant growth is great.

The advantages of Eco over Fluorite are twofold:
1. Eco is bio-active that may mean a shorter cycling time,
2. No rinsing!

The second advantage is a very big advantage when considering these two substrates particularly if you live in a cold, red state and are setting up your aquarium in January. You will rinse fluorite and never seem to have it run clear. Finally, you will set-up the aquarium, fill it with water and then wonder where the h@** all of the dust came from to cloud your water.

If I were Letterman, the top 10 reasons to use Eco are:
NO RINSING

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Thanks, all. I'm getting ready to set up a couple of new tanks and I'm going to be planting them, so I was curious if there were any differences.

I already have a couple of bags of flourite that I got a while back and never used, but I think I'll save it for later in the spring/summer if it requires that much rinsing as it will be much easier to rinse in the garden area with a hose.

Now I'll have to see if I can find any of the Eco-Complete around here, sometimes that's the biggest challenge when trying to purchase somethings, not a lot of choices.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I have flourite mixed with gravel in my 55g and it is ok now. But when I set up the tank I rinsed it so many times and still got cloudy water. I am going to try Eco-Complete...if I can find it...when I set up my 48g planted tank somewhere in the near future. I like the idea of no rinsing.

*Kristin*

I have seen where the flourite is used under the gravel. My question about that is that gravel vacs would then bring the flourite to the surface and mix with the gravel, so why would it be under the gravel to begin with?

I always rinse at least five times any gravel or substrate going in to my tank. I have heard with eco-complete that is not necessary. Too bad I haven't found it here.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

Hi,
I use 100% Flourite. I don't think I'll ever use anything
else. The tank has been set up over 12 years and the plants
are still growing like mad. I swear you can watch them
grow! For the times when I'm really tearing at the tank,
I have a diatom filter (Vortex) and inside an hour the tank
is crystal clear again.

I'm thinking that Eco Complete is similar to the stuff
Amino uses and he completely changes out the substrate
each time he converts a tank. The stuff is apparently not
for long term (years & years) like Fluorite is.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

There has been on ongoing debate at the Planted Tank Forum on whether Eco "wears out". The answer from CaribSea is "no", the product retains its mineral elements like fluorite.

The CaribSea marketing person said that the company was excited about the product as it was the first "bio-active" product for the freshwater aquarist. Similar products had been available to marine aquarists for many years.

So, fluorite or Eco, either is a premium product compared to sand/gravel. Since I live in Michigan, I will using Eco to set-up an aquarium this month - no outisde rinsing in lousy weather or drain clogging particles inside.

Eco does consist of an array of particle sizes from sand to several mm in size. Over time the small partic,les shift downwards in the substrate leaving the larger particles as the surface. It is still a good idea to wave your vacuum above the substrate as opposed to digging it in as you would with the coated decorative gravels. The vacuum will suck up the smallest particles and deposit them in your bucket or, worst case, your sink or drain.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Other than the rinsing I think it's more or less an aestitic one. If you want to work with a dark substrate than the eco is tough to beat. Both have been proven to grow plants. I still recommend the eco even though I had gotten a corrupted batch which caused my po4 to go into the stratasphere and caused many problems I couldn't fiqure out. The company was very good at replacing my eco and I have been very happy with it. If you plan to cover the foreground with grass or other plants it probably won't make much of a difference.

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