# Eco complete to cap dirt?



## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Hey guys, i have had dirt tanks for about two and a half years now and have only used pool filter sand to cap my dirt. The thing is that in my fifty five i seem to have a lot of silt like dirt finding its way up to the top of the sand. Given this is a goldfish tank but most of the silt seems to be coming from around my plants where the fish dont pick at the sand as much. Has anyone used eco complete to cap dirt and if so what were your results?

Also has anyone every used any kind of mesh or netting between the dirt and cap to help prevent such a thing from happening?

Thank for your reply!
Jasmine


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## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

Eco complete works great. Never used a mesh or anything. I think that would make it a little hard to plant the plants through a mesh. 


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

I had really bad issues with capping dirt with Eco, the dirt kept settling on top and it was a nightmare to keep cleaning it. If I were you, I would get fine black gravel 1-2mm in diameter. There are too many different sizes to Eco and its really light! By itself with root tabs is a better way to go, imo.


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## TonyK (Aug 29, 2012)

This has me worried. I plan on using eco to cap sand.


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## Gooberfish (Mar 27, 2012)

I use plastic mesh between my dirt and black sand. It helps when I plant I'll feel the mesh and not screw things up. Don't go with an eco complete cap. Go with sand or gravel.


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

TonyK said:


> This has me worried. I plan on using eco to cap sand.


Isnt this backwards? Lol


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## TonyK (Aug 29, 2012)

Sorry, I should have said eco to cap the dirt.:icon_smil




TankYouVeryMuch said:


> Isnt this backwards? Lol


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

i capped my miracle grow with eco

im happy with the results so far

plants are growing well and i have no considerable build up of mulm


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## I3raven (Jan 30, 2013)

I had some bad experiences with this combo, but it was my fault. Most people have a problem with mulch rising to the top, but you can prevent this by sifting the dirt. This fiters out the large mulch chips and allows the small particles of dirt to pass through the holes. You could also add the mulch chips to a grinder or blender to crush it into small pieces. I found this much more easier to vacuum if the dirt ever raised above the gravel.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

I did that. Works well. Just have a decent thick cap


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## fermentedhiker (Oct 28, 2011)

I've have done it with no issues, but I've used a mesh in both instances. The mesh does make a huge difference in keeping the soil under the cap. I used that "plastic canvas" stuff from Walmarts craft section. It does make planting a bit harder because it is difficult to get a stem inserted in through the mesh as the holes are kind of on the small side and Eco complete is very light weight so it doesn't really want to hold anything down. The only real problem I've had is when I decide I want to transplant plants with big root systems like swords. They will have grown through the mesh so much that when you go to pull then up they lift the mesh and the cap for half the tank up  I've got a couple swords in my 55 that I have dared uproot because of it


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Hmm, ok maybe I won't do Eco with my dirt then, I love the idea of the mesh though, I only have rooting plants crypts and swords in this tank....I would just have to make the sand cap thick enough to plant in to keep them in there till they root. Maybe I'll do black sand too, what brand/ where can you buy a heavier black sand? I use pool filter sand and like that as soon as the fish pick it up and spit it out, it sinks to the bottom immediately.


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## fermentedhiker (Oct 28, 2011)

Black Diamond sand blasting grit from some place like tractor supply is probably your cheapest option and a number of members have used it successfully.


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## SmittyInFla (May 3, 2013)

Mine is: Non mineralized topsoil, then a THIN layer of play sand, then Eco Complete over both. I have not had much problem with silt making its way up. I DID have some initial problems with the topsoil not settling down, but eventually it came clear (two or three days). Check my journal linked below to see what I did.

HOWEVER: Watch the depth of the substrate...NON MTS, plus too much substrate equals gas bubbles, which I have a lot of, now. I have to skewer the substrate every couple of days to release it.


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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

In my tank I put the topsoil down first then a thin layer of black sand and then the eco complete and it has worked great. I haven't had a problem with dirt rising to the top and my plants are growing great.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Hmm, this seems like a good idea too, hopefully my tractor supply has the black diamond....does anyone have a picture of the bag so i know that im getting the right kind that is safe for aquariums?


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## TonyK (Aug 29, 2012)

I ended up using eco to cap the soil. From what I can tell its working very good. 1" of soil capped with 1.25" of eco.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Is this the black diamond that every one is using? 

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/black-diamond-20-40-blasting-media-50-lb


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Also, has any one used it with bottom foraging fish like cories and loches? Just wondering if it would be too sharp for my goldfish...

Thanks!


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

I have capped all of my dirt tanks with a variety of different things and the happiest I have been is with the final cap of mixing black diamond blasting sand with floramax and eco-complete. I really love the look of them mixed together color and texture wise.

Black diamond is fine for cories, my cories all absolutely love it and it hasn't hurt them one bit. Also all the snails are quite happy on it as well as my african dwarf frogs.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

That's why I am a bigger fan of Flourite. I have never used Eco and I don't intent to unless its the only substrate in the tank and I want to do a comparison tank. Many complain about the dust that Flourite has but you can get around it fairly easily. Flourite is more uniform and its heavier than Eco. I will be setting up 6-7 dirt tanks this winter and each one will have a version of Flourite as the cap. I have kept cories for more than 10 years with Flourite with out any issues. Their barbels are damaged primarily due to poor water conditions or disease, not substrate.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

I have eco capping MTS in my 20g non-CO2. Get this: I drove my tank 4 hours in the back of my car, with the water sloshing around and everything, TWO times. So yea, the substrate was mixed up for hours. But no issues. The eco still caps my dirt from what I can tell. I don't have much of any soil dusting up my water either. Having RCS's constantly evening out the substrate and freeing particles at that level helps too.

Keep in mind eco is inert, but it is great at holding nutrients in its surface area. This function is a great complement to mts or water column dosing, from what I have read. So I think it's okay to use eco.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Currently capping MGOCPM with Eco complete...no issue so far, but it's only been a week. I prefer the fine grained look compared to standard fluorite, can't say it's any less uniform either.

But I can't imagine the blasting sand wont work. Just probably doesn't have the same CEC.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Yea, I have a significant amount of dirt dust sitting on top on the sand. Just looking for a solution so that doesn't happen that still involves dirt!


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Did you rinse at all?


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

The dirt...i cant remember...


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Ah, I misread...my apologies. I didn't see it was dust from the dirt, I was thinking dust from the sand.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

No problem =]
I was wondering how the best way to rinse out dirt was...
I actually just purchased some of the riparium supply large tank planters and will test them out and see how they do, if they are successful I can get rid of the dirt entirely. It would add a few more gallons to the tank and hopefully reduce nitrates, I think the dirt particles attribute to the nitrate some.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Nothing a bunch of water changes won't fix. I have done a similar setup in two of my tanks


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