# Substrate calculator- big difference in weight needed, eco complete vs. flourite?



## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Hello all,

While looking into how much substrate I will need for my 55 gallon tank, I came across this calculator: http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html To fill it with 3 inches of Eco Complete, it says 96lbs. That is what I expected, going off of around 2lb per gallon. However, when I ran it for Flourite, it said I only needed 60lb? Is this accurate? The only thing I can think of is that Flourite may be less dense...


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Chaos_Being said:


> Hello all,
> 
> While looking into how much substrate I will need for my 55 gallon tank, I came across this calculator: http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html To fill it with 3 inches of Eco Complete, it says 96lbs. That is what I expected, going off of around 2lb per gallon. However, when I ran it for Flourite, it said I only needed 60lb? Is this accurate? The only thing I can think of is that Flourite may be less dense...


Yep more by density. If you used Turfae you would only need ~20lbs of the stuff.


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## weeb2k1 (Mar 17, 2010)

The other factor is that Eco Complete is sold wet, with water in the bag, while Flourite is dry. Because of that, a 20 pound bag of Eco would give you less substrate then a 20 pound bag of Flourite.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

weeb2k1 said:


> The other factor is that Eco Complete is sold wet, with water in the bag, while Flourite is dry. Because of that, a 20 pound bag of Eco would give you less substrate then a 20 pound bag of Flourite.


Duh! I knew that Eco Complete was sold wet! :icon_redf I guess that's what happens when you post at the end of a busy day. Thanks for honestly answering a noobish question :icon_lol:

I was reading about Turface here today for the first time...that stuff sounds right up my alley. I've been planning on using Eco Complete, or more specifically a mix of that and Flourite for a nice color contrast, but have been balking at spending around $100 on "fancy dirt," as I've seen it called here. I've found an image of the charcoal colored Turface, and that is probably what I would want to use (I haven't found images of the other colors yet.) If I can get it locally, I will probably use that. Other than pre-rinsing, is there any other prep needed for it?


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## TheVisionary78 (Mar 6, 2010)

I used a 50/50 blend of flourite black sand and Eco complete. With a modest first layer of latrite. So far so good. I am sold on how stem plants attach their roots really well to Eco. As far as the extra bacteria or whatever that liquid is I could care less. Probably a gimick if you ask me.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I do not pre-rinse. 

Dampen it so the dust is not a problem when you put it in the tank.
Add enough water so it wets the substrate better, but is not even as deep as the substrate. 
Make mounds, add rocks, driftwood... whatever you want. Note that mounds won't stay in place by themselves. Even a gentle slope will flatten out. 
Plant, misting the plants. 
Put a plastic bag or a plate over the substrate and pour the water in slowly, so it seeps over the edges of the plastic. About 1 gallon per minute max. 

This will minimize the clouding.


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## barbarossa4122 (Jan 16, 2010)

Hi,

I have to say that the calculator is pretty good. I used 100 lb of Eco for my 55g and I got a little over 3". The calculator result was 96 lb for 3" deep. It worked for me. Thanks.


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