# Eco Complete amount/use for shrimp tanks?



## Redflame

I have eco-complete in my 25 gallon cherry shrimp tank, it seems to work well, the gravel size is rather small compared to other similar substrates so planting rooted plants takes a little practice to get it to actually stay if not using weights. One 20lb bag should be fine for 2 10 gallon tanks or so.


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## madness

If they are shrimp breeding tanks then Eco-complete is a waste of money.

Neocardina shrimp don't really care what substrate you use (so why spend money on Eco-complete) but most of the popular caridina species require softer water which is why most people use a substrate that lowers pH and 'softens' the water such Aqua Soil, akadama or some of the specialty shrimp soils.

Most of the shrimp soils will be about the same as Eco-complete in terms of plant growing (or even better if they are nutrient rich like Aqua Soil).

What type of shrimp you are planning on keeping/breeding will have the biggest impact on which soil you use.


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## Martin_G

I used close to 1 1/2 bags ( almost 30 lbs.) in my 15 gallon tank. Cherry shrimp show up well since the Eco-complete is black in color but other shrimp such as OEBT's can be a little hard to pick out at times since they blend in.

I have had great results breeding shrimp.


HTH,

Martin


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## wetworks

madness said:


> If they are shrimp breeding tanks then Eco-complete is a waste of money.
> 
> Neocardina shrimp don't really care what substrate you use (so why spend money on Eco-complete) but most of the popular caridina species require softer water which is why most people use a substrate that lowers pH and 'softens' the water such Aqua Soil, akadama or some of the specialty shrimp soils.
> 
> Most of the shrimp soils will be about the same as Eco-complete in terms of plant growing (or even better if they are nutrient rich like Aqua Soil).
> 
> What type of shrimp you are planning on keeping/breeding will have the biggest impact on which soil you use.


I am setting up tanks for Tigers, CBS, CRS, and various Neocaridina sp. I was intending to plant the tanks pretty heavily because I wanted dense vegetation to help with nutrient uptake since I will be using sponge filters. Plus I like the way plants look in a tank with shrimps, and since I am doing this for fun rather than profit I may as well just do what I enjoy. What other substrate can you recommend that would be more cost-effective but would also be good for plants? Thanks!


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## wetworks

Martin_G said:


> I used close to 1 1/2 bags ( almost 30 lbs.) in my 15 gallon tank. Cherry shrimp show up well since the Eco-complete is black in color but other shrimp such as OEBT's can be a little hard to pick out at times since they blend in.
> 
> I have had great results breeding shrimp.
> 
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Martin


Thanks for your reply Martin. I was not sure if I should stick with the 1lb of substrate per gallon of water rule or not. How deep is the substrate in your tank? Also, what types of shrimps and plants do you have? I know a lot of people breed shrimps in pretty bare tanks with lots of moss, but since I am breeding them for fun I kind of want tanks that are still nice to look at.


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## go9ma123

If you are keeping cherry, yellow, snowball or blue pearl they should be ok long as pH is under 7.6 or under.


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## wetworks

go9ma123 said:


> If you are keeping cherry, yellow, snowball or blue pearl they should be ok long as pH is under 7.6 or under.


The pH in my current tanks is usually between 6.5 and 6.7, so unless the substrate radically changes the water chemistry I think I would be fine. I want to breed caridina as well as neocaridina. Do you recommend something different for my bee/crystal/tiger breeding tanks?


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## GeToChKn

The ADA Amazonia is great for plants and shrimp.


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## Rainer

I used 40 lbs for a standard 29g and a 5g crescent with sufficient coverage and none left over.


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## wetworks

I was gifted a 15g a few weeks back, so I thought I would use it as a grow-out tank for my smaller crypt plantlets. I used one 20lb bag, and I got sufficient coverage but not quite the depth I prefer. Not a big deal right now, because I am only using this for my smallest plants along with some cherry shrimps and MTS. If I were to use it to plant full size plants, I don't think I would go with less than 2 lbs/gallon.


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