# Anyone who has mixed Eco-Complete and Tahitian Moon Sand...



## HBK (Jan 20, 2004)

How did it work out? Would it be okay to leave a special 10''by 6 '' section with just moon sand? Any advice on mixing the two will be much much appreciated.


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## Daemonfly (Oct 1, 2003)

I used 2 bags of Eco-Complete & one bag of moon sand, fully mixed, in my newish 20g long. The composition varies in the tank, some area surfaces being mostly EC, or some being sand. The Dwarf Hairgrass does prefer the more sandy areas, and the sides of my tank where the loaches always swim up & down has more sand showing, due to them pushing the Eco- Complete away.

Best close-up shot I have of the mix. The EcoComplete has since been pushed away by the loaches even more, to reveal more sand.
http://www.daemonfly.com/images/20g/kuhli-01-15.jpg

Gravel vacs will also bring more sand to the top.

Full shot:
http://www.daemonfly.com/images/20g/20g-full2-01-15.jpg


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## Anonymous (Mar 2, 2003)

HBK,
I just set up (re-set up) a 75g with Eco Complete and Tahitian Moon Sand. I used 75 lbs of Eco and 55 lbs of sand with the sand on top. I also set up a 5g tank using 5 lbs of each, but this time I used the sand on the bottom.
The 75g, with the sand on top is much easier to place stem plants into. They stay in the substrate great. The plants are doing great and the tetras seem happier with the darker substrate. 

Matt


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

I had some areas of my tank with Moon sand over Onyx. They are now Onyx over Moon sand.


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## Roy Deki (Jan 13, 2004)

I believe the smaller grains will eventualy settle down to the bottom. Eco-Complete has two different size grains in it already and I think that it says on the bag that the smaller grains will settle down below the larger ones. So the sand would eventualy go below that.


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## Ptahkeem (May 5, 2003)

Yup Rbedeki is right. I just mixed about 40 percent moon sand and 60 percent Eco-complete and the larger granules just ended up at the top. All the rest is at the bottom like he said. Doesnt look bad though. Basically looks just like theres a bunch of eco-complete.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

The only concern would be a compacted substrate if you use a lot of the sand. It's pretty fine-grained. And, of course, the fact that it won't be visible, if that's what you purchase it for


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## Rolo (Dec 10, 2003)

The best way to keep sand on top is to mix the eco-complete throughly with sand first. This way the sand cannot further settle. You can actually think of it as having a sand substrate supplemented with eco-complete; the eco-complete also acts as a anti-compacter.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

I think I've seen you post this before, or someone has. I'm intrigued because I really don't see how mixing with sand will keep the larger particles from migrating to the top. Maybe it delays this, but the inevitable would have to happen...

Just the way I think of it, either the eco-complete is packed solid with the sand which = compacted substrate, or it creates some spaces, which = future settling. Have you had this to work for you? What were the proportions of sand to eco? How long has the tank been set up?
thanks-


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## Rolo (Dec 10, 2003)

aquaverde said:


> I think I've seen you post this before, or someone has. I'm intrigued because I really don't see how mixing with sand will keep the larger particles from migrating to the top. Maybe it delays this, but the inevitable would have to happen...
> 
> Just the way I think of it, either the eco-complete is packed solid with the sand which = compacted substrate, or it creates some spaces, which = future settling. Have you had this to work for you? What were the proportions of sand to eco? How long has the tank been set up?
> thanks-


Yes, I commented on this before. I have never mixed eco-complete and moon sand...sorry for violating the topic's title ...but I have kept sand over gravel successfully. The sand grains were are a little larger than the moon sand grains, and the gravel was just about the same size as eco-complete.

The gravel doesn't come up because there is no force to push them up. The only force that causes sand to settle is gravity. By simply using a 1st layer of THROUGHLY MIXED sand and eco-complete, you should be able to counteract gravity from settling any sand from the 2nd, sand only layer. 

And yes, you want a "compacted substrate" with only the sand and eco-complete layer. I stress this b/c if there are pockets than it won't work, however at the same time it really is not anymore compacted than a full sand substrate since you have a mixture with larger granules.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

OK, I understand you now. The most obvious problems with this will be the compaction (we want circulation) and the fact that any disturbance to the substrate, from mild vibration to uprooting of plants will cause the layers to resettle the way they want- with the big stuff on top. I find replanting to be the fastest way to undo layers. You should see the root balls I have pulled up. Comes with the territory when you have root feeders.


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