# Eco-Complete or FloraMax?



## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

mwei said:


> Just out of curiosity, which one is better?
> I'm looking online at the Petsmart and Petco sites and Petsmart only has FloraMax and Petco only has Eco-Complete...which one should I get and how much of it should i get to get a good decent amount/layer in a 25 gallon tank?


i really like the eco a lot better, a bit more porous and a better grain size in my opinion

i did one bag in a 20 long but not sure of your footprint size for a 25


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## xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx (Jul 12, 2011)

Petsmart carries Flourite as well as Floramax.... IMO eco-complete sux because every time I've tried using it my plants started dying off, and I did the same exact regiment & dosing as I have with Flourite and Floramax and never had any problems with Flourite or Floramax. 

Here's my old 75 gallon planted tank with a 70/30 mix of Flourite (70), and Floramax (30)


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

well, there is a lot of people who use eco complete and grow plants wonderfully

im jaded i guess because i find whats under the eco and flora-max far more important 

dirt fan here


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## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

This week I'm in the process of mineralizing 3 9L bags of MGOPM and capping it with 3 15lb bags of Flora-Max for my 90g.


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## VetTechNova (May 11, 2013)

mwei said:


> Just out of curiosity, which one is better?
> I'm looking online at the Petsmart and Petco sites and Petsmart only has FloraMax and Petco only has Eco-Complete...which one should I get and how much of it should i get to get a good decent amount/layer in a 25 gallon tank?


Both of this products are almost the same, the difference being:

Eco-complete
Pros:
-smaller grain
-comes with beneficial bacteria
- not a lot of rising needed
Cons:
- pricey 

FloraMax
Pros:
-bit cheaper
-the same as Eco but with out the bacteria
Cons:
- grain is a bit coarse 
- need some good rising (not to much)


I recently have used FloraMax to setup a 27g hexagon tank and I got to say I'm very happy with it. It was cheaper, bought 2 bags for $27.91 (includes shipping), and I got about a good 3" of depth. My plants love it, they started to grow their roots really fast and new leafs are already sprouting. The only problem that I had with FloraMax was that it left my tank cloudy for a few days, though that was because I only rinsed it twice, but each bag comes with a classifier.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

I've used both, and seem to have better luck using the eco


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## jesseliu13 (Jun 3, 2013)

If you plan on buying it online... i suggest Dr. fosters and smith. Cheaper than petsmart and petco alot of times. but if your planning on picking it up there go with petsmart. petco is only cheap at certain times. right now petco has a 25% off site deal right now.


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## Cinbos (Dec 8, 2012)

I am using 3 bags of floramax in my 55 gallon. I have had no problems what so ever. I also have a bunch of flourite I am waiting on using. But floromax is cheaper.


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Get Aqua soil if you can afford it. Anyways here is my tank with eco complete.


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## andrewq (May 22, 2013)

ECO COMPLETE!!! Ive never used anything else, and my tank is heavily planted with swords. No co2, no liquid fertilizer. ECO COMPLETE only


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## mwei (Mar 31, 2013)

hmm...I may be leaning more towards eco-complete for now...as for how much should I get of it though...how bags would I need to be able to get a decent layer/amount in a 25 gallon tank?


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

i think 2 bags will be enough, you might still have some left. Eco complete and Floramax aren't the best, they lack all the most important nutrients, they only supply with minerals, such as Mg, Ca, iron etc. they require you to dose liquid fert which can be absorbed by the substrate. you can simply crush a Lava rock and have similar type of substrate. if you can afford it i would go with Aqua soil.


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## mwei (Mar 31, 2013)

happi said:


> i think 2 bags will be enough, you might still have some left. Eco complete and Floramax aren't the best, they lack all the most important nutrients, they only supply with minerals, such as Mg, Ca, iron etc. they require you to dose liquid fert which can be absorbed by the substrate. you can simply crush a Lava rock and have similar type of substrate. if you can afford it i would go with Aqua soil.


I see...hmmm if I'm doing a 3 layered type of look...would 1 bag be enough? (bottom most layer would be a medium amount of natural rock looking gravel, middle layer would be a thin to medium thick layer of the eco-complete or whatever substrate I end up choosing, and top most layer would be a thin ayer of pure white gravel) 

As for it not having the important nutrients....I'm planning to put in root tabs...would that suffice? I'm only planning on putting in hornworts, java moss and possibly one more different type of moss, java fern, narrow leaf fern, dwarf sag, and jungle val.


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## herns (May 6, 2008)

Eco complete is fairly light substrate that everytime I plant trimmings they would float. 

Make sure you have enough of it when you finally decide to buy.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

This is a 20 gallon shrimp tank i setup 4 months ago. Eco-complete substrate only. No ferts, no co2, no root tabs. 2x 13w CFL daylight bulbs. So far so good, except a little hair algae in the last week or 2 which some amano's i put in last Saturday have been cleaning up well. 

I trim weekly, and never issues with keeping plants planted. I even have baby dwarf sag's, no issue even keeping those little things in.


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## mwei (Mar 31, 2013)

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> This is a 20 gallon shrimp tank i setup 4 months ago. Eco-complete substrate only. No ferts, no co2, no root tabs. 2x 13w CFL daylight bulbs. So far so good, except a little hair algae in the last week or 2 which some amano's i put in last Saturday have been cleaning up well.
> 
> I trim weekly, and never issues with keeping plants planted. I even have baby dwarf sag's, no issue even keeping those little things in.


wow...looks nice! :O


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## mwei (Mar 31, 2013)

OK. so...because petco didn't have any eco-complete or floramax I went with whatever they had, ActivFlora. No idea how it will work or if it will get the job done or not...so wish me luck...haha...><


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

mwei said:


> OK. so...because petco didn't have any eco-complete or floramax I went with whatever they had, ActivFlora. No idea how it will work or if it will get the job done or not...so wish me luck...haha...><


You get what you pay


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## AquaLady86 (Jun 2, 2013)

I have floramax in my tank that's cycling. What I want to know is, would it be sharp to my cories. If so should I just cap it with sand?


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

I have used both eco complete and floramax together before. But I'd still have to say eco is better. In terms of growth I think they're both just fine. But floramax is so dirty and requires so much rinsing, unlike eco complete.

I just hate using them though because they are a pain to keep plants down in, they always come lose. That and I don't like the way it looks.


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## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

> I have floramax in my tank that's cycling. What I want to know is, would it be sharp to my cories. If so should I just cap it with sand?


You don't need to cap with sand. It's just fine for cory's.



> I have used both eco complete and floramax together before. But I'd still have to say eco is better. In terms of growth I think they're both just fine. But floramax is so dirty and requires so much rinsing, unlike eco complete.
> 
> I just hate using them though because they are a pain to keep plants down in, they always come lose. That and I don't like the way it looks.


If you're dumping substrate into a tank that has water in it it's going to cloud. You'll never see Takashi Amano dump an entire bag of AS into a tank full of water. Don't rinse any substrate for a planted aquarium. Drain all of the water out of the tank and lay the substrate, hardscape, and plant the plants. Then slowly fill the tank back up using plastic grocery bags to spread the flow of the water from the hose. Your tank will be crystal clear. I just did it this week with MGOPM capped with Flora-Max in my 90g.

Here is immediately after filling the tank before turning the filter back on



Here is 48 hours later. No foaming, clouding, or chemicals used



I haven't even cleaned the surface yet because that's clear too 



The biggest mess is all on the outside of my tank



My vote goes to


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## AquaLady86 (Jun 2, 2013)

Nice setup. What dirt can I use besides the miracle grow because I cant seem to find it. And how do I dirt it? Minerilize it first?


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## Cinbos (Dec 8, 2012)

AquaLady86 said:


> Nice setup. What dirt can I use besides the miracle grow because I cant seem to find it. And how do I dirt it? Minerilize it first?


Same question here too. I have seen many people jut add it in, but i have also seen many people swear by mineralizing it first. Personally I have no time to mineralize soil.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

I didn't mineralize mine. I created a border along the edge of the glass with Flora-Max about 2.5in high. I also made a bed of Flora-Max under the driftwood. Then I poured a two inch layer of soil in the open space. I capped it with the remaining Flora-Max and made a two inch high slope in the back to one inch in the front.


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## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

AquaLady86 said:


> Nice setup. What dirt can I use besides the miracle grow because I cant seem to find it. And how do I dirt it? Minerilize it first?


I found mine at walmart for $5 a bag. You could use any organic topsoil though


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I know you made your choice but I have used Flourite and Floramax with good results, never Eco Complete. The only downside of Flourite is if you use the sand, it can scratch the glass. Well both Flourite and Floramax can but it's easier to do with the sand. Don't use any magnetic cleaner and make sure that if you get in particles in whatever you use to clean, throw it away. It's not that bad but on my oldest tanks, I have a few bad scratches.


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