# Eco Complete or Seachem flourite



## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

Hello everyone , I'm starting a new 40 gallon breeder and want to have live plants, low tech . I'm having the hardest time trying to figure what substrate I want to use . My current 20 gallon tank has river rock gravel, but thats probably not the best for plants. I've been reading a lot and watched some youtube videos and still cant decide between eco complete and seachem flourite . Any recommendations ?


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

jd11 said:


> Hello everyone , I'm starting a new 40 gallon breeder and want to have live plants, low tech . I'm having the hardest time trying to figure what substrate I want to use . My current 20 gallon tank has river rock gravel, but thats probably not the best for plants. I've been reading a lot and watched some youtube videos and still cant decide between eco complete and seachem flourite . Any recommendations ?


IMO, neither. Get yourself some inert sand and you will have just as much success at a fraction of the cost. My goto is Black Diamond blasting grit.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

SafeTSorb @ Tractor Supply, $5.99 for 40 pounds.
Looks like Flourite for the most part.


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## Izzy- (Jun 11, 2014)

They're pretty much the same thing, but If i had to choose between the two i'd choose Eco complete. I like the fact that it doesn't cloud your water upon set up. That's about it lol. Don't over think it.


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## Kareen (Apr 6, 2013)

Go with Sand and Root Tabs. I have planted 40b and my plants grow very good easy to clean all the fish food and stuff will lay on top


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

Izzy- said:


> They're pretty much the same thing, but If i had to choose between the two i'd choose Eco complete. I like the fact that it doesn't cloud your water upon set up. That's about it lol. Don't over think it.


Which one looks more like gravel ? And I'd like to have some cory catfish will this substrate be okay for them . And I'll look into the other stuff everyone else posted , not so sure about sand though. I always over think stuff lol :|


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## sohankpatel (Jul 10, 2015)

I keep my corys on Eco-Complete and they do fine. I did that over Flourite because Fluorite is horrifically cloudy.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/2...ns.html#/forumsite/20495/topics/153412?page=1

Have a read. It's not terribly long. I have ecocomplete in one tank and generic black sand in another. Both get root tabs. Small rooting plants like dwarf hairgrass, hc and Monte Carlo grow better in a finer substrate like sand or power sand and almost everything else grows great in ecocomplete.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Either one is fine to use. I prefer Eco Complete because it's darker and doesn't cloud up your water if you dump it straight from the bag. However, black diamond/beauty blasting sand is cheaper than both.


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

Read through everyones post , and that link posted about substrates . Thanks still debating !


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

jd11 said:


> Read through everyones post , and that link posted about substrates . Thanks still debating !



If you are going to stay low tech, no co2 and lower lights, I would go with ecocomplete. It has such a high cec that over time you are going to get some great nutrient/mulm build up that will make nutrients and carbon constantly available as it matures. Think you'll switch to high tech down the road? Go with sand such as bdbs. You'll be dosing so much and injecting co2 that the substrate won't be so critical.


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## Albtraum (Dec 27, 2009)

What's darker, Eco Complete or Black Diamond Blasting Sand?

Bugs me that my E.C. has so much white and red in it.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

Albtraum said:


> What's darker, Eco Complete or Black Diamond Blasting Sand?
> 
> Bugs me that my E.C. has so much white and red in it.


Bdbs is more "black" but ecocomplete has a more natural look to it. That's weird that your getting red and white. Ecocomplete is just crushed volcanic rock. It's not dyed or anything. I wonder if you got a bad batch or something.


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## ichy (Apr 6, 2015)

BDBS has a little shimmer/shine to it. Not distracting at all, but it has an attractive sparkle to it. Eco is just plain ole flat black!


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

Think I'll just end up getting eco complete , its a bit cheaper and no rinsing required . Maybe cap it with black gravel or sand so I can have cory catfish.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

jd11 said:


> Think I'll just end up getting eco complete , its a bit cheaper and no rinsing required . Maybe cap it with black gravel or sand so I can have cory catfish.


Don't understand why you purchase Eco just to turn around and cap it with something else. If that's your plan you'd be better off going with just black sand. Furthermore the Eco will eventually make its way to the top layer and the sand will settle towards the bottom. My question to you is, why are you choosing between these two substrates? Is it because they are so called "planted substrates"?


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## ichy (Apr 6, 2015)

jd11 said:


> Think I'll just end up getting eco complete , its a bit cheaper and no rinsing required . Maybe cap it with black gravel or sand so I can have cory catfish.


Don't waste your time capping with sand. It will settle between the grains and you will end up with eco complete on the top.

BDBS is the very cheapest route you can go. But don't waster your money mixing the two.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Go with Eco Complete. I really loved the look of Flourite when I had it, but unfortunately had nothing but algae problems when I used it and any time I did anything in my tank it would turn out to be a huge dusty mess.

I know it was the Flourite that was causing the algae problem in my tank, because as soon as I removed it, the algae never came back.


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## sm1ke (Jun 30, 2016)

You don't _need_ sand to have cories. You just have to keep the substrate clean so their barbels stay healthy.

IME with BDBS, you really have to spend time cleaning it before putting it in the tank. I haven't used it in a planted tank, but I had it in a cichlid tank, and it will cloud up a little every time the sand was disturbed. It also coloured some of my cichlids mouths black because I never rinsed it the first time I used it (though it can probably be cleaned off with a light swab or something).


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

Was only going to cap it for the cory's , and picked those substrates because there planted substrates and its different from what I have and had before . I currently have a 20 gallon tall with river gravel with a few plants they do ok.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

sm1ke said:


> You don't _need_ sand to have cories. You just have to keep the substrate clean so their barbels stay healthy.
> 
> IME with BDBS, you really have to spend time cleaning it before putting it in the tank. I haven't used it in a planted tank, but I had it in a cichlid tank, and it will cloud up a little every time the sand was disturbed. It also coloured some of my cichlids mouths black because I never rinsed it the first time I used it (though it can probably be cleaned off with a light swab or something).


I just tore down my dirtied 55 last weekend and replaced the dirt with straight BDBS. I cleaned/ rinsed 100lbs in under 10 minutes and had almost no cloudiness in my tank when I filled it. 

Oh, forgot I did a 10g as well and the water was crystal clear when I was done. You can't just throw it in the tank dry it has to be rinsed. All I do is throw about 20lbs in a 5 gallon bucket and rinse it out. I do this mainly to get the lighter granules out the tend to float.


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## sm1ke (Jun 30, 2016)

Nlewis said:


> I just tore down my dirtied 55 last weekend and replaced the dirt with straight BDBS. I cleaned/ rinsed 100lbs in under 10 minutes and had almost no cloudiness in my tank when I filled it.
> 
> Oh, forgot I did a 10g as well and the water was crystal clear when I was done. You can't just throw it in the tank dry it has to be rinsed. All I do is throw about 20lbs in a 5 gallon bucket and rinse it out. I do this mainly to get the lighter granules out the tend to float.


Interesting, it takes me a lot longer to rinse it using the exact same method. But yes, after a good rinse its great to use. Sometimes, if you don't rinse it well enough, the sand will leave a black coloured film on the glass, but after running a filter for a while the film will disappear from the water surface, and the black film on the glass rubs off very easily (like biofilm).


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

This is probably the hardest decision for my new tank, it seems like theres a 50/50 split on eco complete or seachem flourite . I just want a black substrate and something my low tech plants can do well in . I have the rest on my setup just need to makeup my mind on this lol !


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Eco looks good and is easy to use. If I'm not using Aquasoil, Eco is the one I use for a dark substrate. You can grow anything in it as long as you dose the water column


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

My personal favorite is the Flourite Dark. It's a lot easier to keep clean than the black, looks natural, but still a nice dark color.

Thanks,
Harry


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

its like a 50/50 split between the two on reviews.


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## grizzly_a (Sep 9, 2014)

Go with EcoComplete if you are still deciding between Flourite and EC. If you're just looking for black, then I'd go for the coal slag (black diamond blasting grit).

My cories lost their barbels on my eco complete. That stuff is sharp and they are just plain gone.


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## York1 (Dec 18, 2014)

I love ecocomplete but next time I setup a big tank Ill use the black blasting sand just because of cost. Ill still use ecocomplete in all of my nano tanks


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## HaeSuse (Aug 18, 2016)

I've always and only ever used eco-complete, and I love it. Zero complaints whatsoever. I've had it in several tanks, and they all grew plants exceptionally well. I've always had an "oh my god, I can't possibly prune enough to keep up with this insane growth" problem, in my tanks. 

On one tank, I mixed it with black sand, but I found that it became so compact that it was impossible to work with, and caused problems for some plants. It also seemed to grow algae/bacterial cultures at the place where the sandy stuff touched the glass. I've never had eco-complete by itself do that.

I've helped other people set tanks up, too, and have always convinced them to get eco-complete, if they plan on planting it.

(I do not work for CaribSea... ha)


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

@HaeSuse

When you used the Eco did you also dose the water column?


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## HaeSuse (Aug 18, 2016)

houseofcards said:


> @HaeSuse
> 
> When you used the Eco did you also dose the water column?



Well, yes and no. I was a spotty aquarist at best. I would go months/years doing regular water changes, filter cleanings, as well as detailed tracking/dosing of micros/macros. However, I also went months/years basically never even fussing with the stuff. 

Things grew somewhat less well without the nutrients in the column, but I still had pearling, flowering, abundantly growing plants.

Quick Edit: My LFS knew me as the guy who constantly brought them extra plants, as I was constantly pulling baby Vals, Swords, and Crypts out of the tank. As well as whatever else was in there. I think their plant stock was primarily from me, for quite a while.


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## Ilikefish (Aug 25, 2016)

I'm using eco complete for my 5G plant tank doing great.


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## jd11 (Aug 8, 2016)

Anyone ever use floramax ?


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