# Eco-Complete in a 20 Long



## edstewart5 (Sep 24, 2013)

Considering your floor dimensions are the exact same as my 29G tank with EcoComplete, you'll need two bags for a substrate deep enough to hold plants and roots well. I have a split in mine with sand, but without it, the two bags would give me about 2.5" of substrate all the way through.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

you also don't need to cap plant specific substrates.

the other thing to consider with capping eco w/ sand it that eventually the sand will end up below the eco complete. so pretty pointless to do


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## Cwy0608 (Aug 27, 2013)

to my evaluation sand is better at planting than eco. When I plant them the sand will fill in on top, not for eco since the grain size is so big


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## MantisX (Aug 25, 2004)

I ended up using a bag and a half because I wanted it slightly thicker in the back. 1 bag would work just fine though.

MantisX


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## caique (Mar 16, 2012)

Just a heads up, if you use Eco Complete you could potentially destroy your cory's barbells, I had this happen with my smaller cory's, larger ones like emeralds did fine.

I ended up replacing the Eco with soft belly substrate from aquariumplants.com


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## Takeshi (Aug 24, 2013)

Eco complete works fine for me except it might be harmful to scavengers that swim along the substrate. My kuhli loach was unable to dig anywhere.


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## jbig (Jul 13, 2012)

I have eco-complete in my 20L. I only used one bag and it was not enough so I had to cap with regular gravel. If you only want eco-complete in your tank definitely go with 2 bags. 

Side note: very satisfied with eco-complete. running pressurized co2 and dosing liquid fertz. it's like a jungle in there...


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

I used 3 bags in my 20L. Two for a 2.5 inch flat layer and the third bag was to create the hill and slope towards the back I settled on.


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## BulletToothBoris (Jan 17, 2013)

Yeah don't cap eco. If you want both sand and eco use cardboard dividers placed vertically then put the sand where you want and the eco where you want. After all substrate is in take the dividers out.


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## badgerclaw (Jan 24, 2014)

If you are worried about Corys then get the fine grade. It's much smoother and doesn't feel like gravel at all, but you still get all the benefits of eco-complete.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

If you are doing eco then you also should put root tabs under it since eco is inert. It would be a great complement with the water column dosing I expect you would be doing with CO2.


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## greenteam (Feb 8, 2012)

My old setup was dirt caped with eco-complete. The substrate alone lacks basic nutrients for a good root system & you either supplement that with tabs or dirt.


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## markisashrimp (Jan 27, 2014)

scapegoat said:


> you also don't need to cap plant specific substrates.
> 
> the other thing to consider with capping eco w/ sand it that eventually the sand will end up below the eco complete. so pretty pointless to do


This is good to know. I'm about to setup my first planted with Caridina cantonensis sp "blue".


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