Eco-Complete Cichlid Gravel

This is one that I have looked at. The directions on the package say not to wash so I assume you put right in the tank and fill with water.

I don't think you need to wash, but might not wanna put the water fromt he bag into the tank

Do NOT wash the Eco sand or gravel, just dump the whole bag right into the tank. The Eco-complete has the bacteria in the bag that will help you establish your tank much quicker. If you wash the Eco all the bacteria that would have helped in establishing your tank will be gone.

Hawks said:

Do NOT wash the Eco sand or gravel, just dump the whole bag right into the tank. The Eco-complete has the bacteria in the bag that will help you establish your tank much quicker. If you wash the Eco all the bacteria that would have helped in establishing your tank will be gone.

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Hawks is correct I have the Eco complete sand in my 75 gallon Tang set up & the Eco complete gravel in my 180 gallon Malawi set up, did not rinse and yes you do want to add the water from the bag as well. In both cases the tanks were "clear" in less than 2 hrs after filling them.

Frank

Actually, one of the points of using Eco Complete IS the water in the bag. In fact, make sure you do have water in the bag. Some of the bags I've seen in the LFS apparently had small leaks and no water in them, which defeats part of the purpose of spending the $$$ on that substrate.

Thanks for all the feed back. I had someone tell me that it would cloud up the tank so bad it would take weeks to clear up.
I have 12 bags and 3 did leak. I told the company about it and they said UPS did it,which is probably true.
If anyone is interested I got the gravel for $16.99 a bag and the shipping was only $13.99 for the whole shipment. I got it from Petsolutions.com.

The bacteria in those 3 bags that did leak will be worthless now. I would demand they send you 3 new bags or get a refund. You can still use the gravel, but with the ECO your paying for the bacteria content just as much as you are paying for the gravel itself. Do a damage report with UPS if you have to. You should be able to get new bags or a refund.

Your tank will cloud up for a little while with the ECO, but it's not that bad. You will want to add fish pretty quick after adding the gravel or the bacteria will die off. Make sure you use a good dechloriener with the water you add. I actually added some Bio-Spira at the same time as the fish as well, just to make sure.

Would anyone using this substrate be willing to post a picture of their tank? In term of the above comment of the bacteria be sufficient to cycle the tank, would that also be true if using argonite? Just curious. I'd like to see some pictures of tanks with this in it. Thanks.

Thanks. Any pics of the finer sand? I am contemplating buying the sand and possibly some standard black sand to have a darker appearence, perhaps a 50/50 mixture.

LadyMyst said:

Thanks for all the feed back. I had someone tell me that it would cloud up the tank so bad it would take weeks to clear up.
I have 12 bags and 3 did leak. I told the company about it and they said UPS did it,which is probably true.
If anyone is interested I got the gravel for $16.99 a bag and the shipping was only $13.99 for the whole shipment. I got it from Petsolutions.com.

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How long did it take to receive the order?

The shipment came in 2 parts a day apart. It was shipped very quickly and I had it in a few days after I ordered it. I was surprised at how quickly it came. This company was great to deal with.

LadyMyst said:

The shipment came in 2 parts a day apart. It was shipped very quickly and I had it in a few days after I ordered it. I was surprised at how quickly it came. This company was great to deal with.

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Thanks. How do you clean the sand? I have heard its harder than gravel.

I will be doing my first cleaning tomorrow. It looks like it will be easier because the gravel is larger & heavier and doesn't look like the debris can get too deep into it. I will let you know after I clean it.

LadyMyst said:

I will be doing my first cleaning tomorrow. It looks like it will be easier because the gravel is larger & heavier and doesn't look like the debris can get too deep into it. I will let you know after I clean it.

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Thanks