Switching To Eco-complete

[AshleySpatula]

so i ordered some eco complete and my tank is cycled after loosing many fish (didnt know bout the fishless cycle i found this site shortly after getting the fish
i have four black neon tetras left in my 20g and thats all thats gonna be in there for a while. they also survived the great ich infestation that took most of my previous fish.

on to the eco-complete, when the stuff gets here this is my 'plan of attack' so far let me know if it sounds good:

1. drain all water into big, clean rubbermaid container, add fish, snails, plants, and filter running on side

2. take out all gravel, put in seperate bucket with some tank water

3. rinse tank lightly clean off already accumilated calcium marks.

4. add eco complete, a very thin layer of previous gravel and about a few inches of tank water back in

5. plant plants, add the big rocks back where i want them, do the whole aquascaping thing

6. add about half the previous tank water back in, treat some tap water and fill the rest of the way

7. add fish and snails back to tank

8. if the four remaining black neons continue to live, and everything looks good, add a few more fish! (more black neons i really like em!)

done.
anything i missed? anything else i should do?
thanks in advance for advice!

 

[Rooster]

so i ordered some eco complete and my tank is cycled after loosing many fish (didnt know bout the fishless cycle i found this site shortly after getting the fish
i have four black neon tetras left in my 20g and thats all thats gonna be in there for a while. they also survived the great ich infestation that took most of my previous fish.

on to the eco-complete, when the stuff gets here this is my 'plan of attack' so far let me know if it sounds good:

1. drain all water into big, clean rubbermaid container, add fish, snails, plants, and filter running on side

Not a lot of point keeping old water... as long as the filter is kept wet.

2. take out all gravel, put in seperate bucket with some tank water

No need to "preserve" this - theres not a lot of usefull bacteria anyway - use the oppertunity to give it a good clean.

3. rinse tank lightly clean off already accumilated calcium marks.

Dont forget to use some old tank water to clean, or fresh declorinated for the rinses.

4. add eco complete, a very thin layer of previous gravel and about a few inches of tank water back in

This comes "WET" and you should keep the lot ! So just pour it into a dry(ish) tank, then cover with at least an inch or two of gravel/sand... or you may end up with muddy water.

5. plant plants, add the big rocks back where i want them, do the whole aquascaping thing

6. add about half the previous tank water back in, treat some tap water and fill the rest of the way

I would just use fresh water...

7. add fish and snails back to tank

8. if the four remaining black neons continue to live, and everything looks good, add a few more fish! (more black neons i really like em!)

done.
anything i missed? anything else i should do?
thanks in advance for advice!

Ive use ecocomplete for a year or so, and cant give the plants away ! Ive NEVER been able to keep certain plants in the past, now I have to throw half of it away each month ! Its great stuff.

 

[buffalogal]

Ive use ecocomplete for a year or so, and cant give the plants away ! Ive NEVER been able to keep certain plants in the past, now I have to throw half of it away each month ! Its great stuff.
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That's so great to hear! I just swapped my gravel for it and some sand to start a heavily planted tank. It wasn't cheap, and I was hoping LFS guys weren't leading me on!

 

[AshleySpatula]

cool thanks! i am hoping i have the same results but my main question is, is my plan of attack with changing it good? is there anything i need to do other than what i have listed?

 

[rdd1952]

so i ordered some eco complete and my tank is cycled after loosing many fish (didnt know bout the fishless cycle i found this site shortly after getting the fish
i have four black neon tetras left in my 20g and thats all thats gonna be in there for a while. they also survived the great ich infestation that took most of my previous fish.

on to the eco-complete, when the stuff gets here this is my 'plan of attack' so far let me know if it sounds good:

1. drain all water into big, clean rubbermaid container, add fish, snails, plants, and filter running on side

Not a lot of point keeping old water... as long as the filter is kept wet.

4. add eco complete, a very thin layer of previous gravel and about a few inches of tank water back in

This comes "WET" and you should keep the lot ! So just pour it into a dry(ish) tank, then cover with at least an inch or two of gravel/sand... or you may end up with muddy water.

6. add about half the previous tank water back in, treat some tap water and fill the rest of the way

I would just use fresh water...

Ive use ecocomplete for a year or so, and cant give the plants away ! Ive NEVER been able to keep certain plants in the past, now I have to throw half of it away each month ! Its great stuff.

Point 1: He needs the tank water to put the fish in during the switch.

Point 4: Putting gravel or sand over Eco-Complete is only a temporary thing. Since the EC is more coarse than the gravel or sand, it will eventually come to the top and the sand will go to the bottom. Every vibration helps it sift down. Just walking by the tank helps. Trust me, I know from experience as I couldn't find enough EC for my 75 gallon so I put an inch of Tahitian Moon Sand over it. Within 6 months to a yar, I the EC had worked to the top in most places.

Point 6: IMO, it's best to put 50% of the old water back so you don't have to reacclimate the fish. Simply put the fish back in the water they are accoustomed to and top off. It's the same as a 50% water change. Using all fresh water could change the parameters (pH, KH & GH in particular) enough to cause health issues. If you do a 25 to 50 percent water change the day prior to the switch you would in escense be doing about a 50 to 75 percent water change over the 2 days and basically leave you with clean water anyway.

I agree that it works great. I have to prune regularly and have thrown away some plants that were slower growing as they weren't getting enough light because of the larger ones growing over them.

 

[AshleySpatula]

Hey thanks rooster and rdd, i am a little OCD so i have to check a couple times if i am doing everything right lol
great advice! the only reason i wanted to put some previous gravel back on top was i dont know if 20ibs of eco
is enough to give it a good two inches or so of substrate in my 20g. what do you think? it says to use 1 pound per gallon
but will that be at least two inches?

 

[rdd1952]

I can't remember how much a bag covers. They aren't very big so one bag may not be enough for a 20 gallon. Is it a 20 gallon high or long? A high (24"L x 12"W) would require about .33 cubic feet of substrate to cover 2" deep. A long (30"L x 12"W) would require about .42 cubic feet for 2" coverage. I don't think I've ever read anywhere how many cubic feet the bags have in them. That is probably a marketing thing as most people will probably buy too much to make sure they have enough. I would say a single bag would be close but may not quite get you 2".

Edited for spelling.

 

[Rooster]

Dont forget - you dont NEED to cover the entire tank base... I left a clear central part, a sort of stretched "U" along the rear and towards the front.

 

[AshleySpatula]

yeah i think it will be enough my tank is a high (24x12) and i have a few large rocks i think i will put those in first then the eco around it i am kinda pissed though, i had to call fed ex today because last time i checked it said it was supposed to be delivered the 27th and it's now the 30th and for some reason it's been sitting in phoenix (only 2 hours away) since the 24th. they said they should call me tomorrow to tell me whats going on. i hope it gets here soon i am getting ancy.