# CaribSea



## jay (14 Aug 2008)

Well I've found a cheap supplier of Eco-Complete and I've read that its a good alternative to aqua soil.
But!! (always a but) Whats this about raising the hardness of the water? If my tap water got any harder it would be jelly!!

How long does it last and does it stabilize well after?


----------



## aaronnorth (14 Aug 2008)

What are the parameters of your water? It wont matter to much to the plants but some dont grow as well but they will grow!

Most fish will be able to adapt


----------



## Themuleous (14 Aug 2008)

EC buffers the water slightly when first used.  When I used it it took the GH from 4 to 8ish and KH from 3 to 7ish.  No big deal really.  It wares off after a few months as well.

Sam

EDIT - have a read of this before buying though

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1072


----------



## jay (14 Aug 2008)

Bit weary about the 'bad' batch too.
My kH is 3 GH about 13! ph 6.8-7.0. 
The KH and pH is only lowered in my tanks because of the co2.
My tap water is ph 7.8 and Kh about 8-10. horrible stuff.


----------



## Themuleous (14 Aug 2008)

FYI CO2 doesn't lower KH


----------



## ceg4048 (14 Aug 2008)

Jay, why is that horrible stuff? Sounds like pretty good water to me. I have higher KH and GH than you and I don't have any trouble. Of course I don't like to shower in it and I always have to add salt to my laundry and dishwasher to make the detergent foam up more, but from a plant's perspective this is not at all problematic.

I've used Caribsea and it's a good substrate. The KH buffering is no big deal. Even the bad stuff. So what? The KH goes up for a few months and then comes down. To be fair, I suppose if you plan on keeping a Tonina tank, or if your plan is to breed softwater fish then, yes this is a big problem, but otherwise it's mostly an aesthetic thing. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so hysterical and behaved as if this "bad stuff" would result in Armageddon.   

Cheers,


----------



## Wolfenrook (14 Aug 2008)

I recently bought some EC from AquaEssentials.  The batch was fine, nice fine black substrate and no 'milky' solution in the bag, which apparently was part of the reason a lot of people were finding it buffered their water a lot for a while.

As already said, unless you are going to be keeping softwater species then I wouldn't worry about it.

Ade


----------



## jay (14 Aug 2008)

ceg4048 said:
			
		

> Jay, why is that horrible stuff? Sounds like pretty good water to me. I have higher KH and GH than you and I don't have any trouble. Of course I don't like to shower in it and I always have to add salt to my laundry and dishwasher to make the detergent foam up more, but from a plant's perspective this is not at all problematic.
> 
> I've used Caribsea and it's a good substrate. The KH buffering is no big deal. Even the bad stuff. So what? The KH goes up for a few months and then comes down. To be fair, I suppose if you plan on keeping a Tonina tank, or if your plan is to breed softwater fish then, yes this is a big problem, but otherwise it's mostly an aesthetic thing. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so hysterical and behaved as if this "bad stuff" would result in Armageddon.
> 
> Cheers,



You're right, I know its fine for plants but I was just thinking back to when I had discus. They hated it, and I have soft water fish which I know show up much better colours when in soft water.


----------



## jay (23 Aug 2008)

Would I be able to lay Eco OR Aqua Soil on top of a mix of Tetra-plant substrate and sand?
I've got the substrate of a 3 ft and 2 ft tanks that are going to be useless once my new 4 ft is set up. Just want to know if I could use the base layers of these tanks to bulk up the substrate of my new tank. Just at the back, I was thinking of laying Aqua Soil or Eco over it and Bright Sand at the foreground on its own.

Would my old substrates be ok under either one of these soils?

Understand the bacteria in the old sand mix would be good for the cycling also?


----------



## jay (1 Sep 2008)

Well I've been over to creative aquascaping union and read up on substrate layouts and reckon I can use a pair of these  and fill them with substrate to build up the back and cover with Amazonia soil.


----------



## JamesM (1 Sep 2008)

Polystyrene will work too...

Edit: I wonder what hairgrass would look like growing out of tights... remember those grass heads you could buy for the kitchen window?


----------



## jay (1 Sep 2008)

Yeah I was going to use that, but i've got a load of old sand/gravel substrate thats loaded with bacteria I want to use.
Plus I think my ram will go mad at the polystyrene if he sees it.

What about spuds to pack out substrate?  

maybe not.


----------

