Need Help With Setting Up A Planted Aquarium

So, I need help. This is my first time ever setting up a planted aquarium. I have sand and Eco-Complete substrate. What do I need to do? Is the Eco-Complete considered the soil or do I hav to buy that too? I tried asking on a Facebook group I'm in but literally no one replied.

Do I have to drain it or.anything? I wasn't sure because in the Eco-Complete it has the nutrients, no? But I've also seen people where they put in soil and their water got really murky so I figured I'd ask.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

So, I need help. This is my first time ever setting up a planted aquarium. I have sand and Eco-Complete substrate. What do I need to do? Is the Eco-Complete considered the soil or do I hav to buy that too? I tried asking on a Facebook group I'm in but literally no one replied.

Do I have to drain it or.anything? I wasn't sure because in the Eco-Complete it has the nutrients, no? But I've also seen people where they put in soil and their water got really murky so I figured I'd ask.

Any help would be appreciated!

I'm interested too

 

So, I need help. This is my first time ever setting up a planted aquarium. I have sand and Eco-Complete substrate. What do I need to do? Is the Eco-Complete considered the soil or do I hav to buy that too? I tried asking on a Facebook group I'm in but literally no one replied.

Do I have to drain it or.anything? I wasn't sure because in the Eco-Complete it has the nutrients, no? But I've also seen people where they put in soil and their water got really murky so I figured I'd ask.

Any help would be appreciated!

The Eco-Complete is fine as soil. I found this video helpful when I chose. my substrate.

This is a great YouTube channel, I’d recommend watching the whole series. Very informative!

 

Here is my experience on Eco-Complete, having used it in multiple planted tank setups when I worked at an aquarium shop.

Eco complete is just crushed lava rock. It is not nutrient-rich at all, and contains only small amounts of trace minerals. You will need to supplement the tank with fertilizers while using this stuff.

One thing about it that I found annoying is due to it's shape and consistency it became a trap for fish waste. In a heavily planted tank this might be OK, but it caused tons of algae and high nitrate problems in the tanks I was having to maintain. The worst thing is somebody thought it was a good idea to use it in an African cichlid setup and it would take multiple heavy water changes to remove all the waste from that substrate... I constantly battled green water and hair algae in that tank and finally we moved the cichlids out and used it as a planted community tank with noticeably fewer issues.

To be honest, you would probably be better off using your sand substrate with root tabs, as it would be just as beneficial as the Eco-Complete minus the negatives. If you don't mind the price point then an aquasoil like Fluval Stratum or Controsoil would be even better.

 

So, I need help. This is my first time ever setting up a planted aquarium. I have sand and Eco-Complete substrate. What do I need to do? Is the Eco-Complete considered the soil or do I hav to buy that too? I tried asking on a Facebook group I'm in but literally no one replied.

Do I have to drain it or.anything? I wasn't sure because in the Eco-Complete it has the nutrients, no? But I've also seen people where they put in soil and their water got really murky so I figured I'd ask.

Any help would be appreciated!

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I used sand with root tabs in my tank. It works very well and the plants are doing great.

 

Here is my experience on Eco-Complete, having used it in multiple planted tank setups when I worked at an aquarium shop.

Eco complete is just crushed lava rock. It is not nutrient-rich at all, and contains only small amounts of trace minerals. You will need to supplement the tank with fertilizers while using this stuff.

One thing about it that I found annoying is due to it's shape and consistency it became a trap for fish waste. In a heavily planted tank this might be OK, but it caused tons of algae and high nitrate problems in the tanks I was having to maintain. The worst thing is somebody thought it was a good idea to use it in an African cichlid setup and it would take multiple heavy water changes to remove all the waste from that substrate... I constantly battled green water and hair algae in that tank and finally we moved the cichlids out and used it as a planted community tank with noticeably fewer issues.

To be honest, you would probably be better off using your sand substrate with root tabs, as it would be just as beneficial as the Eco-Complete minus the negatives. If you don't mind the price point then an aquasoil like Fluval Stratum or Controsoil would be even better.

I had actually tried that, but it didn't work. So, while technically this isn't my FIRST planted aquarium, I had considered this one truly my first because I was told that sand isn't enough, even with the tabs so I had thought I just hadn't done enough research. I had used the tabs and gave them nutrients in the previous one, but it had died off, and this was in a cycled tank too. I was also giving them 9-hours of light too a day but who knows. Maybe it was just bad luck? I was also going to put the Eco-Complete on the bottom, and the tand on the top to hopefully deter that issue you were talking about when it came to fish waste.

In regards to fertilizers, do you mean the plant food?

 

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I used sand with root tabs in my tank. It works very well and the plants are doing great.

I had actually used that in my previous planted tank. I'd only had some kind of grass-like plant and while I had said this was my "first" planted aquarium, it's technically my second. I had referred to this new attempt as my first though as I was told the reason why my last plants had died was because sand, even with the tabs, wasn't enough. I had provided the plants in the previous one with 9 hours of light, the bottled plant food, and the tabs and they were in a cycled tank but they just died off no matter what I did.

 

I had actually tried that, but it didn't work. So, while technically this isn't my FIRST planted aquarium, I had considered this one truly my first because I was told that sand isn't enough, even with the tabs so I had thought I just hadn't done enough research. I had used the tabs and gave them nutrients in the previous one, but it had died off, and this was in a cycled tank too. I was also giving them 9-hours of light too a day but who knows. Maybe it was just bad luck? I was also going to put the Eco-Complete on the bottom, and the tand on the top to hopefully deter that issue you were talking about when it came to fish waste.

In regards to fertilizers, do you mean the plant food?

Sand and root tabs isn't always enough depending on the plants you're trying to grow, but most low-tech plants will do just fine. What plants were you trying to grow?

I would not layer the two substrates as the finer sand will just fall into the spaces between the Eco-Complete over time.

Yep, fertilizers = plant food. I have tried several in the past and my current go-to is the NilocG Thrive line. I use Thrive S because I keep shrimp, but all the fertilizers in this line are comprehensive and contain all the nutrients a plant needs as opposed to, say, Seachem Flourish, which is just trace elements and doesn't provide macro nutrients like Potassium or Nitrogen.

EDIT: What is your lighting?

 

Sand and root tabs isn't always enough depending on the plants you're trying to grow, but most low-tech plants will do just fine. What plants were you trying to grow?

I would not layer the two substrates as the finer sand will just fall into the spaces between the Eco-Complete over time.

Yep, fertilizers = plant food. I have tried several in the past and my current go-to is the NilocG Thrive line. I use Thrive S because I keep shrimp, but all the fertilizers in this line are comprehensive and contain all the nutrients a plant needs as opposed to, say, Seachem Flourish, which is just trace elements and doesn't provide macro nutrients like Potassium or Nitrogen.

EDIT: What is your lighting?

I don't remember, it was something hair? I had used sand, root tabs, and gave them Flourish every day but I guess that want enough based on what you said.

As for the sand , I kind of already put it on top of the Eco-Complete after I got a few responses from people on the group I was in. Will it be an issue if the sand falls between the gaps?

As for what my lighting is, right now I just gave the regular lights that come with the tank but I plan to get LED's for the 10 gal.

 

I don't remember, it was something hair? I had used sand, root tabs, and gave them Flourish every day but I guess that want enough based on what you said.

As for the sand , I kind of already put it on top of the Eco-Complete after I got a few responses from people on the group I was in. Will it be an issue if the sand falls between the gaps?

As for what my lighting is, right now I just gave the regular lights that come with the tank but I plan to get LED's for the 10 gal.

Dwarf hairgrass I'm assuming? It's a medium demand plant that likes higher lighting and a nutrient rich substrate. CO² is preferred to help it carpet better.

It won't be an issue with your current substrate but might be a bit of an eyesore eventually.

Most stock lights are not good for plants. Let us know what lighting you're considering and we'll help figure out if it suits your tank's needs.