Is Eco Complete Bakeable/Boilable?

Impudence12

Impudence12

Broke Aquarist
Jul 3, 2007
300
1
0
Charlotte, NC
What is Eco-Complete exactly? I have scoured the internet looking for the answer and can't find anything beyond product pages bragging about how awesome it is.

I've got a bag worth of leftover eco complete from a tank that I want to use in another tank, but the original tank had a bunch of brush algae which I don't want to transfer. I've tried overdosing excel and peroxide to really no avail. I don't want to use bleach since it's such a pain to get rid of.

Baking or boiling is basicly free. I can't find out exactly what the stuff is, so I can't be sure if boiling will leach anything out, or if baking will cause it to explode. Can anyone enlighten me?
 
Visit carib-sea.com. They are the company that makes the porduct. Eco-complete from what I understand holds minerals in the substrate that give plants a good start when first planted. I believe eco complete becomes inert after a while, but is still capable of retaining any nutrients that are placed in it (like fertilizers), much better than plain gravel can. I called a representative from carib sea and the person explained it in detail to me, but I have now forgotten half of what he said (this was a few months back). Eco complete has heterotrophic bacteria that aids in starting cycles for brand new tank setups, and eco complete is also packed in blackwater extract, which fish from the amazon love (angels, tetras, etc.). The front of the eco complete bag mentions everything I've just said. I hear that a lot of ppl drain the "water" from eco when they first open the bag, which is ok if you don't want the black water extract. You can use bleach to dip your plants in for removal of algae of any sort, but the bleach will slightly damage your plants. If you use one part bleach to every 20 parts water, the bleach will be diluted enough to where it won't kill your plants. You only want to submerge the plants for 2-3 minutes in this solution; any longer, and you can say goodbye to your algae problem AND your plants. After you bleach each plant, immediately throw them into a different bucket full of water overdosed with dechlorinator. The large amount of dechlorinator will negate the harmful substances from the bleach. You could probably bleach the eco complete as well for maybe an hour or more, then dechlorinate it in a different bucket for another hour or so. You will most likely lose the beneficial bacteria and any nutrients that were in it with whatever treatment you use, so I would go with bleach since it will be the fastest and most effective method. I myself have bleached gravels that were previously used. I Hope my rambling helps :)
 
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From my understanding, Eco-complete is volcanic rock.
 
its not the rock that would be an issue... why would you want to boil or bake it?

From what i have read on it, it is enriched with many things to aide plant growth, i saw a small bag in a lfs and it was a wet sold product. Which would indicate to me that it also contains live something, its generally things like bacteria/copeopods or whatever in marine sand. So i would hazard a guess at there being something similar in a freshwater way in the eco-complete.

So i dont think i would go so far as to boil it personally
 
Impudence12 said:
What is Eco-Complete exactly? I have scoured the internet looking for the answer and can't find anything beyond product pages bragging about how awesome it is.

I've got a bag worth of leftover eco complete from a tank that I want to use in another tank, but the original tank had a bunch of brush algae which I don't want to transfer. I've tried overdosing excel and peroxide to really no avail. I don't want to use bleach since it's such a pain to get rid of.

Baking or boiling is basicly free. I can't find out exactly what the stuff is, so I can't be sure if boiling will leach anything out, or if baking will cause it to explode. Can anyone enlighten me?
Click to expand...

No light= no algae.
Store it in a dry, dark area for a bit. Algae spores should dye.
 
For my most immediate needs I only need a little (add to PFS to make it less monotonous) So I've rinsed off the bit I've been trying to treat for the last week and put it on a sheet tray and in the oven. 350 for an hour sterilizes to medical standards so I'll go with that. (fire extinguisher handy of course) Ferts aren't alive and I'm sure the bacteria is long since gone, so for my purposes this should be sufficinent.

I'll keep the rest of it in a dark place, couldn't hurt.
 
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