My FIRST planted tank. Journal of a 20 Long

[Left C]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Yup that's exactly what I was referring to. I really think that CaribSea got some of their regular Eco mixed in with their Cichlid formula or SOMETHING- I personally had 6 bags that I took back to my LFS unopened b/c they didn't look like Eco should- they had multicolored rocks in there (looked like their Cichlid substrate to me). I switched out to Fluorite black and am VERY happy with it!

Here's some more info about the current E-C with some pictures of it: http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewt...=asc&sta rt=0

This is a response from Jud at CaribSea:

Originally Posted by caribsea

Hi my name is Jud and I work for CaribSea and handle product concerns.

Yep, I got Jake's email and I did answer him today. Say what you will I will give you the facts:

We sourced a new locale of volcanic material, (same minerally speaking), some of it was not all black.

When the new source material started shipping the shipping crew didn't catch the issue until a good amount of it was shipped (initially it looked OK).

Eco Complete Black is supposed to be black.

While this is a "new formulation" in that it was from new source material it was always intended to be all black in color we do not mean to say that multicolored product will be the norm.

I have offered every product complaint on this product a replacement. As long as there is a valid receipt replacement will always be offered. We want consumers to be happy with our products and pride ourselves on making good when we do make a mistake.

If anyone needs any more information on this issue I encourage you to write to me directly and I will go into greater detail. I am especially encouraging those who have purchased product and were not satisfied or those who can not find all black product in their local marketplace and wish to purchase it.

Jud McCracken
jud@caribsea.com

Did you get any of the bags of E-C a few years ago that had phosphoric acid added to reduce it's alkalinity. It had extremely high phosphate levels and water changes wouldn't reduce it very much. They replaced these bags too.

I got some replacement bags and they were just black sand.

I bought some E-C when it first came out and I wasn't aware of any alkalinity problems. The bag said that is "nitrate and carbonate free which will not increase pH or carbonate hardness" as jaidexl mentioned.

It killed my rams and rummy nose tetras. I was pissed.

I emailed them, but I didn't get a response.

Then the FAQ that that dekstr was released.

You know, it makes me think that Seachem knew something about the bad E-C coming out and that's why the black Flourite was delayed and released not long ago.

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[fishman9809]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Yup that's exactly what I was referring to. I really think that CaribSea got some of their regular Eco mixed in with their Cichlid formula or SOMETHING- I personally had 6 bags that I took back to my LFS unopened b/c they didn't look like Eco should- they had multicolored rocks in there (looked like their Cichlid substrate to me). I switched out to Fluorite black and am VERY happy with it!

man, you really love that flourite stuff, you always say how good it is, it must be super!!!!!

[fishman9809]

Originally Posted by Left C

It killed my rams and rummy nose tetras. I was pissed.

uh oh, same fish I am getting

[lauraleellbp]

Apparently CaribSea didn't do much testing to verify that the "new source material" is inert, either, from reports I've read now across 4 different forums...

[fishman9809]

I have decided on Flourite black, and I found a perfect price. 18 bucks a bag, but then I need shipping (2 bags needed for 2.5 inches.)

[fishman9809]

I have a question, are there any SA plants that are kind of long leaved, like hairgrass or Sagittaria?

[jaidexl]

I guess Lilaeopsis brasiliensis could be considered similar to hair grass. There are eleocharis species in parts of SA as well, "spike rushes" are a fairly world dominating genus, if not under water, on land (that's where I get mine, look on the side of shaded roads or near ponds/swamps, has little brown balls on the tips [flowers]).

I'd say the SA grass most commonly compared to Sag is Echinodorus tenellus, you can usually get a lot of it through the swap and shop for a low price, from one of us who are overrun with it. Mine are reserved for Esteroali.

[fishman9809]

nevermind, I think I may have enough plants for now. I love the new tank. There is a drawback though, my dad is going to Switzerland on Wednesday for my grandma's 90th birthday and the donated equipment is supposed to come on that day. also, he said I should not do anything until he comes back because the stand need to be modified and that cannot be done without him. I am allowed to order equipment though, since that does not require him there.

[@marko@]

fishman i am so glad to see you are finally getting your tank.

umm maybe you can try vals, i know they are from the americas, but i dont know which region.

[fishman9809]

yeah, I have thought about those, I think 1 species is, but I might have enough plants. I had a huge prob last night. It was 90 degrees in my room, and so was the fish tank (86). Luckily I caught it in time, I had to add ice. next time, the tank will be open top with a fan blowing hot air away.

[@marko@]

well i can tell you the solutions to heating i use for my three tanks:

20L- about 3 feet away from an AC in a room that never gets above 78 (AC set on 75), it doesnt get to cold since i always have the heater and it can outcompete my AC while the tank is at that distance.

eclipse six- my dad cut the hood and built in two computer fans. one blowing hot air from the lights out, and the other blowing random air in there out. i also have an "iceprobe". it is a big ugly white tube going into the tank (you will probably need to drill an entrance) it has a silicon washer to prevent leaks, and it has a big fan. the white probe changes temp very quickly, and gets hot, the fan cools blows that heat away. thus it sucks heat out of the tank. it doesnt work as well as a real chiller, but cheaper and its ok.

eclipse 3- nothing that cant live above 80 in a house that only ever reaches 80. no nothing.

[fishman9809]

well, with rummynoses, rams, and otos, they all prefer higher temps, so it MIGHT be ok.

[@marko@]

well, not 80s; but if you can keep the room around 78 they will survive the summer.
NOTE: fans blowing air around the room make it seem colder to us, but they dont have any affect on exothermic organism, like fish. because we are 98, the more particles that are say 80 strike our body the cooler we are since the temp equalizes slightly. fans make more air particles hit us. the fish are exothermic (or coldblooded) so they are the same temp as anything they are in. so their is no cooling from that.
im saying this because