eco complete

[Peterstaud]

Would 1 20lb bag of eco complete be enough for a ten gallon?
About how many inches thick do you think it would be?

[ninoboy]

About 2 inches.

[mm12463]

I think it is plenty. Here is the 10 gallon I just setup with 20lbs of Eco on Friday.



It gives 2-3 inches. Wish I had more. I want to pile the rocks and slope things a bit but its plenty.

[Buck]

You can always put a layer of fine black gravel over it since you now have a good base for the plants to root in. I know what you mean though, I have 1 bag in a 10 gallon and it could probably use just another 5 lbs or so but definately not another whole bag... :?

[Buck]

Are you going to do a moss wall on the cork ? Looks like a nice start to your tank here...

[mm12463]

Moss wall it shall be. That's the plan. Erect moss. Or maybe Xmas. I have some small portions coming. I'm excited.

And you are right Buck. 5 more lbs would be cool. Cannot really steal it from the front. I don't want the peat floating up. You know I might stop over at the LFS today and see if they have a small bag of fine black gravel. Good idea. Thanks!

[Peterstaud]

I think i'll just buy two bags and put the left over eco-complete in a new 5 gal.
Its a good excuse for getting another tank.

[TexasState]

mm12463,
How do you make a corkscrew background like that? Material from Home Depot?

[mm12463]

Pretty much. They come in 12x12 packets of 4 panels. Then you trim it to fit the tank and slap some aquarium silicon down and stick the cork to that. I've seen a lot of pictures of people doing this and figure it would be cool. Can pin moss to it, anubias, java ferns.

[dwarf1]

Sorry to butt in here, but, pin? pin = metal? Metal + water = rust? Rust = bad news (pollution) for aquariums?

And aren't cork boards treated with chemicals (like paint, for instance)? Shouldn't it be sterilized or cleaned in some way?

I too agree cork board is way cool for a moss background. Another idea I've heard is to use the little plastic suction cup thingies that come with some airline hose packets. Clip the little moss bundles to those.

[mm12463]

It's a natural cork - untreated. I had to find cork tiles as opposed to corkboard which I think is processed more. This stuff is chuckier.

Yah the staples will rust out. But the amount of metal in there is so minor I cannot imagine anything bad happening. THe amount of metal rusting would be tiny. But I do agee not the best option. And once the moss has taken hold I can just yank the staples out. We shall see.