First off-how much does flourite and eco complete cost? Its 32 bucks a bag here!!!!

Next, what one works better and is it ok to mix with gravel? like does eco work better for some plants and flourite for others?

Someone told me that some batches of flourite are contaminatd and dont work. anyone know more?


Sorry im so stupid lol any adivce is helpful!

Contaminated Flourite. I think you mean ECO, and those are long off the shelves already,

I use Eco before. And i donnt know if its better. But it does have alot of Iron

OH ok this was 3 wks ago. Does anyone know if the new flourite sand gets sucked up by a vacumm?

look for soil master select, check for a store called Lesko.
Good substrate, dark color, and super cheap.

Soilmaster Select. ~$16 for 50lbs. You should put some root tabs down before you lay it in the tank, so it can absorb the nutrients then will basically be like Eco.

Root tabs can cause algea blooms if they are disturbed though. there are no places called lesko around here. Is soilmaster select like potting soil?

lesco. www.lesco.com

Also can be found in John Deere outlets.

Can also look for a product named Turface in the same kinds of places - commercial gardening places.

I'm also led to believe that Oil Dri from Wal Mart is essentially the same, haven't used it yet personally though.

Soilmaster Select has one of the highest CECs, in other words, it will absorb pretty much everything you you put in it. What's the difference between disturbed root tabs and dosing the water column? That's where most aquatics prefer to take in nutrients anyway. Soilmaster has no nutrient value (maybe some iron but I haven't seen it confirmed yet, it should have some though), If you don't plan on either dosing the water column or substrate, then you are going to run into deficiencies, in which case I'd go with Eco Complete which is basically a giant root tab. And, FYI... algae happens.

Soilamaster Select, Profile, Turface, Oil dry, Special Kitty cat litter, and Flourite are all chips of fired clay with a high CEC (not so high in Flourite), in laymen's terms they're super porous and will attract and hold nutrients much better than most alternatives. The ones that have been tested since their popularity in planted tanks all have a high Iron content, and I've found info that SMS's prefired clay form (montmorillonite) is very high in Iron, which leads me to believe it has just as much after firing as the rest. They're nothing like soil.

There is a data sheet at the bottom of this page with information on numerous substrate options, SMS not included because it is too new to the hobby, but you can compare it to the other clays mentioned above. Check out Iron content (Fe), and CEC is listed at the very bottom of each listing.

oh ok thanks for all that info! im still trying to decided. soilmaster plus root tabs may be the best for me but thanks forthat information!

No problem, I just updated that post so you might have missed the part at the end with the data sheet. It was very helpful for me when I was deciding.

thanks for that sheet! does flourite and eco cost 30 bucks a bag everywhere?

Eco cost 24 at aquariumplants.com I think its till 24 shipped

8 bucks a bag off! wow!

Oil Dri makes Soil Master Select. They are actually two VERY different products. Not sure how many times I will have to cover this very same stupid ground. Also Lesco is just ONE of MANY distributors of Soil Master products. If one simply calls 800/233-9802 Oil Dri is more than happy to tell you who is your local distributor.

eco-complete 21.99 drfostersmith

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...pc=1&N=0&Nty=1