The only way I can think of to remove most or all of the debris is to vigorously vacuum it again and again. Rinsing it would pretty much kill the good bacteria. Only way I can think of are root tabs and dosing in the water column, something about cec.
Eco-complete and rescaping?
I'm getting ready to completely re-scape my aquarium and do some bi-yearly maintenance. The tank is about six months old. The substrate I'm using is Eco-complete.
Is it okay to rinse the Eco-complete to remove all of debris that has worked its way into the the substrate. Also, is there anything I can add to the Eco-complete to rejuvenate it?
Is it okay to rinse the Eco-complete to remove all of debris that has worked its way into the the substrate. Also, is there anything I can add to the Eco-complete to rejuvenate it?
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If you rinse the eco-complete, you are probably going to have a new cycle on your tank. Which means I hope you don't have fish. If you do have fish that you're going to add to the tank immediately after the rescape, I would instead just do a really good gravel vacuum.
Don't worry about "rejuventating" it. I'm no chemist, but from what I understand, it doesnt waste or rapidly leach its nutrient into the water. Think of it as a very, very slow release. You could place a couple root tabs, but if you're dosing the water column you probably don't even need root tabs.
Don't worry about "rejuventating" it. I'm no chemist, but from what I understand, it doesnt waste or rapidly leach its nutrient into the water. Think of it as a very, very slow release. You could place a couple root tabs, but if you're dosing the water column you probably don't even need root tabs.
Save the water and 1/4 of the old substrate. Clean/rinse the rest of the Eco-Complete.
Mix the cleaned substrate and the one you've set aside. Do your re-planting and re-use the saved water. Check the water chemistry (nitrate, ammonia) daily for at least a week. Add root tabs (follow directions it came with). If the root tabs are crumbly, freeze them - it won't be as crumbly when frozen.
Mix the cleaned substrate and the one you've set aside. Do your re-planting and re-use the saved water. Check the water chemistry (nitrate, ammonia) daily for at least a week. Add root tabs (follow directions it came with). If the root tabs are crumbly, freeze them - it won't be as crumbly when frozen.
Decided not to rinse the substrate for all the reasons indicated above.
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