# Caribsea eco complete substrate



## Cookie_cichlid (Dec 30, 2015)

I am just wondering does anyone have experience with this substrate? Is this going to effect the PH or hardness? I was about to black sand but I was told any kind of sand is going to effect the hardness and ph.


----------



## Roger That (Aug 12, 2015)

Sand is fine to use, I don't know how that is going to affect the hardness of the water. On the other hand....CaribSea Eco Complete substrate is what I have in my tank. It is typical Florida beach sand which is primarily composed of crushed coral. This will help stabilize and maintain your PH level as well as increase it a little if your tap water is a lower PH value.

However, I rinsed the substrate completely and did not just dump it into the tank as instructed. I read too many reviews that complained about how cloudy it made the water from the "live bacteria" it supposedly has in it. Here's a photo of it on my tank. The fish love it!


----------



## Cookie_cichlid (Dec 30, 2015)

Yes just some caribsea black sand yesterday. Hope it gonna looks and works great.


----------



## Computer (Sep 24, 2008)

I also have the Caribsea eco complete just like Roger That. If I remember correctly it's called the ivory coast by Caribsea but that was like back in 2004 when I first purchased it so I could be wrong on the name. Any crush coral substrate will do fine for African cichlids.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I find crushed coral to be difficult to clean and the grains are sharp. Pool filter sand (100% silica) in the 20 grain size is ideal.

Your substrate may not impact pH, KH or GH at all. Do you want to change them?

Substrates usually cannot dissolve fast enough to make much difference. I have had aragonite substrate for 10 years and my tap and tanks are exactly the same at pH=7.8 and GH=7 and KH=7.

I also run crushed coral in my filters...no change.

PFS looks natural, the fish behavior with it is natural, it's easy to keep clean and it's extremely cost effective at $10/50 pounds.


----------



## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

DJRansome said:


> I find crushed coral to be difficult to clean and the grains are sharp. Pool filter sand (100% silica) in the 20 grain size is ideal.
> 
> Your substrate may not impact pH, KH or GH at all. Do you want to change them?
> 
> ...


I could not agree more. I think the whole crushed coral and substrate that buffers thing is a myth. I have tried crushed coral in one filter and also saw absolutely no change in GH, KH, or pH. As DJ said, the time it would take to dissolve the crushed coral would likely be longer than most of us will be on this planet.


----------

