# Caribsea Eco-complete for African Cichlids



## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

So I think I'm going to move from the crushed coral I've used in the past to sand and from the reviews I've read here and elsewhere the Caribsea Eco-complete for African Cichlids is really good stuff. Has anyone used this and is it worth the price I have to pay and the wait to have it shipped versus going to a local store and buying some other kind of sand? I live in St. Louis and our water is pretty hard-120-150 mg/L and our pH tends to come right out of the tap at 9-10. I've never done anything to adjust the pH levels with cichlids in my tanks before. I know that the Caribsea sand is supposed to bolster the pH to keep it high, which is not something I worry about. Would you recommend this product or something else? I have a 46 gallon bow front aquarium-how much sand do I need to buy? Thanks for your help.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would not recommend Eco Complete...not attractive, not the right grain size and too expensive. I much prefer pool filter sand.

There is a sand volume calculator in the Cichlid-forum Library. It comes in 50 pound bags for like $10.


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

DJRansome said:


> I would not recommend Eco Complete...not attractive, not the right grain size and too expensive. I much prefer pool filter sand.
> 
> There is a sand volume calculator in the Cichlid-forum Library. It comes in 50 pound bags for like $10.


With the pool filter sand can I just rinse it and go? While the water in my area is naturally high pH, if I use PFS, will I have to worry about pH levels not using crushed coral or Eco-complete that buffers the aquarium? Also why do you think the Eco-complete isn't attractive? What color sand do you think works best to bring out the color of the aquarium?


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Pool filter sand all the way my friend, that Caribsea stuff is way overpriced and if you already have high ph and hard water then I'm sure your Kh is probably good straight from the tap, very lucky by the way lol.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

To me it looks like an unfortunately colored gravel, as opposed to pool filter sand that looks something like the sand in Lake Malawi or Lake Tanganyika.

You have stated you have no need of it's features (your tanks are established and your pH is high and you have never used buffers in your tanks before).

So why pay? I tried aragonite substrates and crushed coral in my filters...they are both overrated IME. Go for what looks attractive to you.

If you want a dark sand (has it's pros and cons) go for Tahitian moon sand. Beware, it is fine and some fish color down and become sooty looking over black as they try to blend in.


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

DJRansome said:


> To me it looks like an unfortunately colored gravel, as opposed to pool filter sand that looks something like the sand in Lake Malawi or Lake Tanganyika.
> 
> You have stated you have no need of it's features (your tanks are established and your pH is high and you have never used buffers in your tanks before).
> 
> ...


Thanks for the added information. Do you buy your pool filter sand just anywhere? Is there a type of pool sand or is it all the same? The black is tempting, but think I'll go with white for a brighter aquarium. With my 46 gallon tank, the calculator tells me about 57 lbs of substrate. This sounds like a bit much-thoughts? What order to you put things into the tank. I usually go substrate, then rocks, the water. Does it matter? Also do you put anything under the sand? I've always just put everything on top of the glass and set my rocks on top of the substrate. Thanks.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

Pool filter sand is great. I'm not sure of the brand, but I never wash it and only get a little cloudiness. Any pool supply store will have it. You might even find it at walmart this time of the year. 57lbs seems like a lot. I would get a bag and add until you're happy with the depth, just don't go too deep. Maybe 1.5" at most.

Put your rocks first directly on the glass, then put the sand. This prevents fish from digging sand from underneath the rocks, causing them to crash down, which could lead to cracked glass or crushed fish.


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

james1983 said:


> Pool filter sand is great. I'm not sure of the brand, but I never wash it and only get a little cloudiness. Any pool supply store will have it. You might even find it at walmart this time of the year. 57lbs seems like a lot. I would get a bag and add until you're happy with the depth, just don't go too deep. Maybe 1.5" at most.
> 
> Put your rocks first directly on the glass, then put the sand. This prevents fish from digging sand from underneath the rocks, causing them to crash down, which could lead to cracked glass or crushed fish.


My plan was to put the rocks and sand in then add water. Is that okay, or add the water first and then add the sand?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Rocks first, then sand and then water. Rinse the sand in a bucket until the water runs pretty clear before adding to the tank.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

What Deeda said, lol.


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

Having troubles finding sand. I went to two pool supply places and the sand they had was brownish. Also it was silica based-is that okay or do I want to stay away from that? Do you all use brown or white sand? Then I went to an aquarium store that only had rock or coral and the guy running the place recommended against sand. I think I'll try a place like Home Depot or Menards next. Any other suggestions? I didn't think it would be this hard to find suitable white sand.


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## krazyju84 (Jul 10, 2014)

i tried sand for the first time recently and hesitated because only sand i could find close to me was brownish color. But, in the tank it looks more white than brown and i actually think it looks great. There is white pool filter sand called mystic white, expensive though.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

If you're wanting "white sand" then get plain old finely crushed aragonite from petco. It's going to be an amazing pain in the you know what to rinse before you put it in the tank though.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

I bet the majority of us use the old brown pool filter sand though.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You want the 100% silica. It's not brown at all, but also not a bright white. Really the definition of sand-color...beige if you like.


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

DJRansome said:


> You want the 100% silica. It's not brown at all, but also not a bright white. Really the definition of sand-color...beige if you like.


Is my eye fooling me, but I look at a lot of pictures of aquariums with sand and in many of the pics, the sand looks very white-Is it white or just a beige? At one of the pool stores the guy shows me a handful and it was beige to light brown color, which seemed too dark. Will it look brighter in the aquarium?


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

https://i.imgur.com/S2SHp3x.jpg Regular pool filter sand... it looks lighter in the tank than out


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Some tanks use play sand which is whiter. I don't recommend play sand at all.

I've never seen light brown pool filter sand.


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

DJRansome said:


> Some tanks use play sand which is whiter. I don't recommend play sand at all.
> 
> I've never seen light brown pool filter sand.


When I say light brown it was probably more of a tan


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## coachcasa (Feb 17, 2014)

caldwelldaniel26 said:


> https://i.imgur.com/S2SHp3x.jpg Regular pool filter sand... it looks lighter in the tank than out


This was the color of the sand they showed me. I guess I really like the color of the white sand, but if the white sand is play sand then I guess the tan it will have to be. I just thought the fish colors would really stand out with a more pure white color sand.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The white sand is very dirty and very fine...it will kill your filters.

Further, remember the fish try to blend with their background. Sooty over black and pale over white. Not all fish, but I was astonished at how sooty some fish were over black. I had leleupi that I sold once because they were sooty. Overnight I caught them and had them in a temp tank with pool filter sand. Brilliant orange the next day!


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

DJ is 100% correct about the substrate and even the background color has an effect on your fishes color. Neutral backgrounds and neutral substrates produce the best colors for Africans.


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