Eco complete substrate CONCERN!

[Tormentor]

Hi all I'm planning to re scape my tank, in witch I already have plants with sand, witch is not doing good, so I'm planning to use a plants substrate to see if it better. My one concern is that, is this substrate safe for discus? I have a friend that told me, they would get some kind of dark spot in the head, not sure what he meant by that, so please help me as this would be my first planted substrate in use for my plants. Thanks

[wild4discus]

Eco complete is safe for discus, I use it and plants grow well it. It comes in black or red. If you have pigeon based discus and use the black eco complete, the pigeons will most likely show pepper. Even if you use the red eco complete, it is fairly dark and may also cause peppering. If you have non pigeon based discus, you shouldn't have any problems using either the black or red. I presently use a mix 80% black and 20% red. Looks great IMO. Also, you can mix eco complete with other substrates including sand. If you decide to use it with your existing substrate, make sure to mix it... do not just put in the tank as a top layer.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

I used Eco-Complete for a couple years and plants did very well. When I wanted to switch to a pigeon type discus, I switch it out to sand base.

You can try mixing sand with Flourite. It is a bit lighter in color. There are a few different types and colors to mix.

[Tormentor]

Eco complete is safe for discus, I use it and plants grow well it. It comes in black or red. If you have pigeon based discus and use the black eco complete, the pigeons will most likely show pepper. Even if you use the red eco complete, it is fairly dark and may also cause peppering. If you have non pigeon based discus, you shouldn't have any problems using either the black or red. I presently use a mix 80% black and 20% red. Looks great IMO. Also, you can mix eco complete with other substrates including sand. If you decide to use it with your existing substrate, make sure to mix it... do not just put in the tank as a top layer.
Why is this pepper issue happening? Would it happen if I use fluorite instead?

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Because of the dark substrate.

[Trier20]

One could use the Eco complete and then put a layer of sand atop of it....? Right? Then you wouldn't have to worry about peppering as much. Granted over time they will mix some but just and idea.

[SMB2]

One could use the Eco complete and then put a layer of sand atop of it....? Right? Then you wouldn't have to worry about peppering as much. Granted over time they will mix some but just and idea.

Tried it. If you do any vacuuming it mixes rather quickly. Also fine sand sifts to the lower layer pretty quickly.

I have seen people use "planters" with Eco Complete and then use sand for the tank bottom and to cover the planters.

[wild4discus]

Why is this pepper issue happening? Would it happen if I use fluorite instead?

Dark substrates bring out peppering in pigeon based discus. You won't have a problem with non pigeons or albinos. Peppering would happen also if you used fluorite and had pigeons because it is also dark. It's not the brand of sustrate you use, it's the how light or dark it is.

[Trier20]

Tried it. If you do any vacuuming it mixes rather quickly. Also fine sand sifts to the lower layer pretty quickly.

I have seen people use "planters" with Eco Complete and then use sand for the tank bottom and to cover the planters.

that would make sense since the sand is more fine than the eco complete is and would settle in the voided space.

[dirtyplants]

There is a clay product called MVP, It is baked clay that is light as sand easy to clean, it is light tan colored in the tank. Plant roots move easy through it. Easy on the bottom feeders no sharp edges. This mixed with some eco would work very well, I have found that this is very light by itself and can be difficult keeping new plants down without a good root system. I like this substrate a whole lot, if I ever do a non planted tank this is the substrate I would use. For planted I use soil, sand and MVP.