Eco Complete drove my PH through the roof

[Jumbo Slim]

I just moved to a new house. My first time on a well. Water is very hard, but neutral PH out of the tap.

Because I moved I wanted to kick start my aquarium. I bought some eco complete. I put it in wet as they recommend. A day later, my PH is over 8.

Change water 50%, it's back to 7.0. Next day, it's back to 8.

Wash and repeat. It's been 7 days.

It might be even higher than 8 -- My Coop test strips only go to 8.

I know it's the eco complete causing the problem. Because another aquarium I set up with just black gravel (couldn't afford more eco complete), and it's at 7.2.

What should I do? Do I have to trash the $30 of eco complete?

 

 

 

[Mmiller2001]

100% Eco Complete. I also experienced the same issue. I run 0KH and by weeks end, it would be 2.5dKH. I did some research and this is a known issue. That said, after about 7 weeks, whatever was raising has been depleted and my tank is now 0KH.

[Jumbo Slim]

On 9/6/2021 at 1:09 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

100% Eco Complete. I also experienced the same issue. I run 0KH and by weeks end, it would be 2.5dKH. I did some research and this is a known issue. That said, after about 7 weeks, whatever was raising has been depleted and my tank is now 0KH.

Thanks! So just wait it out? The bad thing is the reason I bought Eco Complete was to avoid waiting super long to get a tank going. Ha!

I don't know if it raised my KH and GH - Both are already so high out of the well that I can't even measure them on standard test strips. Definitely drove my PH super high. Now I have to put off plans of starting the tank out. Worried about the high PH.

Wish I knew this in advance.

[Guppysnail]

Same issue over 6 month 2 tanks. I trashed both 😟

[laritheloud]

Yep, pH out of the tap is 7.6 to 7.8, pH in my eco-complete tank is 8.0 to 8.2 (without CO2). pH in my 55 gallon with sand substrate is 7.8.

[Jumbo Slim]

On 9/6/2021 at 1:48 PM, Guppysnail said:

Same issue over 6 month 2 tanks. I trashed both 😟

Wow that's a real shame!

So apparently this is so common.

So why do people talk about eco complete like it's so good?

8.2+ PH is going to be way to high for most fish you'd put in a planted tank.

Has anyone gotten any answers or refunds from eco complete?

[Patrick_G]

I have a tank with Eco Complete. It works and the plants seem to grow. I think the marketing on the bag is a little deceptive it talks about “liquid Amazon” and humid acid, but clearly doesn’t lower PH. In fact I was originally sold mine by a very trustworthy LFS because I was having trouble with low PH using Stratum. 

[Mmiller2001]

On 9/6/2021 at 12:14 PM, Jumbo Slim said:

Wow that's a real shame!

So apparently this is so common.

So why do people talk about eco complete like it's so good?

8.2+ PH is going to be way to high for most fish you'd put in a planted tank.

Has anyone gotten any answers or refunds from eco complete?

Right! I'm trying to convince my wife to let me switch it out. But for now, it seems stable. I've broken more plant stems in Eco Complete than I care to admit. I'm disappointed with it.

[laritheloud]

@Mmiller2001 I find Eco Complete extremely difficult to plant in, and it's really sharp and not very fun to dig around. Sand has been a godsend for me in the 55. I used a ton of root tabs (I know it's optional but I used them anyway) to add nutrients, and it's just been so easy to plant exactly where I want -- even all of my stems that were impossible to keep in place in eco-complete.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/6/2021 at 2:14 PM, Jumbo Slim said:

Wow that's a real shame!

So apparently this is so common.

So why do people talk about eco complete like it's so good?

8.2+ PH is going to be way to high for most fish you'd put in a planted tank.

Has anyone gotten any answers or refunds from eco complete?

Also after about 4 month I my nitrates were fine I seldom have problems in my tanks with nitrate but…both tank all of a sudden skyrocketed. Was up to doing 50% water changes 3x/week just to keep it at 50. I run my tanks at 20. I tore it out (trashed it) replaced with inert gravel almost a year to date both tanks. I replaced it with fish and plants in tank…now consistent 10-20 nitrates. I’m not sciencey so don’t know why but when I researched the elevated ph and nitrate issue with eco complete I was amazed at the amount of folks that the same thing happened to them. 

[Odd Duck]

When I got back into fishkeeping after my hiatus, I was setting up a tank that I intended to become a planted tank after I cleared out all the Jack Dempsey fry.  I was reading a ton and had decided to do dirt capped with sand.  I went to my lfs and they talked me out of doing the dirt capped with sand and instead recommended the Eco Complete.  I had tried it previously and didn’t like it much, but I trusted them.

I have since almost completely switched over to dirt capped with sand in every other tank but that first one and that one is getting switched over in the near future because that’s the one that’s becoming my angel tank.  I have not only removed this substrate from other tanks, I have thrown it away completely.

It did not go into the garden to help break up our heavy clay soil, it did not get saved in a bucket for another use, it did not get saved for a drainage layer for potted plants, it got thrown AWAY with a great deal of satisfaction involved!

Maybe it was wrong of me to be so happy to remove it, but it’s the most aggravating substrate I’ve ever worked with, downright painful.  Even worse than the MTS infested gravel I got along with my very first aquarium back in 1975.  At least that gravel didn’t have magnetic pieces that could cling to your algae scraper and scratch the glass!

[laritheloud]

Congrats to the folks that trashed their eco-complete. I'm not brave enough to swap out my substrate, so it'll stay where it is. At least I know not to pick it up again for future tanks!

[Mmiller2001]

On 9/6/2021 at 12:55 PM, laritheloud said:

@Mmiller2001 I find Eco Complete extremely difficult to plant in, and it's really sharp and not very fun to dig around. Sand has been a godsend for me in the 55. I used a ton of root tabs (I know it's optional but I used them anyway) to add nutrients, and it's just been so easy to plant exactly where I want -- even all of my stems that were impossible to keep in place in eco-complete.

It's so frustrating isn't!

[StevesFishTanks]

For the people with the problems are you using the red/brown or the black. I know the rock base is different between the two.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/6/2021 at 3:46 PM, s1_ said:

For the people with the problems are you using the red/brown or the black. I know the rock base is different between the two.

Mixed.  It’s the black that seems to sometimes have issues with bits being attracted to magnetic algae scrapers.

[Mmiller2001]

On 9/6/2021 at 2:46 PM, s1_ said:

For the people with the problems are you using the red/brown or the black. I know the rock base is different between the two.

Black here.

[Georgiapeach88]

I have exact opposite problem with my tap and ph with eco complete and without. Started tanks with fluval ph lowering substrate not realizing what an ordeal that would be as it was all I saw at my big box store as a newbie…It was horrid. Ph was 5-6 ish had to add a ton of crushed coral to even get close to 7-7.3 so my two newest tanks I used eco complete with a smidge of crushed coral. And I say at an even 7.6. I have no kh out of tap so have to use my coral to kinda even me out. 
black eco complete used in 10g and my 29g been up for months no issues. 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Georgiapeach88
Forgot to add type of eco complete used

[GameCzar]

I don't have any problems in my 10 gallon with eco complete, and the plants seem to really love it.   I do have some tannin leaching in my water with mopani wood, but PH has stayed pretty stable. 

[tnnlynch]

I have black eco-complete (topped with gravel) in my planted 29 gal.  The PH spiked to 8.5 (tap is 7.2) at first but I was cycling the tank with plants only so I didn't mind.  Growth was excellent in the first month by which time PH had dropped to my tap water level.  Three months in my PH range is 6.8 to 6.4 (KH range of 80-40) depending on how many days it's been since my last water change. I just started to use root tabs monthly to keep up the growth for my root feeders.

Maybe the the black gravel top layer helps but I have not had issues planting stem plants in the tank.  Scarlet temple is not thriving but my sword, vals and Pogostemon Stellatus are growing well after some initial melting.    

[Jumbo Slim]

On 9/6/2021 at 4:46 PM, s1_ said:

For the people with the problems are you using the red/brown or the black. I know the rock base is different between the two.

I was using the black. i saw the red and black but thought it looked ugly. they also had some cichlid stuff. What does that do? Raise your PH off the charts?

[ChemBob]

I have the red eco complete in my 20 gallon. I didn't have any issues with pH increase on that tank. I don't find it significantly more difficult to plant in than the sand in my 40 breeder. 

[Marc]

So far this is my preferred substrate, no issues yet but my ph starts out around 8 so maybe I didn't notice it. If this is an issue it might be due to inconsistency in how they prepare it.

[laritheloud]

@Marc my guess is that eco-complete raises kH because some of the rocks dissolve slowly into the water column at lower pHs just like crushed coral. That would, in turn, raise pH. I don't think either of us noticed too much of a change in pH because we already have alkaline water at baseline. Folks with water on the squarely neutral/acidic side are more likely to see a bigger change at first.

[Marc]

I think eco-complete is pretty much made up of crushed lava rock which is inert. So something else in there must be causing it.

[Andy's Fish Den]

I am getting rid of the eco complete in the tanks I have it in. For some reason, I get black beard algae in the tanks I have it in, and it attaches to the granules on the eco complete. Even the tanks that I have a mix of eco complete and gravel, the BBA will be on the bits of eco complete, but not on the gravel. I don't have any tanks with just eco complete, I have it mixed with gravel or Fluval stratum. I had mixed it because the stratum was so light, I had a hard time getting a lot of plants to stay in place, so I mixed in some of the heavier eco complete.