# Cleaning my Eco-Complete for storage.



## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

Hello,
There is probably already a thread about this, and I didn't search for the correct words...

I'm attempting to break down a 20L with Eco-Complete. I would like to not use the Eco-complete for a while. I had algae and other problems, as did the previous owner of the Eco-complete. Oh well, it was free, right?

Anyway, I'd like to store it dry. I was wondering if this would harm its future use, since it comes in a wet bag. I don't want to ruin its positive qualities by rinsing it or boiling it or whatever, but its pretty yucky at the moment. I'm also not in love with the substrate in general, so if I need to just throw it away I guess I'm not out much.

My questions are:
1. Does boiling Eco-complete ruin it?
2. How should it be properly stored?
3. If boiling is not suitable for Eco-complete, how should I go about removing the baddies?
4. If boiling or other cleaning options aren't viable, would I be un-ethical (and would anyone in their right mind be willing to put up with the problems) if I clearly stated the condition of the product and then sold/gave away what started out as a fairly expensive substrate?
5. Would simply storing it dry kill the algae and any other pests if I can ensure that its in fact dry when I bag it?
6. Does Eco-complete loose some of its value if its stored dry?

Thank you!


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## longhornxtreme (Feb 20, 2007)

AFAIK,

Eco is an inert substrate and any bacteria and the like was in the 'black water' that it came with. Once it has been used in a tank, the Eco is now colonized with whatever bacteria / algae etc that came from your tank. 

I wouldn't think boiling it would 'ruin' it, although it will kill all the nitrogen cycle bacteria meaning you'd have to cycle the substrate when you try to use it again. If it was me, I'd merely soak the eco in a dilute bleach solution overnight, thoroughly rinse, then rinse with an overdoes of Prime or Amquel, let dry, and then store. But then again, take all of that with a grain of salt, I'm only 'pretty sure' it wouldn't hurt anything, but then again... who knows? I wouldn't boil it either way just because of how hard that would be for the amount of Eco I have in my tank.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

I broke down an aquarium with E-C over two years ago. I just removed it, rinsed it and placed it in open 5 gallon plastic buckets. It took a while, but it eventually dried out.

A few weeks ago, I set up a new aquarium using this "old" E-C. I put a sprinkling of peat moss and Osmocote on the bottom and then I added the "old" E-C. It's working fine.

I maybe added just a bit too much peat moss and it lowered my KH from 1-2 dKH to 0 dKH. My pH was near 5 with CO2 to obtain a green colored drop checker with a 4 dKH solution.

It worked out fine. There were no algae problems other than some expected diatoms that the otos took care of.

This tank has a school of Cardinal Tetras, pygmy cories, otos and a breeding pair of dwarf cichlids. The cichlids bred a few days after they were placed back in their aquarium.

It's working great for me.


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