# Dry Eco-complete?



## bioch (Apr 8, 2006)

I recently found some Eco-complete and I noticed it was just like anyother gravel; dry. Is this normal or is it suppose to be like that?


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

It's feels like ordinary gravel. Meaning its hard and rockish. But the main difference is the fact that the rocks are very small, and sometimes fine grained like rice. Eco complete is packaged in a "special" water, and is not sold in dry. 

-John N.


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## bioch (Apr 8, 2006)

Then I'm guessing it dryed?


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Eco complete is dry yes. Feels like grains of rice when laid out to dry. But Eco is not sold dry. It is packaged in liquid.

-John N.


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## bioch (Apr 8, 2006)

Yea, it was packaged dry, but I saw some condensation so...


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Are all the bags like that? It sounds like a bag has a hole in it that leaked out the liquid, if it's bone dry with some condensation on the bag. It's normally packaged in about 2-4 cups of water, not a lot of water, but enough so that when you sit it up right you can feel it slightly and see it. The wet eco complete should move through the bag like hard lava, wheras the bone dry eco would move like sand in an hour glass (easily).

In any event if the package says "Eco Complete Planted Substrate" on it and just has some water and or only condensation in it, it's still good to purchase if that's what you are asking. Though I find it weird to be packaged dry.

-John N.


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## bioch (Apr 8, 2006)

Thanks man, it probably had a leak or something. So let me sum it all up; there are dry and wet Eco-complete packages, and it's okay to buy the ones with the condensation.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Well no, almost correct. There are no completely dry bags of eco complete. There are only wet, moist, and as you describe condensation filled bags. However even if it's dried out, there is no harm done using it, though I would try to purchase the ones with moisture/condensation content since that's how it is normally produced. 

Also, just in case you're purchasing, aquariumplants.com is a good place to get some cheap affordable Eco. About $21/bag shipped.

-John N.


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## rufus (Jan 1, 2006)

Wellll, that actually depends on where you are in the world ; ) bioch, if you're in australia, the importers decided to ship it dry for a number of reasons - when you import to australia, many goods are gamma irradiated (please pardon my ignorance if that's not entirely correct) to comply with quarantine laws for instance most foods etc, which is supposed to kill pathogens. This I imagine would also kill any bacteria in the gravel/wet mix, so I guess that kind of means you would be transporting soil in a bag of plain 'ol water - which kinda gets expensive shipping water half way around the world... 
As a disclaimer, the "reasoning" I just blurted out was purely speculation on my part, however in an email I received from the australian distributor, he confirmed they do import it dry.
Anywhere else in the world tho, I haven't a clue : )


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