# [Wet Thumb Forum]-did i get contaminated eco-complete?



## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

here are some pics of the eco-complete i got in today. i know it comes in blackwater, but this blackwater is white?? did i get a bad bag?


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

and another pic:


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

ok, i went ahead and filled the whole tank with tap water, and i still can't see 3 inches into the water. also, there is a chalk dust looking substance settleing down on the top of the substrate. (this is all after draining as much water out of the bag as i could before putting it in!)


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

i contacted caribsea, and they told me that the substrate is in fact contaminated. they shipped out 2 new bags, and said they should be here by monday.


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## imported_Left C (Dec 5, 2003)

I'm glad I got my two bags of E-C before this cloudy mess started. From what I understand, CaribSea tried to fix a lot of bags that were contaminated. It makes you wonder as to what kind of quality control they have and why the bad bags got out in the first place. I think their miner hit a vein of calcium carbonate and it went undiscovered for a while.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

well, their quality control could ba lacking, but their customer service is excellent!


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## imported_Left C (Dec 5, 2003)

I think it's very gracious for Carib-Sea to replace the bad bags of E-C. This has to be an expensive problem for them. I definately give them a good thumbs up!


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## KRiley (Jun 30, 2005)

Hey,

Yep that looks exactly what i had. It takes a little while to clear up too. Thats cool that they replaced your EC also. Man, they dont ask for any kind of info on the stuff, such as bar code, place of purchase anything. It would really easy for someone to take advantage. Hope it clears up for you, i just got my new stuff in, and i didnt swap it out. I have not noticed any negative effects on water quality. 


Riley


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## imported_shalu (Feb 13, 2004)

oh, I see you've got the magic "milky liquid" there, so contaminated for sure. But since you have not planted the tank yet, you can still use it by doing several 100% water changes first. Then you have two extra bags for future use when the replacement arrives.


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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Yeah their bad but at least you have so new bags coming. Like Shalu said do some major water changing and you can still use it.

Hawk


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

well, i am going to rinse the contaminated gravel very well, then i will give it to my brother who is in very bad need of substrate. and then of course i will keep the good stuff









what would this contaminated stuff do to shrimp? i am wanting to give my brother some shrimp later on, but will the extra ca affect them?


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## rrguymon (Jul 22, 2005)

I got a couple bags like that too. When I noticed I just rinsed it all until it all ran clear. I pressed on and set the tank up. I did not know about the contamination problem. 

Later when I discovered that my phosphates levels are off the chart, I did some more research and found out about the contamination. I am pretty sure the high phospates are coming from the eco. The manufacter is sending me replacement bags of eco but I dread having to start it all over.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

maybe you could just rinse it well and keep using it?? i just stirred mine up a lot and did about 10 100% water changes. i havn't tested the water yet, but the plants seem to be doing ok.


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## rrguymon (Jul 22, 2005)

I have done several 50 percent water changes and my phosphate is still off the scale. The plants have been in a week and all but mexican oak seems to be doing ok. All the leafs are turning brown on it an it has a lot of algea growing on the stems.

I will keep doing water changes until I get the new eco and then make the call. Hopefully, the phosphates will eventually come down.


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## imported_shalu (Feb 13, 2004)

rrguymon, the phosphate WILL come down after enough water changes. However, your current plant problem may not be related to high phosphate. They still need all the nutrients to grow, so don't forget to dose everything else after each water change.


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## rrguymon (Jul 22, 2005)

Thanks Shalu,

I may not have enough light for the mexican oak? (AH 2 55 kit on a 55 gallon) I have hgro sunset, ludwig repens, wistera, a coffe annubus, a couple crypts, and some java fern.

I am doing small doses of KNO3, K2SO4, and Plantx B with each water change. All the plants seem ok and actually look like they are growing except the Mexican oak and the crypts. The crypts are melting but I think that is normal in new tank. 

Its good to hear the phosphate will eventually come down. I will monitor things for awhile before I replace the eco. 

Thanks again.


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## imported_shalu (Feb 13, 2004)

I think you have enough light. When I kept the mexican oakleaf, it grew too fast, like 2 inches a day.

It is just a guess, but I have seen otherwise easy plants melt away with large sudden fluctuation in water hardness. This could be happening with the contaminated eco and water changes. Again, just a guess.

Hopefully the hardness will also stablize over time.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

well, just an update, the 2 new bags are in, and they look great!!


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