Wanted to know if in a 29 gal. planted aquarium if one bag of Eco-complete would be enough for my plants?

Question

I have a 29 gal. planted tank and i wanted to get Eco-Complete substrate for it. I was woundering from maybe someone that has used it if one bag would be enough or how deep it was. I have some sand that I can mix with it to give it more mass but i like the black color, but on the other hand black and white would look decent also i guess. Let me know what everyone thinks.

Answer 1

A 20 pound bag would only be enough if you covered it with something else-- 20 pounds will give you a bit less than an inch of substrate, but some cheap sand (pool filter sand, play sand, blasting sand, etc. as long as it's inert) on top (about an inch) would not only provide a small particle size ideal for developing fine root hairs, but force the roots to drive downwards for the nutrients in the EcoComplete.  On top of that, you won't risk the minerals dissolving off into the water instead of being easily uptaken through the roots.