I chose this Eco-Complete planted aquarium substrate because many sources have recommended this for aquatic plants and also I like the black colour. Another reason for choosing this is that it does not need to be washed or mixed with other substrates and it contains live bacteria for immediate cycling! This is all you need to set up a planted tank! Seems too good to be true but so far so good with my tank. Plants seem to grow immediated (with roots forming after several days!) and my tank went into biological cycle immediately without any new tank syndrome at all! That said, I also used some of the old gravel substrate and filter wools from my old tank which could also contributed to the biological cycle.