Melissa Bowman—January 6, 2026✓ Verified purchase
Compared to other aquarium sands I’ve used, this one stands out for how clean it arrives and how even the grain size is. The black color is deep and looks excellent once submerged. Minimal rinsing needed and no sharp edges, which is important for fish. It was easy to shape for aquascaping and stays put once placed. For the price, this is a great value and performs better than many similar substrates. Read more
WB—December 2, 2025✓ Verified purchase
The media could not be loaded. This is great sand. When I put it in the tank I did not have murky water like I did when I put white sand in. I gave both white and black rinsing before I put it in. With the black sand however I added more once the tank was full and I still didn't have a problem. Now I have a lot of Corys that like to kick up the sand during their Cory parties, but it never affects the water clarity. Honestly I was excited to see the "Galaxy" sparkle, but the only way I see it is in my video. In real life I do not see it. My video was taken with blue light so that's why it might have shown up. Again, in real life it doesn't. It's still good sand and I'm glad I got it. Just don't expect a meteor shower in your tank and it won't be a disappointment. The price was reasonable and delivery was very fast, but then again it was Amazon so I expected that. I hope this helps some of my fellow fish keepers! Read more
Hunter R.—August 15, 2025✓ Verified purchase
This is my favorite substrate, and I've used it on probably 6-7 tanks over the years. It does have a little cloudiness, but it clears up within a day or two and isn't bad enough to be harmful to the fish. I've NEVER done an at-home rinse any of the times i've used this stuff, and it's always been perfectly usable straight out of the bad. Has a nice little sparkle under good lighting, and looks great in general. Very small grains, similar in size to those of the "white sugar sand" from the same brand. I like to pair this with their black gravel. Plants grow perfecftly fine in it, and i've had success with all of the standard fish tank plants (java vern, amazon sword, dwarf grass, etc) Overall, i've always been pleased with this substrate and will continue to use it. Read more
SenMac76—January 9, 2026✓ Verified purchase
This sand is essential to maintaining my plants and my sanity. The sand allows me to water my plants, but prevents the gnats from breeding in the dirt. Additionally, it looks nice. You could use each plant like a zen garden. Read more
Molly—November 30, 2025✓ Verified purchase
Okay, but not a fan of black substrate Read more
JJAM—December 15, 2025✓ Verified purchase
I keep an eye on specific aquarium products, and this sand in particular is always less expensive here. I purchased the 20lb bag for the same price as the baby bags were being sold at my local pet stores. And it does have enough sales happen, that you can get it at an even better price. Mine came from a facility that packed it super well. Even with other items in the box. The bag itself is thicker quality. I had to use an actual sharp instrument to cut the bag open properly. The sand is very nice. Fine, with just a very soft glimmer in light. I have a solid inch over clay substrate, with nothing but light green plants in it, and it feels like a Jurassic pond. There are some floating bits, there is sand dust clouded water, but otherwise it’s great. I do wish there was a better design to cut these things open tho. No matter how I try, I always get a tiny pocket of sand that just flings everywhere when I’m done. Read more
Andrea—December 1, 2025✓ Verified purchase
We have many tanks, a 125 gal is our biggest. We switched from that colorful rock to this sand and we loved it and changed all the other tanks to. The appearance is much butter. Stays cleaner to. The gravel was holding to much yuk. Great quality true to color . A great value. Good size bags Read more
Ebony S.—March 15, 2025✓ Verified purchase
The media could not be loaded. I originally only got this sand for the plants I have coming in, BUT, it was practically so pitch black with shimmers of gold, silver, and white specks, I’m getting off track, but it goes great for their sinking foods, won’t have to worry about it leftover food in the tank any longer Really makes bright fish pop even more, and hopefully this will help my plecos keep their dark colors, love it all around. It did take a good while to clean, and I still did not clean it enough, stood for a good hour and a half. I was also clearing all the water out of the tank, saved over half the original tank water in buckets with the fish and plants. Water is cleared up of majority of the debris within 5 hours, I’m sure by the morning time it will be completely clear. And there’s so many people getting different colors in their rocks, I guess you just gotta cross your fingers, and hope you get one that you like. Seen somebody got a bunch of brown in theirs, some had red, and others were just multicolored. Read more