Sand for Aquatic Plants

In close to 40 years as an aquarist the issue with growing live plants in an aquarium, apart from right chemistry, CO2 levels etc, has ALWAYS been consistently: QUALITY SUBSTRATE. I was skeptical at first, but used in a 10 gallon start up Betta tank. A little cloudiness first time water was added, bu that was easily filtered out. 48 hours later some plants were added, and the CO2 started with small nitrate additions and water changes. The plants are thriving and when you move some of the gravel you can see the healthy growth of the root structures. If you are SERIOUS about wanted a planted aquarium, use this stuff! Sure, for a 40 or 60 or 100 gallon aquarium you will need a lot and it won't be cheap, but trust me, in the long run you will find it worth every penny in terms of messing with substrate, removing dead plants or leaves etc.

This UP substrate is pretty cool. It looks like perfectly round pebbles when you first add it to your tank, but it will eventually (over a 6 mos to 24 mos) soften into a soil-ish substrate that your plants and swimming creatures will hopefully thrive in. Mine have done really well with UP. I don't rinse it. Just remember - everyone's water is different so this substrate will work differently depending on your water chemistry. Be sure to test your water to determine if it's hard or soft.

It is a good inert aquarium substrate - very clean. A good rinse and it is ready to go into a new aquascape. The particles are fine, but not too fine. Stands up to gravel vacuuming well.

Saw one other order regarding a busted package. Seemed unlikely, but sure enough the mail man left a trail of substrate all the way from his truck to my office. Still had enough for tank and seems like a great quality product. First plant bulb sprouted and has already grown inches within just a few days.

Acts like sand so its not the easiest to clean, but looks nice and has worked well for me so far. Carries lots of air bubbles for the first 24hrs but sinks automatically and no rinse needed at all WHICH IS THE BEST coming from using Flourite aka mud... dows grow brown algae on the balls which makes them oddly discolored.

After having this substrate for a month, it’s been an absolute nightmare, to the point where I need to remove it from my aquarium and find something different. I did some researching before buying this substrate, and it seemed the only issue customers had was the bag breaking during shipping. I will say, that I did have that issue, but it wasn’t enough of an issue for me to not purchase it or give it a bad review. First, let me describe how this substrate comes. It is firm, in the shape of hard little balls however, it becomes extremely malleable in the tank causing the balls to break apart and cause a ridiculous amount of cloudiness that won’t go away after several water changes. If you do regular maintenance on your aquarium, the slightest movement in substrate will cause the water to cloud. I did about 10 full water changes in ONE DAY and my water was still cloudy. It will indefinitely cloud your aquarium. Save your $, it’s not worth the headache

Arrived ripped open and spilled into box...BUT I recovered most and it is a great looking substrate. My plants love it and my corys have no trouble combing through it for bits of food. I love watching them push and roll the little balls around. Packaging sucks though!

I think the product look great but it breaks down quickly and leaves a black silt everywhere. Have had this a few months and really want to remove it. I will but probably after the holidays .