Fluval 12693 Plant and Shrimp Stratum for Freshwater Fish Tanks, 4.4 lbs. – Aquarium Substrate for Strong Plant Growth, Supports Neutral to Slightly Acidic pH

Yes, it is expensive but I think it's one of the highest quality substrates I have ever bought. I have had aquariums on and off for 30 yrs I have also built vivariums... this has to be the best substrate I have ever seen straight out of the bag. You can tell it is high quality volcanic soil which is outstanding for any plant life. It is very smooth and silky when you touch it. Just give a quick rinse and then use for whatever project. If you are building a planted tank, the water will be cloudy for longer than most people would like. I put my tank filter on high and let it run for the whole day like that and kept rinsing off the filter every few hours. On day two it is much more clear but a little cloudy as the biolayers need to still build up. Can't wait to see how much this improves my new plants.

love this! i use this aquasoil for most of my planted tanks, i cap it with sand so i can still get the desired look i am going for. you can add even more nutrients by placing root tabs under all your heavy root feeders like amazon swords. it’s my go to each time i start a tank & don’t want to use potting soil (i do potting soil capped with sand for my larger tanks because it’s way more cost effective and works the same).

So far it works well. I’ve only had this aquarium set up for a few weeks and the plants I have are doing well and starting to spread. I enjoy the black especially since I capped most of it with white rock. It’s a little expensive but in the research I’ve done is the best value for the quality you get.

Love this stuff. Pretty straight forward. It's good substrate for your aquatic plants. I like the color of it. It's a good deep black that doesn't fade. Packed full of nutrients to keep your plants growing strong.

I would have given this 5 stars were it not so….mucky. I was prepared for a few hours of muck post-rinsing but didn’t think it would take over 24 hours to clear. Once it finally did, the tank looked gorgeous. My fish and plants are now happily homed, but it took a tick to get there. Wish I’d snapped a pic of the mud water.

Working well, i used 2 of the 4.4 bags. Had germination start in 6 days and after thigs started growing they excellerated. This is about 8-9 days from when I started

Great aquarium substrate for planted tanks! All my plants are doing great! Not too expensive like other plant substrates so this is a good affordable option.

It was easy to rinse if you leave everything in the bag, and it only took 1 rinse. My aquatic seeds love it.