Fluval 12695 Plant and Shrimp Stratum for Freshwater Fish Tanks, 17.6 lbs. – Aquarium Substrate for Strong Plant Growth, Supports Neutral to Slightly Acidic pH

This has become a standard in my substrates, I blend it in with gravel, sand, whatever type I'm setting up. Planted tanks are the only way I roll, fully bioactive, and (virtually) changeless system set-up; soil is vital to plants and plants are vital to the chemistry. I've 2 products from this brand and I'm not inclined to change unless a real good reason manifests to do so. Neither product is what one may call 'cheap,' but it's certainly worth the money, my aquatic plants are so healthy that some specimens are abnormally big and have been a challenge to identify. (some of my seed stock didn't have anything but Chinese on the labels, so I had to wait until they grew to get them identified correctly.) The success I'm having with my tanks seems almost uncanny given I'm still something of a "newbie," these are my first tanks, all are less than a year old, and to have nailed it on the complete and healthy ecosystem model like a pro is testament to how great the science is developed and disseminated - and to the quality of products. Soil is everything, whether in my garden beds, potted plants, or aquatics - same rules apply. As I've said many times already, my water quality tests are always so spot on that it looks like I'm 'cheating,' and this stuff is one of the ingredients achieving all that.

Okay this stuff works great. But you need to be very careful when placing it in an aquarium. One do not mix it around at all! Or rinse it first! If you do, it'll be like mud. And you will never get your water clean. I made the mistake and had to throw the bag out and clean the whole aquarium out. You need to put the substrates on the bottom of the aquarium, straight from the bag, and then you need to slowly fill up the aquarium. But you need to take a plate to disperse the pressure of the water as you're pouring it in. And as the water temperature rises you need to keep the plate at the surface. So you're just slowly.. ever so slowly... with a lot of "patience" - pouring the water onto the plate at the surface so it gradually fills up without really disturbing the substrates at all. If you do get discoloration which you probably will, at this point, it'll subside within a few hours. At this point, you can take a paper towel and go around the inside of your tank and wipe it off, put carefully so not to stir up any of the substrates. I also at this point if you're usinga HOB filter (on the back of your tank). You can put a paper towel around the filter medium inside the filter. And you can empty that about every half an hour. I have to do that about 3 - 4 times and then your water will be clear. Be very careful when you're taking that out of the filter to put it right into a bowl or something. Because your tank is probably going to get a little cloudy again. If you're using a sponge filter., same. I don't put those in until last when I change it over from the back filter to the sponge filters. Hope this helps. It's a great product.

This substrate has been amazing for my shrimp tank. My shrimp are breeding like crazy and my aquatic plants are growing really well too. The tank looks healthy and stable, and the substrate gives it a nice natural appearance. It was easy to work with and didn’t cause any issues in my setup. Definitely worth it if you’re building a planted shrimp tank. Highly recommend!

*** Update Week 2. I wanted to share the progress of use of fluval shrimp stratum. As week by week went on water is crystal clear. You may want to add two bags if you want plants since the pellets are so light my plants wouldn’t stay in the stratum. They would float right up to surface of water. Any time you add landscape the pellets will give off a dust or float. Don’t be alarmed, the dust settles back down quickly. So instead of getting another bag, I used plant anchors. They seem to be happy with plant anchors thus far. My PH was a bit high so I had to correct that before adding any fish. So it’s ready to add fish now and I can’t wait. I think it looks great with the landscape. I’m not done with my landscaping I still have the other corner to work. I have a couple of itty bitty baby tetra neons in there you can’t see them. They’re hiding, but if you make a little well in the pellets they like to hide in it. They don’t seem bothered by the stratum at all. I highly recommend this stuff, but best I to get two bags of whatever size you get, to get about 3 inches so your roots to plants will take to it easier is very light weight. Or do plant anchors. I bought this with the anticipation to set my tank up as a planted fresh water aquarium. Live plants apparently love this stuff and that it’s a good substrate for shrimp if you want to have any. Many reviews have complaints about cloudiness of water. I did this as a whole new tank setting up. I don’t recommend if you have fish already in yours. You treat it like you’re setting up a new one laying your landscape in, Anyway, I didn’t pre rinse. I don’t feel it’s necessary it only just makes the pellets soggy. The first day yes water will appear black and muddy. Let your filter do the work!! You may have to change your bio max bag out to a new one it does work. I have to get a new bio max filter since it worked hard to get this water cleared up since set up. First day, dark, black cloud. I even thought did I mess it it up? I should have taken a picture to show comparison and I forgot. Don’t be impatient or think you did something wrong. Just be patient let your filter do the work!! 5 hours later, a light cloudiness. I Next day, crystal clear water. You need patience for this! It’s not immediate. It may take anywhere from 6 hours-48 hours. It took 48 hours for mine to clear up. I need to clean off outside of my tank glass. I didn’t use the lay the bag over the pellets with a small bowl to fill tank with water method. I did just straight in with water pouring very slowly and softly. Water will fizz at first and it’s normal. And then I added the necessary water treatments to make it safe for fish for tap water, since I used tap water. Now I can’t wait until I set up the rest of my landscaping and add fish. I’ll post updates on when it’s done being set up.

I purchased to use for my houseplants and have repurchased multiple times since. I've had great results using it and highly recommend! My plants root much faster and grow faster/bigger.

Love this brand and their products the only issue I have with this is their PRICE. It’s extremely expensive even for a very small package you’re luck if you can find one under $30. I got a good deal on these but good Lord these are pricey. It’s probably because of the quality because this stuff is great for what it’s worth. It’s basically pebbles of lava dirt so if you put it in and don’t rinse it, it will cloud up the water like nobody’s business. What you need to do is rinse it first, put it into the tank and then add water. I did this and it still caused a lot of cloudiness from the dust but it’s okay because I used it as a bottom layer underneath sand which is how it works best in my opinion. The plants are able to take root well and creep down to the bottom to get to this soil which is really good. Doing with with a cap of sand over it makes for a tank that can naturally “filter” waste down into the soil over the years, eventually breaking it down and leading to less of a need for frequent water change like you would with gravel. Buy this instead of gravel if you have a small tank and put a layer of sand over it, your fish will live long happy lives and adding aquatic plants will be perfect for a natural ecosystem that doesn’t hold ammonia but rather creates a space for beneficial bacteria similar to a pond.

This was perfect for my 10 gallon tank, just the right amount. I didn’t have any issues with clouding when filling up the tank. Excited to add my plants!

I was a bit skeptical of buying this substrate for my FIRST planted aquarium (10 gallons). I decided to go with it because I trust the brand, and it was fairly cheap. I've made a list of questions and answers I would've wanted someone to cover before I bought this. For context, I've also provided a photo of my aquarium now, after months of the ecosystem holding strong with the right balance of water and fertilizer. How's the color? The color looks like natural dark brown dirt, exactly what I was looking for. Is it worth the money? In my opinion, yes. It's not like buying ADA Amazonia, but it gets the job done, and that's all that matters. Does it strongly affect pH levels? Not that I've noticed, not even when I first started cycling. Does it provide enough nutrients for the plants? I started using fertilizer the moment I filled up my tank with the majority of the plants (before that, it was only a few plants, and they were still thriving). I add fertilizer twice a week now. Is it easy to plant in? Depends. It was fairly easy to plant small plants & my carpet plants, but not heavy, large plants. I used small river rocks to hold them down until they established a strong root system. Is it overall easy to work with? I would say so. It doesn't turn my whole aquarium brown, and does its job once the root system is established. I overall think it's a great product, especially for the price!

I have been using normal sand in my nano aquarium from about last 1yr or so but now the plant growth started to reduce. This is the reason why I thought to try a substrate. This fluval is good, plants looks healthy now but nothing very exceptional to say. This pack is too much for my nano tank, i have half of the contents left in the packet.

Recouvert de gravier, ne trouble pas l'eau du tout. Il faut verser l'eau lentement. A voir après au niveau de la pousse des plantes.

Enfin un substrat de qualité, maintient de PH, les crevettes le supportent bien, bonne assimilation des engrais, diffuse dans le temps

Bra substrat till Bra pris, snabb leverans

The Fluval 12697 Plant substrate has worked really well for my initial aquarium setup and has made a noticeable difference in plant growth. It provides a strong foundation for aquatic plants, helping them establish roots quickly and grow in a healthy, stable way. For the price, especially when it goes on sale around 35 dollars, it feels like a very good value for what you get. In my experience, it performs best during the early stages of a planted tank when nutrients are still abundant in the substrate. Plants take off nicely and the tank develops a healthy, natural look relatively quickly. One thing to keep in mind is that, like most aquasoils, the nutrients do get used up over time, usually within about a year. After that point, plant growth may slow down unless you supplement it. I found that using fertilizer root tabs helps maintain healthy plant growth and keeps everything looking vibrant once the initial nutrients are depleted. Overall, it is a solid choice for planted aquariums, especially for starting a new setup. It gives plants a great head start, looks natural in the tank, and performs reliably as long as you plan for long term nutrient supplementation.