imagitarium Black Aquarium Sand 20 lbs.

I just started my first aquarium and took a chance on this sand by purchasing two bags of it. It is absolutely perfect. All it took was rinsing for about 10 minutes and the water ran completely clear. Once I added it to my fish tank, it looked beautiful. Very clean sand and well worth the money.

UPDATE: Feb 13, 2020 - Although I said I wouldn't buy this brand of sand again after the fiasco I had the first time (original review below), I needed another bag, and the shipped price of this stuff is so much better than any others I've found, so I took a chance and tried another bag, this time with completely different results. The first bag just wouldn't clean up, and I never did get the water to run clear even though I soaked and rinsed repeatedly every day for over a week. When I finally gave up and added it to my 2 ft X 4 ft aquarium, I got the first and only bacteria bloom I've ever experienced....a HUGE bacteria bloom that took alot of time and work to completely clear and clean. WHAT A MESS! This second time, the sand was basically clean right from the bag, just as other reviewers have said. The water I rinsed it in never turned black like it did with the first bag. All I can think of is I must have gotten a bad bag that first time, maybe from a bad batch. I don't know what would have caused the issue I experienced, but I learned a lesson I won't soon forget -- If you can't get sand to clean up and run clear water after rinsing it over and over and over, it's probably wise not to put it in your aquarium. BUT, that's not to say the next bag won't be just fine.....IF you can muster the courage to try it again. I have changed my original 2 star rating to 5 stars.ORIGINAL REVIEW: Sept 2, 2019 - I bought this brand because it was less $ than my previous brand, but, for me, it wasn't worth it. While other reviews have said it was clean out of the bag or very easy to clean, that wasn't my experience. I soaked it and rinsed and rinsed and rinsed every day, the water always turning a translucent black. This went on for over a week. I finally gave up and put it in the tank only to get a HUGE bacteria bloom! It's the first time I've ever had one, and I don't believe it was coincidence that it happened after an issue with sand that wouldn't clean up. I've taken the sand out, 1/3 at a time (trying not to crash the cycle) and have started over, but I'm finding it impossible to remove every bit of the dead slime. This was really a nightmare, and I don't think I'll take a chance on buying this brand again.

Looks alright.. I mixed some white sand with mine but kinda wish I had gotten more of the black.

The sand is nice, too bad I never got the second bag I ordered.

Ordered this online because they never seem to stock it in stores near me. I use this substrate in all five of my (planted) tanks because I love the look of it. If you look underneath my tanks with a light you can see the roots of my plants spreading all over the place and I’ve never had issues of them being “suffocated.” I’ve never had any issues using it and I clean it like any other sand making sure to turn it every once in a while to prevent ammonia pockets. It does have an acrylic like smell to it when you open it, and just make sure to rinse it like directed. For reference two 20 lb bags is just enough to cover the bottom of a 90 g tank in about an inch. It’s a fine substrate but not as fine as something like pool filter sand which is why I think my plants are doing great with it. (Obviously this sand offers no nutrients to your plants and you would need to supplement.) This is the best priced black sand on the market and black substrate always looks great so I definitely recommend it.