Aquarium Gravel Cleaner - Naturally Maintain a Healthier Tank, Reducing Fish Waste and Toxins (16 fl oz)

This is the second "gravel" cleaner I have used (Dr Tim's Waste Away is the other). To cut to the chase, these types of bacterial cleaners do work, but they are more subtle than you may think. They will not get rid of large fish food flakes that are rotting on your gravel (you need to vacuum those out yourself). But they are effective at digesting and breaking down the detrius that gets into your gravel over time. They also do act as nitrifying bacteria, specifically for nitrates which can help control that issue and extend water change times. Personally, I appreciate bacteria products for aquariums as it establishes a more natural environment for the fish.But, (and there is always a but!), you must be careful in using these type of cleaner bacteria. Never use more than recommended (error on the lessor side!) They can and will use up the oxygen in the tank and essentially "drown" your fish if used in high concentrations. At normal/recommended usage levels they are safe for all your aquarium pets. If you find your fish gasping for breath immediately stop using the product and do what you can to get more air in the water (bubblers and water changes will work).Because these bacteria will use oxygen, they respire CO2 and this will help your plants as well. Also, I would not use this type of product if you have a heavily planted tank and are using a CO2 system...this will be almost certain death for your fish due to lack of oxygen... So again be aware of product usage and its effects on oxygen levels.The product recommends using it once every week or two...I would recommend once every 2 weeks to be safest. Also, I would recommend a good gravel cleaning (at least the top of the gravel) to get rid of the large pieces of detrius first, then applying the product.The bottle will serve 1880 gallons of water...in a 75G tank, using once every two weeks, the bottle will last about a year.Another tip...don't use more than one bacterial product on any one day. Spread apart their usage i.e., use nitrifying bacteria on one day and then a day or two later use this product or other bacteria products...you want to give each bacteria product time to start growing and reproducing.Finally, this product has one issue that should be corrected immediately. Bacteria products do not last forever in a bottle. you should always know how fresh the product is and how long before it expires. The product should be clearly labelled with its date produced and its expiration date. Most products like these are generally good for a year, maybe two, if they are stored properly. Only buy freshly produced product for best results! If its been sitting on a store shelf or warehouse in an uncontrolled environment for a year or so look for something fresher...dead bacteria from poor storage and age is the biggest problem with these kinds of products.

The media could not be loaded. We downsized our fish tank and filter for our Fancy Thai Oranda’s and also took away one Canister Filter which I now regret because I think it caused one of my girls to develop a bacterial infection that led to dropsy. Anyhow, I wanted to make sure after aggressively pre-treating all of my other babies that their tank and water was thoroughly cleaned without killing off their beneficial bacteria. After reading the reviews I wanted to be careful and heeded the advice to use half the dosage and it TRULY left my tank SPARKLING clean!!!! I am so happy with this product 🥰 I wish I took a before picture but here’s an after picture. Before the tank was FULL of brown stuff from cleaning the filter and it was gross!

Never used this product before ,, I do not use much chemical in my tank but need something .. And this did excellent as it described it would .. i will purchase again

I felt like I was constantly cleaning our 20 gallon and not getting anywhere. The amount of stuff I sucked out of the gravel was never ending. Then, I got this weird fuzz and was told it’s algae growing on dirty gravel.So, I searched and found this. Put the amount needed into the tank and the clarity instantly changed. I did a gravel cleaning. Sucking up the fuzz. Ever since it’s been gone. Plus, I don’t get nearly as much dirty stuff when I vacuum the gravel.I use it with each water change and it helps with the particles clouding up the water immediately. Considering how big the bottle, and how much you use, it’s definitely worth the value. Will continue to purchase this.

I hate doing gravel cleans and water changes. The typical irritants of tubes and hoses and spilt drops of water don't bother me so much as the invasive procedure performed on the entire world-as-they-know-it of my aquatic buddies. So I bought the product thinking "Well less gravel cleanings will bother you guys less so let's try it". I used the product on my 19 gallon tank. And yes, my gravel was clean. Very clean. My water was very clean also...for a time. I love my fish tank and spend a lot of time observing it. After using this cleaner, I felt the need for less water changes. Less intense gravel cleanings. I mean the gravel looked perfect. The water looked perfect. And three weeks later I started fighting a disaster. Though I had maintained water changes and gravel cleanings, I was far less thorough than before. I came home one day and one of my Danio's had died. The next day an African Albino frog died. Something was wrong. Two days later a Molly died. The water had gone from crystal clear that day to virtually no visibility. I came home from work and discovered this. Water changes, additional filters, neutralization chemicals...my tank was on life support. After 2 days I was able to get some level of clarity in the water. Once there I did a deep cleaning of the gravel. Not just skimming the top but digging down deep to the bottom of the tank. Just like I did before buying this bottled gravel cleaner. The amount of detritus was unbelievable. The stench was wretched. I had to perform multiple gravel cleanings because each one made the water so cloudy I would have to follow it with additional water changes. It's taken over a week and $100 worth of products and equipment to keep my hard built ecosystem alive. But I've managed to do it. This product works amazingly. A capful and your tank and gravel will look showroom ready in days. But it doesn't just make the detritus go away. It breaks it down so much that it falls to the very bottom of the tank where you don't even know it's there and slowly becomes a problem. The bottom line is this will clean your gravel. So much so that you forget about what's under the gravel. Buy this product, use it, and enjoy the beauty of your tank. But keep to your cleaning and water changing schedule. You won't need to clean the gravel. You will need to clean the tank.

This has drastically changed how fast my cleaning is as I don't have to fight the gravel so much to release bigger pieces of waste. Saves me at least half the amount of water. They have a new forever customer.