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Best Aquarium Gravel

Updated August 2023
Bottom line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Seachem Flourite Black Clay Gravel
Seachem
Flourite Black Clay Gravel
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Customer Favorite
Bottom Line

Versatile aquarium gravel that's good for freshwater plants as well as fish, and looks great too.

Pros

Porous clay gravel that promotes an aquarium environment that helps freshwater plants thrive. Not likely to change a tank's pH balance. Can easily be mixed with other gravel.

Cons

Some users gripe about residue or cloudy water, but this can be avoided with proper tank setup and filtration.

Best Bang for the Buck
GloFish Fluorescent Aquarium Gravel
GloFish
Fluorescent Aquarium Gravel
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Budget-friendly
Bottom Line

A fun pick that adds to the aesthetic of tanks with fish that glow at a decent price point.

Pros

Adds a nice, dark feel to regular aquariums or adds to ones with specific types of fish. Comes with enough to fill a 5-gallon tank. Completely non-toxic to the fish.

Cons

The bag it comes in can rip easily, leading to spilled gravel.

Royal Imports Aquarium Gravel
Royal Imports
Aquarium Gravel
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Simple yet Solid
Bottom Line

This pristine white gravel keeps the focus on your colorful fish.

Pros

It comes with roughly 5 pounds of gravel. It’s sourced from river stones and is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. You can also use them in planters. It comes in 3 sizes.

Cons

There’s some dust from grinding against each other to rinse off before use.

Bxi Aquarium Substrate Gravel
Bxi
Aquarium Substrate Gravel
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Easiest to Use
Bottom Line

This gravel comes in 6 bright colors to make an attractive aquarium from top to bottom.

Pros

Each bag weighs about 2.2 pounds with the stones measuring roughly .04 to .12 inches in diameter. They’re easy to clean and there are instructions on the listing for how many bags you need to make a 1-inch depth in your tank.

Cons

It can take several rounds of rinsing to eliminate all the dust.

Midwest Hearth Decorative Gravel
Midwest Hearth
Decorative Gravel
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Most Stylish
Bottom Line

These multicolor stones are a classic aquarium design choice.

Pros

Each stone is roughly 3/8 of an inch in diameter. They are all polished and coated in a thin layer of wax to maintain their sparkle. It comes in bags weighing roughly 2, 5, or 10 pounds.

Cons

They ship in a plastic bag with several arriving ripped with stones spilled out.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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36
Models
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105
Consumers
Consulted
30
Hours
Researched
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