Buy Aquarium Substrate online at Tropical and Marine Ltd - The UK's favourite Aquarium Supplies Co.

Tropical Substrate
A pleasant, natural looking gravel blend will make all the difference to the appearance of your setup. However don't make the mistake of thinking that natural aquarium substrates need be bland looking. We stock GEOsystem substrates which are striking yet natural looking gravels designed to bring out the best in your fish, plants and other decor. Geosystem products are also naturally resistant to unpleasant clinging algae growth.

Marine Substrate
The substrate for a marine aquarium must look natural. All our marine substrate options are derived from marine sources and collected in an ecologically sound manner.

Our Coral sand is Aragonite based so it will help to support your Aquarium’s calcium and alkalinity level as well as looking great and acting as a natural home for sand dwelling invertebrates. Please don’t confuse the top quality

If you find that sand tends to trap a lot of debris and act as a good medium for algae growth ( it often does) then please consider our Aragonite gravel products which look great, often including small colourful shells and coral fragments. The fine grade is more like a courser grained sand than gravel and is excellent as a reef substrate.

Aquarium substrate is a large contributor to the overall appearance of any well set up aquarium.

Paler substrates lend a setup a fresh and clean appearance by being more reflective and "bouncing" light around the aquarium interior. The downside is that lighter substrates will clearly display even the smallest quantities of waste or debris on the gravel surface.

Substrates with an overall darker appearance can initially appear to be relatively unattractive but it should be borne in mind that darker gravel will emphasize the colours possesed by your fish and plants. Darker substrates are also very forgiving of imperfect or ad-hoc maintanence regimes.

Brightly coloured, polymer coated gravels are very popular with younger fish keepers or indeed anyone who requires a very bright impactful substrate. Coloured gravels can be very effective in the creation of underwater fantasy environments. Remember that your fish don't really care what colour your aquarium gravel is so don't be afraid to let your imagination run wild.

In terms of maintenance all aquarium substrates need regular cleaning. The best way to maintain a clean, fresh gravel bed is to utilise a simple gravel cleaner at least once per month. This will loosen the substrate and remove any impacted waste whilst usefully changing some water at the same time. The rule here is little and often to keep your aquarium substrate looking great for years to come.

Money spent on good quality aquarium substrate is a real investment that will enhance the appearance of your setup for years to come.