{"id":1539,"date":"2020-02-04T12:55:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T12:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petz.co.uk\/?page_id=1539"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:40:22","slug":"best-aquarium-substrate","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/best-aquarium-substrate\/","title":{"rendered":"Aquarium Tank Substrate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With very few exceptions, all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/best-fish-tank\/\">fish tanks<\/a> need some sort of material (aquarium substrate) on the bottom.<\/p>\n<p>It gives fish somewhere to hide, which is perfect especially for those breeds who like to burrow. Stray bits of uneaten food can land on the substrate too, making it a) easier to clean for you and b) the perfect surface for bottom-dweller feeders. The substrate also reduces reflections in the tank, so can reduce stress.<\/p>\n<p>There are loads of more scientific benefits too. Some substrates can help change the chemistry of the water, too, increasing pH levels and hardening water for specific rarer fish.<\/p>\n<p>Aquarium substrate can generally be either gravel or sand, but other materials are also available depending on the conditions your fish need to live in and whether you have a planted tank. You can keep a <a href=\"https:\/\/pethelpful.com\/fish-aquariums\/Tips-for-Keeping-a-Bare-Bottom-Tank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bare-bottom tank<\/a> for messy fish like goldfish, but they can be harder to care for.<\/p>\n<p>Because it shouldn\u2019t be changed or altered when your fish are in their tank, it is vital to get it just right when initially setting up your aquarium. When looking for an aquarium substrate, you want something specifically catered to fish. Minimal dust and something small enough to bury in is ideal. If you have plants, you also will want substrate which complements them.<\/p>\n<p>We have included the best pick for all types of fish tank substrate below, ensuring they are safe for your fish, popular with owners and great value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With very few exceptions, all fish tanks need some sort of material (aquarium substrate) on the bottom. It gives fish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1542,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"page_type":[5],"page_category":[23,132],"class_list":["post-1539","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","page_type-round-up","page_category-fish","page_category-fish-equipment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_type?post=1539"},{"taxonomy":"page_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_category?post=1539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}