Natural Rapport Aquarium Gravel Cleaner, No-Vacuum Waste Reducer, 16 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.

I was hesitant to get but this stuff works really well. It doesn't get rid of all but the tank is much easier to clear.

First time buying and using this products. After 2 days, it appears to be doing a good job. The tank has been staying clear and the fish appreciate it.

I put the initial dose of Natural Rapport in my tank the day it arrived and so far so good. It's been almost a week, and the first thing I noticed was the debris that had been caught in my dwarf hair grass was slowly disappearing. That was maybe three days into it. Now it's completely clear! I also was fighting off some slimy fuzz on my Vesuvius, and it is almost completely gone. Yay! It was great timing for me to find this product as I just bought a bunch of new plants, and I'm very happy to say they are handling their new environment very well. They all look crisp and healthy with minimal shock to older leaves(as I usually experience between shipping and transplanting), and I'm sure that the beneficial bacteria in the Natural Rapport is helping very much. Thanks again for the personal attention. Sincerely, Donica Tibbetts P.S. Something I would say to all the negative comments about fish dying etc that I've seen; adding beneficial bacteria to your tank is in no way a replacement to regular scheduled water changes and tank maintenance. In addition, if your tank isn't properly cycled, or it's out of whack due to neglect, if you just go and drop a bunch of bacteria in there it's going to shock the system. Aquarists need to remember that even a small dip or raise in PH can shock or kill fish, and shock can compromise their immune system, leading to any number of infections. Your fish can even become accustomed to poor water quality. I would recommend adding your first dose right after, or with a major water change to prevent any major shifts in the cycle, in addition to a water conditioner with a slime coat protectant to help reduce shock. Adding beneficial bacteria is not dangerous, or harmful, but when you make any sort of change in your aquarium environment you are upsetting the balance in the water column whether in the negative or positive. Aquarists should know this and simply handle any aquarium supplements appropriately and with good aquarium-keeping sense.

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.

Good buy

Works great! Do not over intoxicate your little fishes. Less is better, imagine dumping the whole bottle into your tank, do the opposite, a few drops and let nature do the rest! Clear stank, happy fishes and alive fishes.

I used this product in my planted shrimp aquarium that was well seasoned. I had 30 or so shrimp ranging from adult, adolocent, to newborns. I used this product and I lost all but 4 of my shrimp. Followed the measurement suggestions and within days the bottom had a white "fog" which even doing large water changes, kept going back. I had to break my entire tank down, and start from scratch.

Producto diferente al anunciado (presentación).

Had excellent results within 48 hours. I have a heavily planted 240ltr community tank containing; fish, shrimp and snails with a special baked peat based substrate. Great for shrimps but not so good for fish waste. The stuff just collects waste within the first 1cm of the substrate. As it’s a planted tank I can’t disturb the substrate without pulling up plants. So I bought this to help. Within 24 hours, the water had gone cloudy, the following 24 hours (so 48 in total) the water was crystal clear. I never considered my water to be anything other than clear already but this proved me wrong. Excellent product just for that, let alone the added benefits of it breaking down waste, this obviously takes much longer than just a couple days but I’m already happy with the initial results. It’s had no impact on my water chemistry either, no additional ammonia or nitrite*, both still at 0. PH is still stable. So all in all very good. *note I don’t test for nitrates as I dose this as part of my fertiliser regime for the plants. I doubt this would impact it anyway.

I have to say this is the best money I have ever spent , the ammonia , nitrate and nitrite levels stay well within the parameters required for my tropical tank , it stays crystal clear at all times and my fish are thriving , also i am finding i only have to do partial water changes once a month and to be honest i think i could leave it longer . Its great to find a product that does what it says it does and all I can say is if you have AQUARIUM and you want it to thrive by this product its well worth the money

Hmmmmmm i'm not sure how to write up your gravel cleaner product ? WHY >> Well it appeared to breakdown the lying food and fish faeces So much so that I felt I needed to completely change my tank water and give the gravel a really good hovering .. Within 3 days , so I suppose your product does exactly what it says on the tin .. Gravel cleaner .. I suppose I better add " par excellence" Yes your Natural Rapport Aquarium Gravel Cleaner works very Well . What more can I say , Err yes I can now highly recommend it ..

I was pretty unmoved by what I read in the reviews for this before I bought it, despite everyone singing its praises. I figured it wasn't going to be anything special, but I was willing to give it a shot. I am one hundred percent converted. I always used to look at other people's aquariums and be jealous of their crystal clear water; mine always seemed to be cycling or dirty, one or the other. I have no idea what this stuff actually does, but it makes your water magically clear and clean in ways it wasn't before, and it can even lead to a decrease in the number of water changes you need to do. It's now part of my weekly essentials along with dechlorinator, I've been buying it ever since and will continue to do so. I almost had a heart attack at one point when it looked like it had been discontinued, but it has just changed its branding and packaging. If you bough the old Natural Rapport, this is the same stuff, they haven't changed the formula. Praise the sun!