CaribSea Eco-Complete Cichlid Zack Aquarium Substrate, 20-lb bag

Name: CaribSea Eco-Complete Cichlid Zack Aquarium Substrate, 20-lb bag
Brand: CaribSea
SKU: 296083
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.7 (30 reviews)

By CaribSea

Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars

30 Ratings

4 Answered Questions

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About This Item

Each grain measures approximately 0.5–1.5 millimeters in size.
Contains live, stabilized, marine bacteria to assist with aquarium cycling.
Helps maintain a healthy pH balance for African cichlid systems without the use of chemicals.
Spherical grains promote the diffusion of minerals and trace elements into your aquarium water.
Contains no artificial dyes, paints or chemical coatings.

Questions & Answers

4 Customer Questions

How many pounds is the bag displayed

Answer by • Oct 08, 2021

This bag includes 20 pounds of substrate.

Hi was wondering how many bags I need for a 55 gal

Answer by • Aug 12, 2021

For substrate 1 inch thick, 1 pound of substrate per gallons of tank is recommended (10 gallons tank needs 10 pounds of substrate) For substrate 2 inch thick, 2 pounds of substrate per gallons of tank is recommended. (10 Gallon tank needs 20 pounds of substrate).

Can this substrate be used for South American cichlids?

Answer by • Jan 10, 2024

This substrate is designed to create a high-pH environment for African Cichlids.

Do I need to use marine buffer and cichlid trace elements with this substrate?

Answer by • Mar 03, 2022

African cichlid Eco will promote an elevated pH and KH. In some instances it may be necessary to use buffers initially. This would be for water starting with a very low hardness. However, in most cases this would not be necessary.

Reviews

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4.7

Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars

30 Ratings

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17 Customer Reviews

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Rated 2 out of 5 stars

By Joshua on Sep 20, 2025

Not as advertised.

Picture of the product shows its completely black. As zack black should be. But this is not. I should have looked at the photos in the reviews first. Its annoying

Picture of the product shows its completely black. As zack black should be. But this is not. I should have looked at the photos in the reviews first. Its annoying buying something that isn’t what was expected. Especially when im in an emergency setting up a new med tank to save my fish and one died because my package was delivered late.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By who on Sep 27, 2025

Perfect substrate for cichlids.

Love the black substrate goes perfect with my tank.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

By Steven on Sep 17, 2025

Not as pictured

The picture shows sand, what I received was gravel.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By Morgan on May 22, 2025

No rinsing!

The color is outstanding and the ease of just pouring in without rinsing and having to settle was a time enhancing purchase

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By Charlie on Jul 31, 2025

Fast Shipping

Great sand

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

By Kent on Jul 30, 2024

Looks great in the new tank

Overall, I'm happy with this substrate, and I'm using white rocks so the contrast is great. My only complaint is that there is a lot of light colored sand mixed

Overall, I'm happy with this substrate, and I'm using white rocks so the contrast is great. My only complaint is that there is a lot of light colored sand mixed in with the black, and I wish that was not the case.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By Troy on May 23, 2024

Excellent gravel

This is working great for my Discus. Black is an awesome color too. I will be buying this for my African tank too. Highly recommended and no rinsing. The be

This is working great for my Discus. Black is an awesome color too. I will be buying this for my African tank too. Highly recommended and no rinsing. The best!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By Mike on Apr 20, 2024

Couldn’t find this anywhere

I used this substrate to start my African cichlid tank and then couldn’t find more when I needed a bag or two. Found it on here and was on sale too! Looks great

I used this substrate to start my African cichlid tank and then couldn’t find more when I needed a bag or two. Found it on here and was on sale too! Looks great and works well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By Rachel on May 6, 2024

New tank setup

We recently setup a new tank & the substrate looks great! It’s also helping keep the PH up. Definitely recommend

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

By Bryan on Jan 3, 2024