Natures Ocean Aqua Terra Natural White Aquarium Sand 2.27 Kg

Nature’s Ocean Aqua Terra Sand is 100% acrylic-coated natural sand that won’t alter your aquarium’s water chemistry.

Grain size : 0.1 - 0.5 mm

Benefits of Aqua Terra:
•Natural Gravel
•Natural Sand
•Natural Coated Sand
•100% Acrylic Coated Sand
•Will not alter the chemistry of your aquarium water
•Non-toxic
•Color Fast

Recommended Uses:
Fresh & Saltwater Aquariums, Ponds, Terrariums, Gardens, Potted Plants, Vases, Ash Trays, Crafts & Hobbies, Architectural Surfaces & Landscaping Designs.

Characteristics of Aqua Terra:
Natural Coated Sand. 100% Acrylic Coating. Will not alter the chemistry of your aquarium water. Non-toxic. Colorfast.

See our guide to aquascaping styles for how decor pieces like this fit into a Nature, Dutch, Iwagumi, or Jungle-style layout.

Setup & Use

What this sand actually is, and why it changes how you use it. Aqua Terra is natural sand with a 100% acrylic coating. Nature's Ocean's central claim for it is that it will not alter the chemistry of your aquarium water — it is non-toxic and colourfast, and the coating is what makes it inert. That is the opposite of an aragonite sand, which is sold precisely because it does raise pH and alkalinity. If you have a soft-water planted tank, a shrimp tank, or any set-up where you have worked to get the parameters where you want them, an inert coated sand is a decorative substrate you can add without moving anything.

Rinse it before it goes in — our advice, not the manufacturer's. Nature's Ocean publish no rinsing instruction for Aqua Terra. Coated decorative sands generally carry loose dust from handling and bagging, and five minutes with a bucket and a hose costs you nothing while a cloudy tank costs you a day. Rinse in a bucket a few handfuls at a time until the water runs from milky to merely cloudy.

Sand into the empty tank, then water on top. Same order as any substrate. Pouring sand through a full tank stirs up every fine particle in the bag. Fill afterwards onto a plate or a shallow bowl set on the sand so the stream does not dig a crater.

How much you are buying. This is a 5 lb (2.27 kg) bag, which is the only size Nature's Ocean pack Aqua Terra in. Be realistic about what that covers: it is an accent or top-up quantity, enough to dress a nano tank, a small terrarium, a planter or a display bowl — not enough to build a bed in a full-size aquarium. Nature's Ocean publish no density figure and no coverage table for Aqua Terra, so we are not going to give you a litres-per-bag number they have not measured. Tell us your tank's footprint and the bed depth you want and we will work out how many bags before you order.

Where Nature's Ocean say it can be used: fresh and saltwater aquariums, ponds, terrariums, gardens, potted plants and vases, as well as crafts and landscaping. It is a decorative substrate first and an aquarium substrate among other things — which is worth knowing when you are deciding whether it belongs in a biotope tank.

What it will not do. Because it is coated and inert, it does not buffer, it does not add calcium or carbonate, and it will not help hold pH up in an African cichlid or marine tank. If that is what you need, you want an aragonite substrate instead — ask us.

Adding it to an established tank. Mix new substrate into the existing bed gradually rather than capping the old bed with a fresh layer. Capping traps the old surface and the organics on it, and disturbing a mature bed all at once is how people get an ammonia spike out of a cosmetic change.

Handling the coating. Nature's Ocean call it colourfast, and the coating is the part doing the work of keeping the sand inert. Do not scrub it with anything abrasive, do not boil it, and do not clean it with solvents — a gravel vacuum through the top of the bed is all it needs.

Freshness & Storage

Every batch we dispatch carries a minimum of 6 months' remaining shelf life. Store this product in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, with the cap or inner foil closed tightly after each use.

Filter media and substrates carry no manufacturing or expiry date — their working life begins on first contact with water, not on the shelf.

Returns & Replacement

Returns are accepted within 7 days of delivery, provided the item is unused and in its original packaging. Manufacturer-sealed items cannot be returned once the seal is broken, and sale-priced items are not refundable.

If your item arrives defective or damaged, message us on WhatsApp with your order number — or email us, if you would rather — and we will replace it. Approved replacements are delivered within 3 to 5 business days. Transit damage is covered by insurance on every shipment. If tracking shows delivered but nothing reached you, tell us within 72 hours, which is the reporting window Indian couriers allow. Damage caused during installation or use is not covered; replacement spares for such cases are chargeable.

Full terms are on our Cancellation & Returns page.