Marineland Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon

works as advertised! great value and quality.

We work hard for the money and are happy with this move getting this carbon. The container was larger than I anticipated (22oz here). Outstanding activated carbon at a great price. I've been a fish tank caretaker for over 30 years and imho it rinses clean fairly quickly, and yes indeed you hear that rice krispies snap cackle pop sizzle coming from the carbon right after rinsing it which is a great sign of great quality. I am first using this for cat fountains with mesh zipper bags not filter material and it does not slip through the 1-layer mesh, so rocks are small but large enough it should not be an issue with say, whisper bio bags.

These smell great, and is great to add to a cat litter box. Someone in a review recommended that and I'm glad I tried it. The cats don't mind it, and probably love it because it brings the smell down. It has a high carbon content that you can smell its also black in color and very effective.

This carbon consistently keeps my tank clean. Removes fishy odor. Large size can last months!

Updated 6/8/20 - I've been meaning to go back and change my review on this for a long time. MarineLand Diamond Media Premium Activated Carbon, Blacks & Grays, 40-Ounce (PA0373) has officially gone back to being my go-to active carbon for my 160 gallon mixed reef. Ounce for ounce and ounce per dollar, short of buying in LARGE bulk from one of the dedicated online fish stores, this product has provided consistent results at the right price point. I'll take off one star for it being so dusty. It feels like I've wasted a lot of water rinsing this stuff before putting it in my tank.Per my earlier reviews, I do still occasionally find it lodged in impellers but you could reasonably argue the fact that the carbon is getting in my impellers is my fault.Since my original review, BRS has done some good videos outlining the pros and cons of the various styles of active-carbon. I'm not sure if it was BRS, but somebody also did an excellent video showing a series of tanks all being cleaned with the assorted "flavors/sizes" of carbon over a period of time. After becoming more educated on how and why active carbon works, I've tried the high end stuff, the bulk eBay pond stuff, the boutique stuff, and ultimately I always come back to the 40oz bottle of MarineLand Diamond Media Premium Activated Carbon.So, I apologize to the good people at MarineLand who make the product. It amazes me that I've been in this hobby for almost 20 years and I feel like I'm still constantly learning new things. Knowledge is power, folks. Learn on!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I decided to try this stuff instead of my usual product ChemiPure. I use a Phosban Reactor 550 for carbon filtration on my 125 gallon reef. A couple weeks after putting this new stuff in my reactor, I noticed that my reef octopus BH-2000 skimmer was making strange noises. I also noticed a lot of the new activated carbon floating on the surface of my tank. I discovered that the carbon was getting stuck in the finger impeller on the skimmer's pump. The image was taken 24 hours after cleaning the impeller.Also - I normally see a huge improvement in water quality 24 hours after using ChemiPure. I didn't see any improvements with this stuff.I've ordered a new batch of ChemiPure. The marineland product is going in the trash.

Good product, “reasonably priced” (for 2025)

Save money, make your own aquarium filters with nylon tights. Works great.

Been using this carbon product for the last 20 years and both my freshwater and saltwater aquariums water is very clear. Never had an issue. I replace it about once per month but that will vary depending on how much activity you have going on in your aquarium.They also fill the carbon right up to the top of the container. So no empty space as you get a full container filled to the top which is nice!