Decorative Fire Media from The Outdoor Plus

Decorative Fire Media by The Outdoor Plus lets you choose the color and texture of the media bed in a compatible fire bowl or fire pit. Options include standard fire glass, reflective glass, glass pebbles, lava chunks and polished lava.

Glass comes in 25-pound bags, while Lava Chunks and Polished Lava come in 50-pound packages. Piece sizes and package volumes vary, so consider the material's appearance alongside the requirements of your burner and ignition system.

Choosing Fire Glass Versus Lava

Choose fire glass when color or reflected light is an important part of the design. Blue, Turquoise, Cobalt and Cerulean offer cooler tones for a poolside palette. Amber, Root Beer, Copper and Gold can complement warmer paving, wood furniture and metal details. Black provides a darker foundation, while Clear avoids adding another strong color.

Choose lava when you prefer a stone-based media bed rather than colored glass. Lava Chunks can relate to textured paving and landscape materials, while Polished Lava offers a different surface character and larger pieces. Compare both with the fire feature rather than treating them as interchangeable looks.

For a residential patio, consider the view from inside the house as well as from nearby seating. Glass can give a focal-point fire feature a more decorative role even when it is not operating. Lava may suit a garden setting where the media should sit more quietly among planting, stone and other natural materials.

For hotel terraces, restaurant patios and shared outdoor lounges, glass can carry a chosen color across several fire features. Lava offers an alternative where stone and natural textures guide the design. For a larger project, review one complete fire feature with the surrounding furniture, paving and lighting before repeating the selection.

Choose the material for its approved application and desired appearance, not as a way to increase the burner's listed output. The media type, piece size and placement must suit the selected burner and ignition system.

Options & Specifications

Package weight, listed piece size and volume are specific to each option. Piece size describes the material, not the required depth of the installed media bed.

Use the full option name and SKU when ordering replacement media. Black Glass, Black Reflective Glass and Black Pebbles, for example, are separate selections with different piece sizes. The two lava options have the same package weight but different listed volumes.

How Much Decorative Fire Media Do You Need?

Start with the recommendation for your exact fire bowl or fire pit and selected media type. The outer dimensions alone do not establish the quantity needed. The burning area and approved media arrangement also matter, and different versions of the same design can have different requirements.

Fire Glass Quantities

For general planning, models in The Outdoor Plus's 2025 Best Sellers catalog list suggested fire-glass quantities of 20 to 200 pounds for fire bowls and 40 to 200 pounds for fire pits and tables. These ranges cover the models in that catalog, not the entire collection. Use the recommendation on your selected fire feature's product page when ordering.

For glass supplied in 25-pound bags, divide the suggested weight by 25 and round up to the next whole bag. Common quantities include:

• 50 pounds: 2 bags.
• 75 pounds: 3 bags.
• 100 pounds: 4 bags.
• 125 pounds: 5 bags.
• 150 pounds: 6 bags.
• 175 pounds: 7 bags.
• 200 pounds: 8 bags.

A suggested quantity of 145 pounds, for example, requires six bags to supply enough glass. That does not mean all 150 pounds should be installed. The ordering weight is not a media-depth instruction; follow the placement requirements for the burner and ignition system.

Lava Quantities

Lava Chunks come in 50-pound packages with a listed volume of 1 cubic foot. Polished Lava comes in 50-pound packages with a listed volume of 1/2 cubic foot. Equal weights do not provide equal volumes, so do not substitute one for the other by weight alone.

Do not use a suggested fire-glass weight to calculate a lava order. Confirm the quantity needed for the selected lava and approved installation arrangement. If replacing existing media, establish what should be removed or retained before ordering.

For projects with several fire features, calculate the requirement for each unit before totaling the order. Record the media type, color and SKU for each location, and keep any unused material labeled for future maintenance.

Care & Handling

Allow the fire feature and media to cool completely before handling, cleaning or rearranging the material. Follow the manufacturer's care instructions for the selected media rather than using cleaners, polishes or treatments intended for the surrounding concrete or metal.

Keep the burning area free of leaves and other debris. During maintenance, check that the media remains correctly positioned around the burner and ignition components. Have changes in ignition or flame behavior checked before continuing to use the fire feature.

At home, include the media bed in your fire feature's regular maintenance routine. For hospitality and shared outdoor spaces, assign these checks to the team responsible for the equipment and keep the operating and maintenance instructions accessible.