How much gravel is enough gravel?

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

How much gravel do I need for a 50 gallon (36" x 16" base) tank? 3" of gravel? (How many bags is that?!!)

And is there a brand or type I should get for fresh water? I still haven't decided if I want real or fake plants.

 

[adadkins1]

Normally people say 1lb of gravel per gallon of tank, but if you want 3", then I would probably air more towards 2lbs per gallon. So I would say about 100lbs of gravel, give or take.

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

Normally people say 1lb of gravel per gallon of tank, but if you want 3", then I would probably air more towards 2lbs per gallon. So I would say about 100lbs of gravel, give or take.

Ack! That's a LOT!

 

[adadkins1]

Here is a link that shows about 84lbs of gravel being needed, so 80 to 100 would be my best guess.

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

Wow. This is getting expensive!

Any color, brand, size best? Anything better for live plants versus fake?

 

[barterking85]

I would say 60 is a great bed 50 would do though I just put 100 lbs in my 80 gallon and I am quite happy with it

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

Here is a link that shows about 84lbs of gravel being needed, so 80 to 100 would be my best guess.

Cool link!

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

would you be open to mabye using a sand substrate?

 

[barterking85]

I have had great experience with course aquarium gravel for planting. as for color what fish are you getting? Something to contrast your fishes color will look sharp and all I can say on brand is stay away from Stoney river it leached color into my tank so I recently replaced it which was no easy task

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

would you be open to mabye using a sand substrate?

I just ordered a Python knock-off and I don't know how it would work with sand. Sand kinda looks cool but I don't know if it is more problem than it is worth.

I have had great experience with course aquarium gravel for planting. as for color what fish are you getting? Something to contrast your fishes color will look sharp and all I can say on brand is stay away from Stoney river it leached color into my tank so I recently replaced it which was no easy task

I don't know what fish I will get yet. I do like loaches and I saw this INSANE looking fish the other day... "Black Ghost Knife".

The tank will have a cobalt blue background.

 

[OhNeil1969]

I definitely believe that the type of gravel you use is dependent on whether or not you intend to plant. Course, large gravel is not, imo, conducive to planting. So I think the first decision you need to make is whether or not you intend to plant. I have used a combination of gravel in the past, but it's difficult to keep the combinations isolated during cleanings.

As for the amount, I wouldn't be concerned as much about the weight, but more so the depth. Substrate that is too deep can lead to other problems with respect to gas circulation in your tank. The lowest substrate can encourage chemical processes that create toxic gases that can be released when the substrate is disturbed. This is, admittedly, second hand info. I personally have never had that happen to me. But I do trust the source, for what it's worth.

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

pool filter sand is much cheaper and very easy to work with its usually $10 for a 50lb bag and you can use the python with it just keep it an inch above the sand or a little less i have sand in my sw tankk and have no issue

 

[barterking85]

I would really like white with the blue background but with the ghost knife I would like black as long as you have decent lights and the thing with course gravel was just my experience

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

pool filter sand is much cheaper and very easy to work with its usually $10 for a 50lb bag and you can use the python with it just keep it an inch above the sand or a little less i have sand in my sw tankk and have no issue

Is sand good for real plants? (n00b alert!!! )

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

Is sand good for real plants? (n00b alert!!! )

it offers no nutrient benefits liike gravel but planting plants with roots and just in general is a lot easier

 

[jetajockey]

sand and regular gravel are pretty much the same (nutrient wise) when it comes to planting. I do prefer planting in sand, though, as it seems to be easier to keep the small plants down. 3" is a pretty deep substrate bed, I usually go with about 2" in my planted tanks, and even less in my nonplanted tanks.

A cheap planted-tank friendly substrate that I use is oil-dri. That, turface and soilmaster select are all cheap and viable alternatives to fluorite or ecocomplete. I typically use a mineralized soil substrate base and then cap it with oil dri, so root tabs are unnecessary.

 

[jcolon]

How much gravel do I need for a 50 gallon (36" x 16" base) tank? 3" of gravel? (How many bags is that?!!)

And is there a brand or type I should get for fresh water? I still haven't decided if I want real or fake plants.

I'm probably a little late for this game ... but here's a link I found that may be usual in the future ... (assuming someone hasn't beaten me to the punch)

Substrate Calculator

 

[DA fisherman]

How much gravel do I need for a 50 gallon (36" x 16" base) tank? 3" of gravel? (How many bags is that?!!)

And is there a brand or type I should get for fresh water? I still haven't decided if I want real or fake plants.

If it's freshwater with out live plants, I say about 1" to 2" wether it's sand or gravel.

If it's freshwater with live plants I'll go with 2"-3"
Now it also depends on the gravel as some gravel are not good to have with let's say a 3" thckness ....cause they will hold lots of waste and uneating foods.......

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

If it's freshwater with live plants I'll go with 2"-3". Now it also depends on the gravel as some gravel are not good to have with let's say a 3" thckness ....cause they will hold lots of waste and uneating foods.......

So would you go with sand instead of gravel?

 

[barterking85]

For looks yes but gravel is way easier to clean IMO