Sand amount?

[Talvari]

I'm pretty well set on redoing my 55 gallon tank with sand instead of gravel... Its a 55 gallon long, and I have about 50 pounds of gravel in it, which gives me just under two inches of gravel in there...

I was thinking 3 bags of 20 pounds would be sufficient and Ive been told by a few people that would be sufficient, but Ive also heard you should aim more towards 2 pounds of sand per gallon of water.

Thoughts?

 

[meegosh]

What kind of sand are you using? A lot of people will use Pool Filter Sand (PFS) or playsand. Both are sold in 50lb bags for $3-8/bag. I used almost all of the 50lbs in my 30g long (36x12") when I did playsand.

 

[LyndaB]

I used 2 50 lb bags of pfs in my 75 gallon and wish I'd added another one.

 

[Batt4Christ]

2 lbs of sand per gallon is a LOT of sand!

My 55g is sand substrate (pool filter sand). I used less than 70lbs and have a minimum depth of 2.5 inches, and in the back - it is nearly 4 inches!

 

[Talvari]

I was planing on going with this black sand... Ive heard some good things about it.

Amazon.com: Super Naturals Tahitian Moon Sand (40 lbs) [Set of 2]: Pet Supplies

 

[meegosh]

I was planing on going with this black sand... Ive heard some good things about it.

Amazon.com: Super Naturals Tahitian Moon Sand (40 lbs) [Set of 2]: Pet Supplies

If you go that way you will be stuck with a lot left over. Those are sold as two 20lb bags.

 

[Talvari]

Im not getting it from amazon, it was just the only place I could thing of to look up the sand.

 

[SSGWJ]

I used Black TMS in my 29 gallon aquarium. I used 25 pounds and it averages about 1.5" deep, which I think looks great. I may add another 5 pounds at some point, but to me 1.5" is plenty.

 

[bigbanker]

In my 55 I've got 50lbs of sand... Works well for me.