# 33 Gallon Long How Much Substrate



## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

Hi, silly question to ask, but here goes.

I have a 33 Gallon long. How much substrate will I need?

I am planning on having a .25 inch layer of mixed worm castings and sand at the bottom of the entire tank. I will have a small slope in the back which will have an additional layer of mixed worm castings and sand. In my mind this will allow me to have plants which root deeper in the back of the tank.

On top of the mixture, could I get away with using two 20 pound bags of eco complete?


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## Silentspidey (Aug 23, 2009)

a good rule of thumb is 1 pound per gallon will give u one inch of substrate. So 33 gallons i would recommend at least 2 inches no less of substate. And u can slope it in the back like u like so big plants in the back and small in the front. so really for u i would do 3 bags of eco complete. there 20 lbs a bag right? im pretty sure it is. So the 60lbs will give u about 2 inches of substrate and the other .5 inch will be perfect. 
Hope this helps

-Spidey


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## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

I am not so sure about that... 60lb does sound alot but try one bag at a time. 1lb/g may not be a good idea as this 33g long might be a very shallow tank. 1 to 1.5inches high up front, and makre sure your back(your highest part) is around 2.5 to 3 inches.


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## rhodophyta (Jan 23, 2006)

I think I's put some kind of barrier to keep the deeper gravel at the back from shifting forward. Even if it's just a bead wall of pond foam glued to the bottom. 

If you are putting ten or twenty pounds of sand/castings mix as a base, I'd include that weight in the total.


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## demen45 (Mar 6, 2009)

3 bags of Eco Complete will do the trick


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Dust a little worm castings on the bottom, and fill the tank with EC, no sand.

What are the actual dimensions of the tank? Figure out how many cubic feet you want of substrate, then use these numbers:

Sand, gravel and heavy substrates like Eco Complete, and 3M Color Quartz generally run 100 lbs to the cubic foot. 

Lighter substrates such as Turface, Soil Master Select and more organic-matter materials (peat moss, compost) are about half that weight per cubic foot. 

Garden soil is pretty close to sand and gravel, but a bit lighter.

Example:

Tank might be 36" x 12". This is 3 square feet. One possible layout might look like this: 
In the front 1/3 it will be 1" deep in sand or similar fancy stuff (maybe make a trail between 2 hills or something). 1 square foot @ 1" deep = 1/12 cubic foot. Multiply by 100 lbs = less than 10 lbs, about 8 lbs of sand, if you want to decorate like this. Otherwise, skip the sand.
The back 2/3 will be 3" deep with organic matter and heavier soil product, but do not use so much worm castings. LIGHTLY dust the glass floor of the tank so you can still see the glass. This is so little it will not count for the amount you need to buy. A cup or 2 is plenty. 
Back to the substrate:
2 square feet @ 3" deep = 1/2 cubic foot. Multiply by 100 lbs per cubic foot for the heavier material = around 50 lbs, or multiply by 50 pounds per cubic foot if you are using the lighter material = around 25 lbs.

So the guesses by the above people are right: It will take around 60 lbs of heavy substrate to give you 3" deep all over the tank, if your tank is 3 square feet in area. 

I used just about 1 whole bag (50 lbs) of SMS in a 125 gallon tank (6' x 18" = 9 square feet) @ 3" deep (It was a little bit shallower in the front, but has leveled off as the fish dig into it) and had about 2 bags of Eco Complete in there. (the EC looked lost in there, barely 1/2" deep.)
I have also used SMS for many smaller tanks. If you get this product you will have to get some more tanks to use it up ;-)


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## vangel34 (Sep 17, 2009)

I used 3 bags of eco in my 29 gallon. This gives me around 2" in the front and 3" in the back. I'd say you need at least 2.5 to 3 bags.


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## Vadimshevchuk (Jul 5, 2009)

i would use 4 bags of eco


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