# how much sand



## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

How thick of a layer of sand would be required. I have a 35 gal tank and I am wondering how much sand I will need for the bottom. Can the layer be too thick. Obvioulsy you want at least an inch or two, right?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Anywhere from 2-4 inches is good.


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

how many kg's per gallon will it take to make a 2-4" layer?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

You can't really use a kilogram to gallon ratio to find out how much sand you'll need. You need to know the area of the bottom of the tank. What are the tank's dimensions?


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

my tank is 36L x 12.5Deep/wide x 18Tall. so the bottom is 36 x 12.5. how many kg will i need. Could I also mix or layer my gravel on top with sand under it?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Are you using a commercial sand of some sort? They all usually come in 50 lb. bags. 1 bag should be all you need for that size tank. You'll likely have some leftover.

There's really no reason to layer the substrate. Whatever grains are largest will always end up on top eventually. I would just stick with straight sand. Make sure you get a large grain sand such as pool filter sand or 3M Colorquartz T-Grade sand.


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

can these types of sand be found at the home depot? what about normal play sand? or coarse grains are better?


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Coarse grain sands such as 3M's T-grade or silica sand would be your best choice. I have used PlaySand from Lowe's in the past and it is very dirty (lots and lots of rinsing) and tends to compact.

In my playsand tank, the substrate became very anerobic within a time period of about 2-3 months. That was the time I converted it to a high light tank and replaced the substrate. Upon removing the sand, it smelled horrible, like rotten eggs and old fish tank smell combined. I'd advise against play sand especially if you have the very fine grain sand that my Lowe's carries.

Here's a link to a substrate calculator you can use to figure the amount of sand you will need based on your tank dimensions: http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

so will i find the 3m sand at homedepot or is this a LFS product?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

3M's sand is not intended by 3M to be used in an aquarium. It is primarily an architectural product. But, some cities have distributers that can sell a reasonable quantity to you. You can download a pdf file of distributers from their website, but I don't have a link to it right now.


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

So where can i get a sand that is similar to 3M's sand? everywhere i look all that i could find is sand that fine.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Thumb through the swimming pool supply stores and call around to see if they have pool filter sand. It is coarse grain and will cost anywhere from $8.00-$15.00 for a bag.

DO NOT use play sand from home depot. That sand has dirt in it..i.e. organics and the grains are extremely fine. They will clog filters and cloud the water.


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## Blazerfrs (Feb 3, 2006)

I use course sandblasting sand from chase pitkin in my 10g... I'm happy with it. It's a natural color, fairly clean (dusty is all, needs to be well rinsed), and I haven't had any compaction issues.

$5 for a 50 lb bag, so the price is right.

I see now that it comes in black too, which I wish I found b/c I love black substrates.


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

picked up my sand i got a 50lb bad for $29 not bad. gonna tare the whole thing down and set it back up today.


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## Blazerfrs (Feb 3, 2006)

Did you end up with the T-grade? where'd you get it?


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## hellrazar (Feb 23, 2006)

no couldnt find any T grade sand in Canada. i got silica pool filter sand. right now the water is a little cloudy but hopefully in a few days it will clear up. I got a 50lb bag for $29. better that a 14lb bad of flourite for $30.


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