# How much soilmaster for my 29 gal?



## smrfpwr (Oct 27, 2005)

Hello

I am planning to re-do my 29 gal from scratch, with soilmaster select as the substrate. I have been searching and searching to figure out if I need 1 or 2 bags (50lbs) for my tank. It seems like 1 bag should be plenty, but according to my (probably incorrect) calculations I would need 2. My tank is 36" x 12". 

And, will it be ok if I don't wash it? I live in an apartment with no access to a hose.

Thanks!


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## KJoFan (Jan 30, 2007)

I'm not sure exactly how much you would need, but I just put some in my new 72 gal bowfront. I used less than one bag...probably....3/4 or 4/5 of the bag total and it's at least 3" deep, more in some spots. I'm guessing you'd use 1/3 of a bag, 1/2 at most. If you don't have any fish or anything in your tank, it'd be ok not to wash it. I didn't rinse mine and it clouded the water but by the 2nd day it'd cleared up pretty well.


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## smrfpwr (Oct 27, 2005)

Thanks! I knew I was doing something wrong. I also just realized that my tank is 30" long, not 36". For the washing, I actually would need to put my fish back in there pretty soon. I guess they would be ok in a bucket for a couple of days right?


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

you can rinse it prior to putting it in your tank to help prevent cloudyness. But nothing will completly clear it


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## smrfpwr (Oct 27, 2005)

Muirner said:


> you can rinse it prior to putting it in your tank to help prevent cloudyness. But nothing will completly clear it


I know it's best to rinse it before putting it in, but in my apartment I just don't have an easy way to do it. I have a fairly low flow kitchen sink faucet to get water from, a shower to dump water into, and 3 5 gal buckets. I don't even have a bathtub to use.


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## KJoFan (Jan 30, 2007)

I'm not sure what you ended up doing, but you could take the fish out, put them in a bucket overnight with some air and put your SMS in. It should be cleared up pretty well by morning. Your fish would be fine for that amount of time I would imagine.


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## smrfpwr (Oct 27, 2005)

KJoFan said:


> I'm not sure what you ended up doing, but you could take the fish out, put them in a bucket overnight with some air and put your SMS in. It should be cleared up pretty well by morning. Your fish would be fine for that amount of time I would imagine.


I haven't done it yet, and that sounds great, thanks.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

The key to keeping the cloudiness to a minimum is to set a plate on the substrate or something else large and flat. Add the water at a painfully slow pace and you will get next to no cloudiness at all. 

Also, I agree that you won't even use one 50 lb. bag. One 50 lb. bag is enough to do a 75 gallon tank.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

When i filled my tank with water and having my washed SMS on the top layer, i found that using an air hose for almost the whole tank was the best thing to do. Any stronger (gravel vac hose size) would disturb the top layer... I tried with the plate thing and it didnt work so hot once the water level got up about 3-4" above the SMS. The best thing here was a air hose that floated.

To fill the rest of my tank i am currently using a Water jug off of a water cooler, and an air hose into a filter that has an "intake" on the top that helps... Cloudyness is very minimal, but nothing much.


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## Jubs (Mar 24, 2006)

Man I can't believe people are having this much trouble with the stuff, I must have got a good bag of the stuff or am just rinsing it really good, I don't know. But I don't have clouding problems other than the first fill when I get in a rush and its still not that bad. My tanks are clear with in an hour or two after I turn on the filter. 

One method I use is I took a pop bottle and I cut off the top and little leg parts on the very bottom I cut them about 1/4- 1/2" from the bottom and just pulled them down a bit this makes the water come out in a "diffused" manner and not just a steady stream in one spot. It comes out horizontally instead of straight down it is forced sideways. The first fill it doesn't help at first since there is no other water in the tank to absorb the water but for water changes it works great. I started using this about the second water change using SMS because I kept uprooting plants and it has been working great for almost a year now.

As for rinsing I have tried different methods and I have found using a small paint bucket with a couple inches of SMS in it and just put it under the faucet with it running semi gently and I mix it around and let it run off for a bit then I dump most of it out and refill again and repeat and stir it up till it runs clear even after mixing. It will take awhile since you are doing it such small batches but it will be worth it in the end. I have done this with 6 tanks now and have had great success.


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## smrfpwr (Oct 27, 2005)

I finally bought my bag of soilmaster yesterday, and I'm going to put in in today. Thanks for the great ideas guys, I think i will try rinsing it in small batches, at least for a little while. 

I bought it at my local Lesco and I only got charged $8.54 for the bag! He had one bag in stock and he did some stuff in the computer to make it really cheap. And I was worried because I have heard of many people having problems with ordering bags of this stuff from the company.


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