How Deep Should My Sand Be?

[onidrase]

hey guys, My sand bed in my 75 gallon is very shallow, only about 45 pounds worth of sand. I'm guessing to really plant anything in there i'll need a deeper bed.How many more pounds should I look to add?

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

2 inches will do it. The good thing with sand is that, unlike gravel, it does not trap waste as the voids between the grains are too small. So you can have it a bit deeper than gravel without problems, and the plant roots spread better.

Sorry.....what is the length and width of the tank, and I will tell you how many pounds you need

 

[FishFanatic04]

My 75g, if I remember is the same as yours. I used 3- 50lb bags of play sand. Maybe give a few lbs, as I was lazy and while rinsing, I only let the sand settle 3 seconds before dumping the water.


Depending on what hardscape I use, I have 4 inches in the back of the tank and 1.5 inches in the front. {a slope creates depth}

My current hardscape has 6-7 inches in the left back corner and the sand slopes down to the right front to an inch deep. If you want a flat layer through the tank the 2 inches is plenty for planting. and maybe 2 50lb bags would do it.

 

[onidrase]

2 inches will do it. The good thing with sand is that, unlike gravel, it does not trap waste as the voids between the grains are too small. So you can have it a bit deeper than gravel without problems, and the plant roots spread better.

Sorry.....what is the length and width of the tank, and I will tell you how many pounds you need

The length and width are 4 feet by 18 inches, I was thinking another 40 pounds would cut it, but I'm not sure

My 75g, if I remember is the same as yours. I used 3- 50lb bags of play sand. Maybe give a few lbs, as I was lazy and while rinsing, I only let the sand settle 3 seconds before dumping the water.


Depending on what hardscape I use, I have 4 inches in the back of the tank and 1.5 inches in the front. {a slope creates depth}

My current hardscape has 6-7 inches in the left back corner and the sand slopes down to the right front to an inch deep. If you want a flat layer through the tank the 2 inches is plenty for planting. and maybe 2 50lb bags would do it.

that seems like a pretty deep sand bed I wouldn't mind having a slope, but I don't want one that drastic. My filter intakes are pretty low too, and since the sand I use is magnetic, I don't want to ruin 200 dollars of filtration on a super deep bed

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

120lb total volume of fine sand will give you an even 2 inches. You could use less and sculpture it a bit, so that it is deeper where you want your plants.

 

[hensonc4098]

Having it deeper at the back sounds like a drastic kind of slope, but it adds a lot of depth to the tank. If you look at any of the proper aquascapes on here or elsewhere and look at a side view of the tank, there is always a very steep slope front to back to add depth to the tank.