# how much sand for a 30 gallon ?



## Guest

changing my substrate tomorrow to sand ... i have one 50 pound bag of 3M Colourquartz and 25 pounds of Aqua Terra ... would the one 50 pound bag be enough or should i use the 25 pounds of aqua terra too ... if i need both, should i mix them or layer them ???


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## GreenGanja

i got a 50 pound bag of filter sand did not use the hole thing on my 30g

so 50 pounds will be more then enough


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## pistolpete

50 Lbs should give you about 1.5 to 2 inches. How deep you want it is up to you. Plants like substrate about three inches deep, but they prefer fine gravel to sand anyway. most tanks I have seen with sand have just a thin layer.


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## Death's Sting

i used 50lbs of pool filter sand in my 120 and it was more then enough. i don't like the sand bed to be too thick.


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## Guest

i will have live plants but i think i would like at least 2 inches of sand ... if i need 3 inches for plants, will i have to use the other sand, and should i layer or mix ?


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## Smiladon

about 25-30 pounds of sand would be more than enough.


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## target

According to this calculator:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/calculator.php

You would need about 40 lbs for a 2" bed.


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## pistolpete

I used that same calculator and it said 49 pounds for a 2 inch bed (a 30 gal is 36 by 12 inches). Anyway, you can slope sand front to back to get more depth for plant roots. But you should know that deep sand is prone to anaerobic spots, for it's best avoided. Malasian trumpet snails help keep the sand stirred up.


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## neven

also a way to cheat is with driftwood and rocks, they displace sand so you can skimp by when you are just on the cusp of requiring two bags instead of one.


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## target

pistolpete said:


> I used that same calculator and it said 49 pounds for a 2 inch bed (a 30 gal is 36 by 12 inches). Anyway, you can slope sand front to back to get more depth for plant roots. But you should know that deep sand is prone to anaerobic spots, for it's best avoided. Malasian trumpet snails help keep the sand stirred up.


LOL, thanks. I used the measurement for a 29 which is only 30" long.


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## Guest

i added 50 pounds and it is the perfect amount


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## CRS Fan

I was going to say 1 - 2 lbs/gallon.

Stuart


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