how much sand needed?

Toothpik · Post by **Toothpik** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:55 pm

hi i am considering putting sand in my tank i already have big pebbled substrate i just want the bottom to be covered by maybe 1 inch of sand how many 20lb bags would i need for a 55 gall?

i figured a 10 gallon tank is 20in long x10 in wide and it takes one 20lb bag to cover 2 in deep

and my 55 gall is 47in x 18 in...im guessin 40lbs of sand would do it dont you think?

plaalye · Post by **plaalye** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:40 pm

Are you sure it's a 55gal.? A typical 55 is 48x12 i believe. My 75 is 48 x18. I have about 90 lbs of sand in my 75 and it's about an 1 1/2 deep.

Toothpik · Post by **Toothpik** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:42 pm

i think so i remember it being one and i just did measurements so im pretty sure of the measurements

bslindgren · Post by **bslindgren** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:06 am

I had a tank with about that footprint, and I used one bag of Target pool, filter sand. I think that was 50 lbs, but I can't remember. It gave me about 1/2 inch along the front and about 1 1/2 at the back of the tank.

Toothpik · Post by **Toothpik** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:31 am

o nice target huh? what color was it? and how much?

Diana · Post by **Diana** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:50 am

100 lbs of sand is pretty close to 1 cubic foot.

4' x 1.5' is 6 square feet. @ 1" deep this is .5 cubic foot.
Roughly 50 lbs of sand to fill this tank 1" deep.

If you already have gravel in there you might need less, eventually the sand and gravel will mix.

Metric: 1.3m x .45m x 2.5 cm = 14.6 liters (volume of sand in tank)
Sand weighs around 1.6 kgs per liter. (converted from 100 lbs/cubic foot)
You would need about 23kg of sand.

Toothpik · Post by **Toothpik** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 8:42 am

thanks Diana...my brain hurts from that lol but i have an answer now~!

bslindgren · Post by **bslindgren** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:43 pm

Toothpik wrote:o nice target huh? what color was it? and how much?

Like beach sand - grains vary from clear to reddish. I like it. With water movement the grains move a bit, so algae can't get a hold.

I paid about $25 Canadian, but I would expect it to be a lot cheaper in larger centres or in the US.

Toothpik · Post by **Toothpik** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:46 pm

none of the targets have it here

so i bought two carib sea sands moon light very nice i did half of the tank today...ill do the rest maybe friday or sunday...i want the bacteria to settle and replenish before anything else

o and i paid $65:(

bslindgren · Post by **bslindgren** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:50 pm

Just watch so it's not calcium carbonate. Most sea sand is from broken down coral etc, whereas lake sand is mostly quarts. If it's calcium it will affect your water.

The best place to get pool filter sand is at any place that sells supplies for swimming pools. We don't even have a Target store here.

Diana · Post by **Diana** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:16 am

Several sorts of sand are also available at rock yards, masonry, landscape, soil...

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