Flourite/Sand Calculator

[jmottle]

I've tried searching through the forums for this, but can't seem to locate what I'm looking for. The footprint of my new 90 gallon is 48"x 18" and I'm looking to do a 50/50 Flourite/Sand substraight. Does anyone have a calculator or know how much I will need of each to put 2-3" base? Is 2-3 inches sufficient for this mixture for a planted tank?

Cheers,
Jeff

[SnakeIce]

well you can get a package of each and see how much volume the weight you got has and figure the weight for the same volume of each and then figure the average depth x the area of the bottom of your tank

figureing the volume you need should be easy, it is just finding out the weight per volume for each that is the trick since most things are sold by weight not volume

that depth you gave is ok if you don't plan on having many root feeders like swords and similar type plants

I have heard of as much as 4 inches or more towards the back for some planted tanks

[Genero]

I recently switched from gravel to an aquatic soil/sand mixture in my 90 gallon tank. I purchased a 40lb bag of soil and it covered about 2 inches or so in the front to about 3 inches in the back (could be slightly more).

While considering the sand, it seemed rather high but I figured the soil would be compacted even further once I added sand and water. Well, it didn't. My substrate is too high (for my tastes anyway). Incidentally, I added 75lb's of estes black sand to 35lb's of soil.

I don't know if flourite is the same composition as schultz's aquatic soil. If it is, then I would add maybe 20lb's of soil and 40-50lb's of sand. As SnakeIce mentioned, consider your plants and the depth. You may opt for additional flourite over sand.

BTW, I'll be switching back to sand. I was aware that the 2 mixtures would eventually mix together and it turns out that I don't like that look at all. Also, due to a combination of the types of fish I recently purchased and my darn severum's eating plants, I decided to plant less and to go back to sand.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Well, a bag of flourite is about 15.2 lbs or something like that. 1 bag is 2 inches deep in a 10 gallon tank, so, for your 90g tank, I would get 5 bags of flourite and then figure out how much sand is in the other bag. Honestly, I would go with just about all flourite and have maybe a centimeter or so of sand, after all, flourite works best on it's own.


Spelling...

[125gJoe]

As NJ Devils Fan says...
I'd get 9 bags of Flourite.
One bag per 10 gallons of aquarium.

[jmottle]

Thanks for the advice guys. Does anyone have a bag still around? Does it have a volume contained in a single bag? I'll be going to the store later this week, but though it might be easier to know ahead of time how many bags I really need, so some 17 year old at Big Al's does not try to tell me that I need 45 bags for a 90 gallon tank. So far I've not been too impressed with their staff. The last time I was there looking at CO2 setups this kid told me that pH was not a concern. Huh!!! I'm no expert, but even I know that you need to monitor pH in the tank with CO2. I had the same conversation with another employee in front of him, who at least knew that pH was a factor. Anyway before I get too far off topic, if there is a voume on the bag I think I can do the math from there for the desired thickness.

Cheers,
Jeff

[125gJoe]

If you want the 50/50 mix, then 5 or 6 bags will be fine.
For me, I'd go 100% Flourite and get the 9 bags needed for good coverage.

[jmottle]

Perfect Thanks! Does Flourite have a lifespan? Wow is it ever expensive. In Canada it looks like it's $30 a bag.

Cheers,
Jeff

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by jmottle
Perfect Thanks! Does Flourite have a lifespan? ...Not that I know of..