Mighty Prawn Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 What would the ideal depth of substrate be for sand in a hex tank? 33 gallons, will be lightly planted. -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 If you're planting a FISHtank, then 2" is fine. However, if you're setting up a PLANT tank, you may want to set up a few places where the gravel depth is 4-6" for those depth-loving Crypts & Swords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneiroid Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 I tend to plant the heck out of all my tanks with fish in them, and I find that 3 inches of substrate usually does the trick. If you've got some depth to work with, you could even build it up higher in the back for larger plants (around 4 to 6 inches as suggested by jvision). Terraces also work well for this purpose and can be constructed simply out of slate (or other rock) and silicone. I suppose you could fill a terrace with a gravel substrate for rooty plants and use your sand for the rest of the footprint as well. If you are putting together a strictly plant tank for propagation and such, you can conserve substrate by planting in clay pots or other containers (depending on your substrate and size of tank, covering the bottom with 6 inches worth could cost you a kidney). Note, though, that the thicker the layer of sand (in particular) is in your tank, the higher the risk of anaerobic pockets forming. Sand is regularly used in African tanks, and the fish will move the sand around themselves. You may wish to think about using other types of substrates which are also more plant friendly. Are you thinking about this tank for your new puffers? If you are just looking to plant wisteria, val, and the like, I bet you could get away with just a couple inches or even a tiny bit less – enough to stabilize the plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Prawn Posted January 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 This tank'll be for platies/danios/dojos, and as many malaysian trumpet snails I can cram in there. My dojos have parties in my gravel substrate so I figured they'd keep the surface tilled, and getting the trumpets to get the deep digging done for me. -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 You won't have to 'seed' too many MTS, as they will soon multiply beyond counting. I think I added 3 about a year or so ago, and they now rival the gravel in number!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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