If someone tells you to just use “X” pounds of gravel per gallon then they’ve either never done it or don’t know how density works.
Moreover, the label would usually have some vague directions like:įor the reasons I listed above, such directions can be quite misleading and, sometimes, plain wrong. Why this has become a popular practice among manufacturers is beyond me. You’d usually see how many pounds the bag weighs but that’s about it. Unfortunately, most brands of aquarium gravel list the weight of their product instead of its volume. Let me explain each calculation method and the formulas behind them in detail while sharing their pros and cons: 1. This method is a bit more practical but can be somewhat inaccurate and you need to physically have the bag in front of you. By measuring the bag’s volume after manually flattening it on the ground.This is the most accurate methodology for calculating the needed amount but most brands don’t list volume By using the gravel’s volume if it’s listed on the bag it comes in.This is the most generalized method and is used most of the time Generally speaking, there are three main ways you can calculate how much gravel an aquarium needs: So with that out of the way, we can move to the formulas. Multiply the dimensions to find the tank’s bottom footprint in square inches or centimeters and write the answer down.Write the fish tank’s length and width down.In it, I’ve listed the measurements of all the standard-shaped tanks and their gallon capacities along with the most popular irregularly-shaped ones.įind the tank that you have or want to get and check out its width and length.įrom here on there are two steps you need to take: To learn the proportions of a tank you can either grab a ruler and measure them or you can use my resource page about fish tank dimensions. The dimensions of your new aquarium’s bottom are what really matters here. That’s because even standard fish tanks come in different shapes and have varying dimensions.įor example, there’s a 20-gallon “Long” tank and a 20-gallon “Tall” tank.īoth hold 20 gallons of water but have completely different bottom footprints. Whether you have a 10- or a 20-gallon aquarium is not important when calculating how much gravel you need for your new fish tank setup. How much gravel do you need for your new aquarium? Also, the gallon capacity of your tank is not relevant when calculating the needed gravel but its dimensions are. So you want to cover the barren bottom of your new fish tank with some pretty pebbles but have no clue what amount to get.įortunately, the formula that tells how much gravel you’d need for your aquarium is not complicated and I can help with that.Īll you need for this to work are a ruler and a basic calculator.Ī substrate that’s around 2 inches deep will suffice even in planted aquariums, so that’s what I recommend going for if you’re new to this.
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