# How many pounds of substrate for a 29gal?



## jesterx626 (Jul 27, 2005)

How many pounds of soil substrate for a 29gal?


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

id go with about 35 lbs,


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## jesterx626 (Jul 27, 2005)

hm does more substrate equal more healthier plants because of more nutrients from soil? or does excessive amounts do nothing?


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

thats a good question, is it like the sand rule?
1 lb of sand per gallon........29 gallons / 29 lbs of sand?


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

assclown said:


> thats a good question, is it like the sand rule?
> 1 lb of sand per gallon........29 gallons / 29 lbs of sand?


hmm,i have 100 lbs of sand in my 75g lol, thats because hte bags came in 50 lbs and it was easier that way lol


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

I used 10lb of schultz in my 20l. that has the same footprint as the standard 29. however a portion is sand. so you could probably do for about 15-20lb and be good. tho schultz is lighter and thus takes up more space then heavy substrates.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

I just read a post from Harry that stated that small plants need 1" of substrate to properly root, and the large plants need 3" of substrate to root. So it really depends on what you want to plant in your tank. Could be 29 pounds of substrate, but it also could be more or less.

(Yes, I realize that I just ran around in circles)


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## traumatic (Jan 29, 2003)

You can go w/ layers and put sand on the bottom and gravel on top.

It can be as deep as you want. You can also scape it so the substrate is different depths in different spots. IMO it looks better when the substrate is deeper in the back than the front.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

It really depends on the substrate because of the differences in density of different substrates... a 5gal bucket of Soilmaster I can easily carry up a flight of strairs, a 5gal bucket of Home Depot gravel is damn near impossible to carry up a flight of stairs without taking a break or breaking the handle on the bucket...

Just get some and put it in and then see if you need more... I would start with 1lb per gallon and work your way up to however much you feel is suitable for your tank and desired plants.


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## jesterx626 (Jul 27, 2005)

yea but my question was say if i did put excessive substrate, would that give me healthier plants because theres technically more soil = more nutrients from soil?


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

^ not really. because they are only going to be taking up the nutrients of the soil in their immediate area. the majority of their uptake will be from the ferts that you put in the tank.
It will however give them more area to root in. and larger plants will be able to get a better foothold in the tank. If they need more nutrients they simply grow longer roots. 
so I guess you could say they might benifit but not enough that it would be worth spending the extra to lay another 2" of substrate. What you might want to do is put donw some peat so that there is an area under the sub for the nutrients to soak up and the plants to feed. if need be.


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## jesterx626 (Jul 27, 2005)

just the answeri was looking for. thanks


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