Freshwater fish tank and Gravel

[evan_h1234]

I am getting a freshwater fish tank and it is 55 gallons, but a square shape. I was wondering how much gravel should go into it, even though it isn't a rectangle? The dimensions are 25.5 by 24.5 by 24.5

 

[OrangeCones]

Gravel depth is your personal preference, but if its too deep, you run the risk of developing anaerobic conditions. If you stay at or under 3" you should be fine. Do you plan to grow live plants?

 

[evan_h1234]

I do not think I will grow plants because it is a lot of extra work and more expensive. I will just stick to artificial rocks and plants. Thank you for your reply

 

[CAPSLOCK]

For 2", it would be about 60lbs of gravel - google "aquarium gravel calculator" and several options pop up, so you can adjust it by how much gravel you want.

Here's one: "How Much Gravel Do I Need?" Aquarium Substrate Calculator

 

[FreshyFresh]

I am getting a freshwater fish tank and it is 55 gallons, but a square shape. I was wondering how much gravel should go into it, even though it isn't a rectangle? The dimensions are 25.5 by 24.5 by 24.5

Based on the cubic inches, I believe that's a bit bigger than a 55g?? That's an odd size. Is it a custom built tank? 11520 cu/in for a conventional 55g, vs. 15306 for yours.

Get yourself two bags of pea gravel from the garden dept. of Lowes of the likes. It's under $3/bag, vs. 10x that for pet store aquarium gravel. You'll probably only need 1.5 bags, maybe less.

I also tried the white marble chips from Lowes. Looks AWESOME when new, but looks like a dirty white carpet after a few weeks.

FWIW, keeping live plants isn't overly expensive or time consuming. Just takes a bit more planning and consideration of setup. (proper lighting, suitable substrate, need for a carbon source, etc)

 

[exhumed07]

2 inches should be more then enough. as for live plants i would suggest looking into a dirted substrate, it's a cheap and very effective way to keep live plants. the only reason i suggest live plants as they don't grow algae on them as easily, they don't stain or fall apart like fake plants tend to. it's only as expensive as you want it to be. simple plants like jungle val and most crypts are very cheap and hardy. but as freshy said it takes more planning. depending on lighting that will determine plant growth and overall size. high light and heavy trimming usually results in a bushy plant or low light and rare trimming can result in a tall skinny plant, need to plan for the size they could get with what setup. but in my opinion it's well worth the time and i truely belive your fish will like it better then the fake plants. but as i said thats my opinion and it's an option u may look into now or possibly in the future.