# 75 Gallon Aquarium - How many rocks???



## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

I am thinking about buying some aquarium gravel. I have a 75 gallon aquarium.
I noticed aquarium gravel comes in various amounts; how much gravel would you recommend? 5 Lbs? 10 Lbs? 25 Lbs?

I know that's a newb question but....I gotta know.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

is the footprint 48 x 18? is so, you will need probably 2 or 3 of the larger bags, you want to have the gravel be about 2 inches deep


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## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

*Sorry....*



pyrrolin said:


> is the footprint 48 x 18? is so, you will need probably 2 or 3 of the larger bags, you want to have the gravel be about 2 inches deep


Yes, the dimensions are 48x18, but when you say 2 - 3 bags, do you mean of the 2 - 3 bags of the 25 Lbs bags?


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## aniroc (Aug 23, 2012)

About 90 lbs of regular gravel or 70 lbs of Fluorite will give you a 2 inch depth


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

go 3 20 lb bags


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## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

*...*



pyrrolin said:


> go 3 20 lb bags


Sweet. Thanks guys!


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

I usually use 1lbs per gallon to give me good coverage and allow me to plant my fakes... so I'd say 75lbs or 3x 25lbs bags. 

That or get sand from a hardware store, I've seen 20kg bags for $10.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Check with building material suppliers near you, especially ones that cater to concrete rather than lumber. There is a quartz type of around 1/8" grain size, that is also sold as "natural" aquarium gravel, and is usually under $10 for 50lbs. I was told that the gravel was used to fill holes that had been core drilled.


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

There are calculators online for this sort of thing.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

A calculator cannot add in personal preference. It has no X factor to enable such an act....


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

calculators will give you the volume or bags you need for the depth you desire, and are extremely useful, for people new to the hobby, not to mention the old foggies like yourself. 

It all depends on what kind of planted tank you want, and what you want to do within the substrate, ie add some other medium for your plants such as peat bricks, etc. or are you going to slope it from back to front, side. Rocks, etc.

Use the calculators as a base, and then add a safety margin when ordering. Order online for bigger tanks, that's the cheapest way to go.

I personally like to have 2" at least of substrate for planted tanks regardless of size. Check the plants you desire to have for the depth they need.

If you don't plan to have plants planted in the gravel, you don't need much at all. Some prefer the maintenance free and aesthetics of a bare bottom tank.

Now if you're keeping cichlids, heck, plan on making several trips, and plan how you want to build your rocks. And in this case it will be rocks. 

So, what exactly do you want to keep in this tank? That should be the first question, for experts and nubs alike.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

substrate is sold by weight usually, so the density of the product changes how much you need


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## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

*Pea Gravel*

I decided to go with 2 Forty pound bags of pea gravel. It looks nice. 
It gives a variety of colors and is quite natural looking. I rinsed them as well as I could, but even then....it clouded up my water a bit.

Oh well, thanks for the suggestions guys.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Yeah, new gravel tends to cloud a bit. Every time I've used gravel I've had the same situation occur. Sand can be even worse. Although the tank usually settles in a day or 2.

If you're impatient like my father, use some water clearifier.


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