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How many pounds of gravel for a 55?

Started by Guest_Zephead4747_* , Apr 21 2007 12:28 PM

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19 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 12:28 PM

topic

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#2 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 03:56 PM

depends

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#3 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 04:06 PM

OK, OK, ... I think the usual recommendation is 2 lbs. per gallon, or about 100 lbs. for a 55. This is for a tropical tank with "normal" fish and an undergravel filter. Diggers are different, use much less. Planted tanks need more. When I had big bluegills and crayfish in a 100, I went bare-bottomed (NO gravel). I painted the outside of the bottom dark grey so that the fish weren't skittish.

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#4 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 04:06 PM

on?

It's a 55 long that will contain a bunch of marketed feeder shrimp 3 green sunfish 2 rock bass possibly a madtom or yellow perch and possibly a few crayfish. And a school of feeder minnows to eat.

It will have fake plants in it.

That will cost like 70$!!! on gravel. I was hoping to spend 30-40 tops.

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#5 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 07:44 PM

on?

It's a 55 long that will contain a bunch of marketed feeder shrimp 3 green sunfish 2 rock bass possibly a madtom or yellow perch and possibly a few crayfish. And a school of feeder minnows to eat.
It will have fake plants in it.
That will cost like 70$!!! on gravel. I was hoping to spend 30-40 tops.

You can get all the gravel you want for free out of a local creek.

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#6 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 08:16 PM

Or you can buy bagged pea gravel from home depot.

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#7 Guest_wolfie8000_*

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Posted 21 April 2007 - 10:06 PM

Or you can buy bagged pea gravel from home depot.

That is what I have used. I bought it at Lowes though.

Attached Files

IMG_40311.jpg 109.53KB 1 downloads

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#8 Guest_nativecajun_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 03:13 AM

I have nothing to add to this topic but I have learned a valueable lesson that you can buy peagravel at you local lowes or home depot. Probably a lot cheaper than a pet store, I suppose that is why you guys mentioned it on here. Thanks for the lesson. And I have screeded gravel out of my local stream also. I just got a piece of hardware cloth which is wire mesh from the hardware that has like ~5/16 inch square holes in it and I first screeded out the large stones with that then I put the smaller stones through another finer screen to screed out the finer stuff. Ended up with gravel just like they sell in the pet store only better. It looks more natural. So I guess I did have something to add after all.

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#9 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 08:29 AM

How much does it cost per pound. Here it's 3.55 for 5 pounds

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#10 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 11:04 AM

A bag of peagravel or river stone from Menards/Lowes/Home Depot probably runs about $5, even less on sale. I disremember weight, but I think that they are 40 pounds. You need to wash it very thouroughly which will result in some loss. Look for the stuff with rounded edges, like in wolfie800's picture.

Avoid anything that is crushed, this is likely to be marble or limestone which will dissolve and harden your water (calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate). Lake Michigan water is already hard enough. I would be careful about gathering local materials. Sheboygan is near the Niagara Escarpment, which is dolomitic limestone. (Of course, you are also near some glacial morraines, which are deposits of really good materials!) As a very general rule for natural stone, if the material is predominantly reds, pinks, dark browns, and dark gray, it is probably OK. White, and light gray are probably limestone.

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#11 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 12:57 PM

I bought a 50 pound bag for 15$ at a local "hobbiest" pet store. He keeps the bigger tanks and other animals that normal pet stores don't have.

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#12 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 03:52 PM

15$ is a pretty good price for 40 pounds of LFS aquarium gravel. You can be sure of suitability for aquarium use and uniform grain size (which is important for undergravel filtration).

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#13 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 06:22 PM

Yeah the 50 pound bag was a good buy

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#14 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 06:40 PM

I've been buying most of my gravel on eBay, in this eBay store:
http://stores.ebay.com/aquariumpebbles

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#15 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 07:04 PM

That guy sells salvia

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#16 Guest_fisgokie_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 07:21 PM

from aquaria and from all other venders its 1.5 lbs per gallon so a 55 should have 82.5 lbs

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#17 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 22 April 2007 - 07:23 PM

The guy at the lfs told me I'd have 1-1.5" on the bottom and it's be fine :\

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#18 Guest_nativeplanter_*

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Posted 27 April 2007 - 01:28 PM

I am a big fan of buying non-"aquarium" supplies to use in my tanks, gravel included. One thing to be aware of when buyign landscaping gravel/rock is that when using larger sized gravel, the type of filter you use becomes more important to make sure there is adequate biofiltration (due to the reduced surface area in the gravel). I don't like to use biowheels, but probably would use them (or something else that provides area for biofiltration) when using the larger pebble sizes.

Also, if you are wanting a planted tank, the size is very important. Straight pea gravel is too large and most plants won't root/uptake very well. However, soil under pea gravel is excellent, and you still get the pea gravel look.

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#19 Guest_dmarkley_*

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Posted 27 April 2007 - 01:33 PM

For sure, if you are keeping local native fish, then local gravel will work well. I got some very nice mixed brown/black gravel from the Susquehanna River that has worked very well.