camtang Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 Am I dreaming or have I seen a thread on here on how to work out how much substract you need for your tank? If its so can somebody tell me where it is. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 basically how deep x how wide x how long you want to cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 So the same as the volume equation then? So what ever number comes out make KG and your away laughing then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 Difficult to know if you dont have the density of the substrate you want to use. Could always weigh a litre of it and you can work it out from there. Otherwise, buy too much. then you have plenty for your next tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 If I buy to much I will just put it in the one tank. I prefer diffrent looks in my tanks so try not to use the same styles in any of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 At a rough guess 1.25 to 1.5 x the L. Builders sand is about 1.25 ton/m^3, builders mix is closer to 1.5 - all this if I'm not unforgetting wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 So 2200 Length x 500 widthx 80 height x 1.5 means that I need roughly 132 kg of sand. Does that sound about right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 I would go with the ~1.2 or 1.3 for (dry) sand so 100 to 110kg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Coool thank you all for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 So I finaly found some black sand and best of al I got given it for free. My new question is, what is the best way of removing current suff?bstract and then adding the new stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 strip it down and start again or siphon out then siphon back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Siphon out siphon in with fish still in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I have syphoned out substrate several times with fish still in tank. Then added new sand substrate by rinsing it very well first, put in bucket and lower entire bucket into tank and then slowly tip out content onto bottom (entirely submerged) and then gently spread over bottom. Gets a bit murky but mature filter will deal with that in a few days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Excellent, thanks for the help guys! Will add some pics when I am done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 That is what I've done in the past, except I'm not so careful tipping it in! Turn the filters off (obviously), pile it all up down one end so it is easier to siphon, suck it out, tip the new stuff in, water change, done. You just need to watch it when you're siphoning as it can become compacted in the hose if you try to take too much at once or the siphon hose has a low point or a long flat run, I've found its best to have the hose continually running downwards to keep it flowing. It doesn't hurt to pre-heat the new substrate with a couple of jugs of boiling water too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Why do you pre heat it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 TBH I've got no idea if it makes much difference, but last time I did it the tap water was ice cold and so was the substrate after washing it, so in the interest of trying to keep the temperature drop to a minimum I though it would make sense to try remove as much cold water from the new substrate as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 On that logic, I guess it makes sense. How much heat does substract keep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Not sure how much of it is the actual substrate, or how much it is just the water surrounding it. But the stuff I took out of the tank felt a hell of a lot warmer than the cold stuff I'd just finished washing! Not sure why, but it always seems like washing substrate is something I end up doing during the colder months... :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 On that logic, I guess it makes sense. How much heat does substract keep? I'm still waiting for you to spell it correctly, getting closer. :slfg: Siphoning outside into a bucket and just letting the bucket overflow works well. That way all the substrate collects in the bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I'm still waiting for you to spell it correctly, getting closer. :slfg: Yeh but if I start spelling stuff correctly it will give you no reason to come online anymore, or even live for that matter. So I guess I should keep making mistakes to give you something to do with your very important time. Siphoning outside into a bucket and just letting the bucket overflow works well. That way all the substrate collects in the bucket. Good idea, expect it will take a lot of buckets and I am gunna just throw it into the garden anyway so I mite as well just siphon it strait into the garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Just make sure the end of the hose is up so it doesn't get blocked as the substrate piles up. Trying to free a hose that is blocked with wet impacted sand is a real PITA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 thanks for the tip, will keep an eye on that come the day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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