Gravel Substrate Depth

[WillC]

Hi Folks,

So moving forward to the next step in my tank setup.... I really liked the look of Caribsea in Daniel's experimental nerm tank so I went that direction. 

Today, I put in 20lbs of Rio Grande gravel & 40lbs of Peace River gravel. My layer is about 1.5".

I feel like I need a little more substrate. There are root tabs under the gravel.

What depth do others put in their gravel based tanks?

Will

[Flumpweesel]

Mine is super shallow about 1cm I set the tank up for goldfish originally and this made vaccing easier. 

Now I do intend on topping up the gravel if I can find some to match but mainly just to make it easier to plant into.  With gravel I be say what ever suits the look you want. Some fish like a deep substrate but most I have kept just kinda rustle about the surface.

[Scapexghost]

1.5" is fine, you might want to add another half inch. The general rule is a pound to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water. I lean a little towards 1 pound just to maximize space in the tank. Plants will benefit from deeper substrates. A common practice is to have the gravel higher in the back. This is primarily for adding depth visually to the tank but this also has the added benefit of allowing the larger background plants more room for their roots.

[Atitagain]

1.5 is fine but I would go atleast 2” if your gonna be using root tabs. IMO the deeper the gravel the easier it is to get root tabs to stay when you plant them later.

[Streetwise]

As an organic topsoil aquarist, I enjoy threads about substrate recipes.

[WillC]

I am going to the Carolina Aquatic Expo on Saturday. Fingers crossed a vendor has some on hand. If not, lfs on Monday it is.

Will