Depth of substrate

[TwoFace99]

Hello, I have an Aqueon 55 gallon tank that I have layered so far about 2 inches of Controsoil extra fine (black) as my substrate. I have used so far 1 bag (10L/20LBS) of the Controlsoil and about 1/4 of the 2nd bag. Will I need more depth for my substrate if I’m planning on keeping Amazon Swords, Dwarf Chain Swords, and Banana Plants? 

[nabokovfan87]

For me, especially with plants my normal amount is 3.5 inches on average.  I've seen less and in the back of the tank it might be even higher.  In my specific tank right now, the front is about 2.5" or so and the back is ~5-6". 

If you can, I would highly, highly, highly recommend getting a bag of the normal or fine size bag of the contrasoil and use that as your base layer with the EF layer on top.  You'll thank yourself and it helps with aeration of the plant roots in the long term.  The larger size also takes up a bit of the volume too and gives you more coverage.