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How do you know how much weight in gravel and rocks your aquaruim can hold? I have a 75 gallon. Also, a friend gave me a cool imitation log that I think my corys would love to hid in, but how would I know if it is for aquarium use
Everything except the very bottom has a smooth glaze on it so I'm not to sure. It has never been in water before. Thanks to anyone that can help/:'

None planted tanks should have not much more than 2 inches of substrate...planted tanks want 3-4 inches of substrate. When estimating the weight of your tank most people give about 10 pounds per gallon that the tank holds. Water itself is only 8 pounds a gallon, the additionl weight is to make up for the weight of the stand, tank itself and gravel ect. Tanks are designed to hold a bit of weight (water itself weighs alot after all ). The weak points being the seals which is why it's important that the tank be flat and level. The biggest concern you could have is about stacked rocks. If they are stacked without being siliconed into place they run the risk of falling thereby possibly cracking the glass.
The fake log, what is it made out of?

^_^
[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

also, stacked rocks are a danger if you have digging fish, no matter if they are siliconed together or not

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

The rock isn't stacked but I don't think I'm going to add it, it weighs about 8-10 lbs. I have about 2-3 inches of gravel, what would happen if you had too much gravel, other then the tank busting at the seams? The log is made out of ceramic.

unless you bought this tank used, i wouldn't worry too much about the rocks. i mean, i've seen 75g sw tanks with more than a couple hundred pounds of live rock. if it can handle that, it can handle the few rocks you have

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

oh, and you might want to submerge your log in a bucket for a few days and check the water parameters (assuming you have test kits) check the water for kh and ph and make sure they haven't changed on you. if they have then your log definitely won't work.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Hi,
Once you decide how deep you want the substrate to be,
use this calculator to tell you how much to purchase:

http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

If the tank has live plants I would slope the gravel 2" in the front to about 4" in the back.

If you dont plan on having live plants, then gravel is more-less for looks and shouldnt be too deep, only to keep plastic plants weighted down. Plus it becomes a chore to keep the gravel clean. The more the debris, the better the chance of getting an outbreak of planaria--just my personal experience.

If would also depend on what type of bottom dwellers you plan to keep.

In my 85 gallon, the gravel is less than 2" deep with some spots just barely covered with gravel. They fish I have like to move it around anyhow!

Rocks: So long as you dont go overboard, fish need room to swim also.. and they aren't piled up too high. Then you're good to go. As a base, large rocks I place directly on the bottom without any gravel underneath. then I'll stack from there. I prefer driftwood to rocks.

The ceramic should be fine if it doesnt have any paint on top the glaze.

HTH




Last edited by livebait at 02-Apr-2005 22:37