Re: How much Flourite to buy

[Greg Morin <greg at seachem_com>]

> Should you want 3.5" of substrate depth - 48 x 18 x 3.5 divided by 28 = 108
> lbs of Flourite.
>
> The 2" SeaChem states is a general term to let you know how much coverage
> you will get out of one bag in a 10 gallon aquarium (IMHO). On the other
> hand though, by figuring out the total square inches of your tank bottom
> (864) and dividing that by 31 (SeaChem's recommendation below) you come up
> with 27.87. Multiplying 27.87 by 2.2 (pounds in one kilo) you get 61.3 lbs.,
> which is very close to the figure above for amount of Flourite needed for 2"
> of coverage. Perhaps Dr. Morin from SeaChem can confirm or dispel these
> suspicions.


Your formula is correct, we state 1kg (2.2 lbs) for each 62 cu. in. 
which works out to 28.18 lbs/cu.in.

> You are correct that four 7kg bags will give you a 2" bed of Flourite but I
> would think you would want closer to 3.5". Since you're in Canada, take a
> look at Big Al's to see what prices they have for Flourite. I would also
> recommend you strengthen your GH and KH by either adding Baking Soda or
> crushed Oyster Shells or Coral. A KH of less that 1 degree can allow for pH
> swings. Try to get this to around 3 dKH.


Or Equilibrium? and Alkaline Buffer? ;-) ;-)

-Greg

--

Gregory Morin, Ph.D.  ~~~~~~~President/CEO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seachem Laboratories, Inc.      www.seachem.com     888-SEACHEM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~