[turtleman]

OP:

Hi I was wondering if somebody can advise me on the best way to add more substrate to my 55gal tank, what is the max depth that the substrate should be.

My Reply:

I am using a mixture of Eco-Complete and Flourite (equal amounts). I've read that you should have at least 3" but I have closer to 5"

HereFishy's Reply:

Depth should not exceed 3" average for the greater portion of the aquarium. This is especially true when using a ugf. Water, simply, cannot pass thru that depth of gravel. Add to the fact, that the shear weight of the substrate at a 5" depth causes compaction and dead spots in the bacteria bed from lack of oxygen and circulation. This could cause deadly methane gas buildup, kills fish and can explode.

Turtleman said he used a 50-50 mixture of Eco-Complete and Flourite. I questioned this in one of his previous threads. It is a redundancy. Eco-Complete is a stand alone product, meaning that the product is used just by itself. Flourite can either be mixed with gravel or used by itself.

P.S Turtleman - just because you do not like someones advice - does not mean you should publicly de-nonce it.

Who starting denouncing whose opinion here.

If you don't mind, would you please give us some links to the information on the depth of the substrate?

Yes I can, but I'm not here to debate this with anyone. What's published is readily available. I'll continue to trust in these written sources. What I didn't appreciate was that because I disageed with an administrator, the thread was closed. The web is full of forums.

[Flashygrrl]

WHY the heck anyone would want to have 5" of gravel in their tank? It's more work to clean out and less swimming room for the fish, and not very pleasing to the eye IMHO (especially with those little bits of fish food that tend to work their way down into the gravel, right up front...yummy).

As for the methane pockets...you'll find out the hard way I guess, no matter what advice you're given.

[turtleman]

As for the methane pockets...you'll find out the hard way I guess, no matter what advice you're given.

Excuse me, but I didn't start this thread. I wasn't asking anyone for advice about the depth of my substrate. And I don't intend to vacuum my gravel. And I don't have a problem with trying things and learning from them. We all don't have to do this the same way.

[herefishy]

Thread is turning into a forum of disputes and becoming argumentative. Thread locked. My apologies to the OP.