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How much STS for 125g?

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  RyUGuy 
#1 · (Edited)
I am replacing my gravel with Safe T Sorb and I am trying to figure out how much I need to buy for a 125 (72x18x3 +/-) What would be the closest material to use for the substrate calculator, fluorite? The bags are 40 lbs but how much does it cover compared to other substrates. Sorry I am not very good with calculating volumes.
 
#2 ·
Hey i just replaced my substrate yesterday in my 125G. I put in 180lbs of eco complete.
Theres a formula i used. Worked out perfect with 2" in the front and 4" in the back.
If your tank isnt planted you wont need as much as i used.
So use this formula. L x W / 10
72 x 18 / 10 = 130lbs


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#3 ·
I bought 2-40lb bags of STS and had enough to do a 75 gal, 29 gal, 20 long and still have some left over, maybe enough to do my 10 gal but not real sure about that. The 29 gal I got a bit upset when planting after filling 3/4 with water and ended up dumping a bunch more in. Probably too much as it's almost 4" deep in some spots which I'm hoping won't hurt anything. The 75 gal is probably 3" deep if it were flat. The 20 gal seems to only have about 2" depth.

So after all that 2 bags might be enough, depending on how deep you want the substrate.

I'm not sure what it compares to using the calculator. I can't remember for sure what I used (think it was flourite) .. it said I needed about 1-1/2 bags based on 2" depth, so I bought 2. I'd already mixed them together when Diana posted she used 1 bag in an 88 gal tank and said: "Yes, the 40 lb was barely enough. 5' x 16", and the substrate would be barely 2" if it was flat.". I'm not sure how much I actually used in my 75 which is 48"x18".

Also, for me 2" doesn't seem deep enough for some plants but seems to work good in my 20 long at that depth.

Hope this helps some.
 
#4 ·
one bag is p l e n t y for a 55 so I'd bet you'd be fine with 2 for that 125.. I'm planning on 2 for my 150 which is wider than your tank, same length.. I will be doing 1/2 to 1 inch of soil underneath the STS... but even without the soil I'd bet 2 bags would be a go.
 
#8 ·
just bought 3 bags for my standard 135g, and its a LOT. i only used about 1 and a half bag, and it gave my 135 about 3". got plenty left over. 2 bag is way more then enough. also, just rinse it a few times. cuz after hours of rinsing i realized this stuff never clears, so rinse a few time and dump it in your tank. your filter will handle the rest. i just dumped mine in my current tank and it clouded my tank a lot and a few hours later it cleared. doing another waterchange tomorrow and it should be crystal clear.
 
#10 ·
I just threw 2 bags into my partially filled 150 and it looks to be plenty. I chickened out on dirting the tank as I've never tried it before. The safe-t-sorb seems to be working really well in the 55 I have it in. so I figure why not try dirt with a smaller tank the first time.

but 2 bags looks like at a minimum 3 inches once it's leveled



since I didn't dirt, I didn't bucket rinse, just tossed it in and will stir and do water changes till the water is clearish
 
#11 ·
I ended up getting 4 bags so I can have extra if I need to replace any or just in case. Right now I have 2 of the bags sitting in fertilized / bacteria water so it can pre-obsorb nutrients and be kinda cycled before I switch. I am taking this opprotunity to hunt for more wood, to bad I have to drive an 1-1/2 hours to get some.
 
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