How much sand???

[adam & jeanne]

ive got a 55 gal fowcc that i am removing the coral and installing a sand bed. whats the minimum and recommended depth and how much sand would it take to fill it?
thanks!
i am in the process of cycling and am tired of waiting. i disconnected an ugf and right now have two penguin 330 biowheels, 2 penguin powerheads and 6 damsels. i am going to remove the cc and plates and replace with sand.

 

[jacksonpt]

do a search on this topic... it's been covered before. There is a calculator that takes the dimensions of your tank, the desired depth of the sand, and tells you how much sand will be required.

 

[predator]

Well it is suggested to have a couple to a few pounds per gallon. A 3 to 4in sand bed is truely the way to go. But, Jacksonpt is right. There is plenty of info on this topic if run a search.<a href="http://hometown.aol.com/flmeangl44/index.html" target="_blank">click here to my reef.</a>

 

[fshhub]

4 to 6 inches, and this page has a guide ot help wiht the formula
<a href="https://www.saltwaterfish.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=007972" target="_blank">web page</a>

 

[von_rahvin]

3-4 inches. IMO 6 is just too much in a smaller tank. if your tank was 30-36 inches tall maybe 6 inches but since it is most likely 21 inches ( i measured my 55) then 6 inches of sand would take up close to a third of you total tank volume. i would not do less than 3 inches though.
other thought you do not have to buy all live sand. adding live sand (in clumps do not spread it out) to dead sand and eventually over a period of weeks/(a month or 2) all your sand will then be live. this should save you a pretty penny