czarben

I'm going to be getting a 29G and I'm wondering how much substrate I will need. It's going to be for my 2 green terrors, it won't be planted, I'm leaning towards sand, and I prefer a black color. I'm probably going to be buying online and I've done some research but I'm wondering if anyone can give me some help. CaribSea has a African Cichlid sand but the best price I can find is $30 for 20lb and it's a lighter color than I'm looking for. They also have black moon sand which is only about $15 for 20lb and I like the color better.

Boxermom

I have Tahitian Moon sand in my 55 and love it. If you're not going planted, you will only need about 1 inch depth. I'd suggest getting one 20 lb. bag, that will most likely be sufficient.

friend_o_fish

I've heard that a pound of substraight for every gallon of water is about the right amount for not planting. and a pound and a half for every gallon for planting.
friend_o_fish

Boxermom

The general rule of thumb is one pound per gallon = one inch depth. Two inches is normally recommended for planted tanks, so two pounds per gallon. However, different substrates "weigh" differently. The finer the gravel, the more there is of it per pound. Sort of comparing a pound of melon to a pound of feathers. 20 lbs of sand, while the same weight as 20 lbs of a larger gravel, will have more to it than the gravel. Therefore, less sand is necessary. In my 55g, I bought three bags of sand in order to get a 2 inch depth. The three bags actually made more than a 3 inch depth, 2 bags would have been more than sufficient but I had already opened the third bag and we didn't want to chance getting sand all over the house from spillage, so I ended up using it.

Just remember that with sand, the deeper it is, the more vital it is that it be stirred weekly during water changes to avoid pockets of anerobic gas that will kill the fish. I use a wooden disposable chopstick attached to the end of my siphon hose, sticking off the end about 4 inches.

czarben

I went with reular old playsand from Wal-Mart. I rinsed it well and it looks great. My pleco loves excavating it!