Do I Have Too Much Gravel?

I heard I needed 1 1/2-2 pounds of gravel per gallon and I have a 28 gallon so I bought 50 pounds of gravel. It's about 3 inches thick in my tank, l: 30 w:12 h:18. Is that too much? I'm keeping 8 Panda corys, 12 Neon tetras, 1 Rubberlip pleco and 2 honey Gourami. Will they still have space or should I take some gravel out?

 

What some people do to give the illusion of more space, is pile some gravel up in little mounds and have more shallow areas in some places.
From what I've seen and heard, 1-2 inches should be a near minimum if you're going to have plants in your substrate. My cories like both the shallow and piled areas, as long as you have a decent amount of plants (fake or not) to hide in and some places to rest (which it appears you have a decent amount of) they will do fine with that much. If it took up any more than that then I would take some out, but since you have a larger number of bottom fish, it's better to worry about length of swim area rather than height, most fish would rather have a longer area to swim in than a higher area.

I got this little piece of plastic that essentially splits your tank between bottom and top with a shelf, doesn't seem like you have a whole lot of space for one, but they are cool and do provide occasional feeding in higher locations and an extra hiding place as well as a resting location on the top. My loaches and mollies like to pick at the air bubbles caught on the bottom and any algae growth.

 

That would be a perfect amount for a planted tank, but since it’s not one(from what it looks like), that may be too much gravel. You don’t have to remove some if you don’t want to(I personally would) but you can also use some for another tank if you want.

 

I would remove some personally just to make it easier on water changes. I used to have a lot in my 20 gallon and found it much easier with a inch and a half of gravel.

 

It does look a little thicker than it needs to be. I always slope my gravel from front to back and away from the center towards the sides. It usually doesn't stay that way very long though.

 

The deeper the gravel, the deeper the muck goes, the less able you are to get it out. Then you get lovely detritus worms. Which is ok if you don’t mind them. The fish will enjoy them when you do gravel vac.

 

Unless you want to plant plants in it I'd stick to 1/2 an inch to an inch deep. 3inches will be tricky to clean.

 

I had always heard a pound per gallon but that can be thrown off by the shape of the tank. A 20 gallon long needs more than a 20 high for instance.

 

What some people do to give the illusion of more space, is pile some gravel up in little mounds and have more shallow areas in some places.
From what I've seen and heard, 1-2 inches should be a near minimum if you're going to have plants in your substrate. My cories like both the shallow and piled areas, as long as you have a decent amount of plants (fake or not) to hide in and some places to rest (which it appears you have a decent amount of) they will do fine with that much. If it took up any more than that then I would take some out, but since you have a larger number of bottom fish, it's better to worry about length of swim area rather than height, most fish would rather have a longer area to swim in than a higher area.

I got this little piece of plastic that essentially splits your tank between bottom and top with a shelf, doesn't seem like you have a whole lot of space for one, but they are cool and do provide occasional feeding in higher locations and an extra hiding place as well as a resting location on the top. My loaches and mollies like to pick at the air bubbles caught on the bottom and any algae growth.

That shelf thing is cool! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. May I ask where you bought it?

 

That shelf thing is cool! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. May I ask where you bought it?

I actually just got it at petco for 10 bucks, on the back of the box it says there's actually kit pieces, so you can even add smaller shelves on top. It was definitely something I wanted in my tank.
The only issue I really have is I was a little concerned about sharp edges, which can be sanded or cut if really a concern, but none of my fish really rub up on the edges so I'm fine.
It's also got a break away piece and can be inserted in any corner amd the middle even if you dare. The break away corner piece is intended to hide water pump tubes or a filter, though my filter is much too big for the small break away so I left it attached.

 

I actually just got it at petco for 10 bucks, on the back of the box it says there's actually kit pieces, so you can even add smaller shelves on top. It was definitely something I wanted in my tank.
The only issue I really have is I was a little concerned about sharp edges, which can be sanded or cut if really a concern, but none of my fish really rub up on the edges so I'm fine.
It's also got a break away piece and can be inserted in any corner amd the middle even if you dare. The break away corner piece is intended to hide water pump tubes or a filter, though my filter is much too big for the small break away so I left it attached.

That sounds cool! I’ll be keeping an eye out for it when I take a trip to PetCo.