# How much do I need?



## Daalamist (19 Nov 2018)

I can’t quite figure it out. Is 3 litres of Tetra substrate enough for a 5 gallon nano tank? How deep is the substrate supposed to be for planting? 
Thanks


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## zozo (19 Nov 2018)

It depends a little on the plant, size, how does it root. Some plants root deep with thick roots, others shallow, some create a blanket of tiny roots. Etc etc.
So usualy we go with smaller plants at the front, bigger at the back.. So substrate slightly slooping up towards the backside. For example 2 to 3 cm at the front and a more to the back. Not only gives a sense of depth, but also gives the bigger plants in the back more substrate to root in.

Simply use the bottom panels dimension + substrate height to calculate volume you need.. For example 5 gallon (Sorry for converting all to metrics, but in the end it's the same formula) likely is about 40x25x25cm = 25 litre volume tank.. Gives you a bottom panel of 40x25 x 3 cm = 3 litre substrate.. If you want to sloop it to the back till about 8 cm than add 40 x 25 x 8 / 0,5 = 4 litre + 3 litre = 7 litre.. Depending on the size of the substrate bag available.. Say 10 litre than you have 3 litre extra room to play with. Beter safe than sorry take a bit more than what you calculated.

All approximate, but that's what you need if you want to play with different heights in different areas. But if you want it straight out flat all over the place than use Length x Width x Height = volume you need.


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## Daalamist (20 Nov 2018)

Thank you very much, very helpful. I think I will get away with the 3L bag as I will be using large rocks which will cover a lot of the base 


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