# How many inches of gravel?



## mattdocs12345 (Oct 13, 2014)

2.7 gallon tank.

Does it matter how many inches of gravel I add as a substrate?

I wanted to put in maybe 3 inches to give it a better visual effect than a thin layer of 1 or 2 inches.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Nope, whatever looks good to you. However, you want to keep it reasonable still, I'd do 2 inches for a 2.7 tank, 2-2.5 inches will work fine.

It only becomes an issue when you are using something like soil capped with sand, you want to keep it on the shorter side because if you pack in too much soil, it can be become anaerobic which can cause sulfur bubbles which can kill your fish if you don't poke the substrate often enough. This doesn't generally happen with gravel or regular sand, it's really only soil. Of course, there are ways around anaerobic soil, it's not going to happen JUST because you have soil (though I know you aren't interested in soil at this point, just letting you know ;-)).


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

in a small tank like that I would only put a small layer, like an inch, maybe even a half inch, so you wont take up any water volume I leave my small tank bear bottom.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

1 inch is fine, unless you want to plant live stem plants in it... then you need 2-3 inches of gravel to have any chance of the buggers staying down.


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## mattdocs12345 (Oct 13, 2014)

I am planting a bunch of live plants. Mostly Italian Vals, which are very fast growers. For purely aesthetic reasons I wanted to put more than 2 inches of gravel.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, plants need more than .5-1 inch of gravel. Also Matt, Vals grow very large. Why not try Dwarf Sagittaria? Shorter but still a fast grower!


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

Vals can work. Can always be trimmed or thinned out. But only if for some reason you are opposed to the dwarf sagg or some other shorter plant. There are mixed reports on trimming vals from the top. Some people say they stop growing, others that the cut tips brown a bit (but by the time they are really brown, it needs trimming again anyway as it grows from the base), and there are a few reports on teh intertubes that cutting like this killed the plant. But so long as you are only topping the leaves and not removing most of them there shouldnt be an issue with this causing plant death.


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## mattdocs12345 (Oct 13, 2014)

I wanted a fast growing low light hight temperature grass like plant.
According to the website below they can be trimmed with sharp scissors at the top without any issues. 
https://www.aqua-fish.net/plants/vallisneria-spiralis-italian


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

As I aid, mixed response but in general it should work. XD 

I have just aquired my first val, so until it needs trimming I have to make do with what I have gleaned from looking around. Most say its fine, a few say it caused issues  The majority say trimming at the top works.


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## majesticstorm (Dec 8, 2012)

I have italian vals, and trimming the top does not work for me. It looks good for a few days, but then it will start to decay a bit from the cut end. I personally don't like the look of that, so I cut the leaf from the base when it gets too long, and it'll grow new leaves. Either way, whether you cut from the top or the base, it won't kill the plant.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Substrate doesn't have to be level. You could start with more shallow in the front sloping to 3" in the back. That's what I did when I was running a planted 2.5 Mini Bow.


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