Does 42lbs Arragonite in 55 Gallon Mean Not 55 Gallons of water?

[JSkeleton]

The question is weird and probably obvious, I know, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around it for some reason.

So the question is: Does substrate limit the amount of water in the aquarium? What I mean is if I have 42lbs of Arragonite in my 55 Gallon tank, does that mean I do NOT have 55 gallons space for water any longer? I guess the question would also apply to rock as well. And if so, how do I know how many gallons worth of water I have remaining based on how much space is being used by sand/rock?

Thanks in advance for bearing with my strange question haha

 

[KrisReef]

Yes, the amount of water in the tank is less since you displaced some water space with the sand. I measure my tanks from the top of the sand to the bottom of the water column X inside tank width to calculate how much water volume I have. I add the tanks and the sump water dimentions to figure out how many cubic inches of water I have. Then I look up how many cubic inches / gallon and then I know how much additives to dose or treat the water in the tank.
If you have rock, it will also displace water, so you need to subtract that area if you want to figure this out, or you can drain everything and then carefully add the water back 1 gallon at a time, but thats the long way.

Thanks for bearing with my stranger answer.

 

[Islandvib3s]

Is a pint of beer still a pint if you have ice?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

It's less water. Usually by the time your done with sand & rock, you loose 20-25% of overall tank volume due to displacement.

In my situation, my 120g holds about 95g of water due to 80 pounds of sand and 80 pounds of rock. 50g holds about 35g of water and the big guy 210 holds about 170ish.

 

[JSkeleton]

Yes, the amount of water in the tank is less since you displaced some water space with the sand. I measure my tanks from the top of the sand to the bottom of the water column X inside tank width to calculate how much water volume I have. I add the tanks and the sump water dimentions to figure out how many cubic inches of water I have. Then I look up how many cubic inches / gallon and then I know how much additives to dose or treat the water in the tank.
If you have rock, it will also displace water, so you need to subtract that area if you want to figure this out, or you can drain everything and then carefully add the water back 1 gallon at a time, but thats the long way.

Thanks for bearing with my stranger answer.

Oh boy, Math was never my strong suitAnd you mentioned something I hadn’t even considered which is dosing. I was going to use Dr Tim’s Ammonia to kickstart my cycle and would have put too much!

Okay, so with my substrate all I have to do is calculate how much height from the top of it to the top of the water line and enter that + the tank’s typical depth and width into a gallons calculator and that should give me a rough idea?

But then there’s the rock, how on earth do I calculate that!? Right now I have about 27lbs of rock in a 55 Gallon.

Thanks for the reply by the way!

 

[JSkeleton]

It's less water. Usually by the time your done with sand & rock, you loose 20-25% of overall tank volume due to displacement.

In my situation, my 120g holds about 95g of water due to 80 pounds of sand and 80 pounds of rock. 50g holds about 35g of water and the big guy 210 holds about 170ish.

See, I thought that would by the case by the theory of adding even just a finger to a full cup of water would make it overflow, but wanted to be sure haha

That said, does that then mean a 55 Gallon is basically like owning a 35ish Gallon and therefore less water than I thought = less fish than I thought since it will = heavier bioload than I thought?

 

[Paul B]

When I jump into my 125 gallon tank, most of the water comes out.

 

[JSkeleton]

Is a pint of beer still a pint if you have ice?

I feel like this is one of those trick questions haha But no? The glass would be a pint but you’d have less than a pint of beer (I think? Math was never my strong suit lol)

 

[JSkeleton]

When I jump into my 125 gallon tank, most of the water comes out.

Haha! Yeah very good pointBut then that throws off all my calculations for everything now‍

 

[Murica]

Is a pint of beer still a pint if you have ice?

Who puts ice in beer?? lol

 

[Dburr1014]

Is a pint of beer still a pint if you have ice?

If it's in a larger glass, yes.

 

[Dburr1014]

The question is weird and probably obvious, I know, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around it for some reason.

So the question is: Does substrate limit the amount of water in the aquarium? What I mean is if I have 42lbs of Arragonite in my 55 Gallon tank, does that mean I do NOT have 55 gallons space for water any longer? I guess the question would also apply to rock as well. And if so, how do I know how many gallons worth of water I have remaining based on how much space is being used by sand/rock?

Thanks in advance for bearing with my strange question haha

Water is certainly displaced.
Sand mass is different than water mass and different than rock mass.

 

[mijan]

we need Archimedes to chime in on this one.

 

[firechild]

Is a pint of beer still a pint if you have ice?

I see your point but question the integrity of anyone who puts ice in their beer.

 

[KrisReef]

Who puts ice in beer?? lol

People who drink it like wine?
People who drink beer slowly?
It can't be the Irish?

 

[KrisReef]

Oh boy, Math was never my strong suitAnd you mentioned something I hadn’t even considered which is dosing. I was going to use Dr Tim’s Ammonia to kickstart my cycle and would have put too much!

Okay, so with my substrate all I have to do is calculate how much height from the top of it to the top of the water line and enter that + the tank’s typical depth and width into a gallons calculator and that should give me a rough idea?

But then there’s the rock, how on earth do I calculate that!? Right now I have about 27lbs of rock in a 55 Gallon.

Thanks for the reply by the way!

All insensitive beer jokes aside, I hoped my answer would serve you better than those useless school teachers we had who couldn't help us understand the mathematical concepts we would need when we have to calculate the doses of additives for our lawnmower engines, reef tanks, and dates drinks!

 

[JSkeleton]

Would a website like this work to calculate how many Gallons I have remaining?

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[JSkeleton]

All insensitive beer jokes aside, I hoped my answer would serve you better than those useless school teachers we had who couldn't help us understand the mathematical concepts we would need when we have to calculate the doses of additives for our lawnmower engines, reef tanks, and dates drinks!

No worries, it's helpful info! Think a site like this would be good to calculate how much gallons of water I have after rocks/substrate?

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[Gtinnel]

Would a website like this work to calculate how many Gallons I have remaining?

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Seems to be exactly what you need. Although in my opinion no dosing in this hobby needs enough precision that you couldn’t just take some value off of your volume and call it good. I would call it 45 or 50 gallons for a 55g tank and go with that. Even a calculator like that website cant be exact because of the different densities of the rock.

 

[KrisReef]

No worries, it's helpful info! Think a site like this would be good to calculate how much gallons of water I have after rocks/substrate?

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I've not used it, and I don't know/remember how many lbs of rock I have or else I could try it and see what it comes up with? That aside, Yes, I think this site is probably a good way to estimate.

The best way to figure it out is to drain all the water into volumetric buckets, something I have done when moving a tank, and usually a rough calculation using cubic inches is close enough to the actual water volumn when dosing.

Whatever I dose, I start with lower than recommended dosages and then measure the concentration or impacts to the tank after I have added something. HTH>

(I need to try ice in my beer next time.... )