Substrate depth calculator

[KingsleyBen]

I am a computer science major at the University of North Alabama. I am currently writing a program for
personal use that will keep up with various aspects of my marine
aquarium. I am including a substrate calculator in my program and was
wondering if anyone could help me with the formulas. I have a basic
formula for a sand bed but I realize that using crushed coral or other
larger substrates will alter the formula. My program will not be used
for anything but personal use. Any ideas?

 

[JHemdal]

KingsleyBen,

Can you clarify what you are looking for? I once wrote a paper on how to roughly calculate the water volume found within the interstices of aquarium gravel. This was done with the intent of being better able to determine the total water volume of aquariums; it seems that about 1/3 of the typical gravel layer is comprised of water, without much difference from different grain sizes (but I did NOT test sand!). The reference is:

Hemdal, J.F. 1993. Water volume in aquarium gravel. Drum and Croaker 24(1):41.

You should be able to find it by running a search on "Drum and Croaker" and "aquarium". The archives are held at the Columbus Zoo web site.

Jay Hemdal

 

[KingsleyBen]

Jay,
Thanks for your help. Specifically what I am trying to do is determine the average depth of the substrate by using known variables. The user will input the length, width, and height of the tank, as well as the pounds of substrate in the tank. This program is intended to create and maintain a database of the tank.