Quote Originally Posted by UncleChester View Post
First figure out the total number of cubic feet of substrate you need. Multiple length x width x height, make sure the units are in feet. Your tank is 16" wide, this is 16/12=1.25'.

So if you wanted 3" deep substrate, 3/12=0.25', you'd need:

5' x 1.25' x 0.25' = 1.5625 cu. ft. total substrate

If you wanted 6" deep substrate, 6/12=0.5', you'd need:

5' x 1.25 x 0.5' = 3.125 cu. ft. total substrate

etc.

Add up the total number of 'parts' in the recipe you're using, for example (taken from here):

2 parts fine fir bark ( sometimes seen as "orchid bark" in the list of ingredients)
2 parts fine tree fern fiber
2 parts milled sphagnum moss
1 part fine charcoal
1 part peat moss

Has 8 parts (2+2+2+1+1). So 2/8= 1/4 of the recipe will be orchid bark. 1/4 will be tree fern fiber. 1/4 will be sphagnum. 1/8 charcoal, and another 1/8 peat.

Take the total cubic feet of substrate divide by 4 to get how much orchid bark, fern fiber, and sphagnum. Divide by 8 to get charcoal and peat. It's generally best to buy too much rather than too little, even doubling what you think you'll want won't hurt. Any excess can be used on your next tank or for potting plants you're propagating.

You can save on the charcoal by using hardwood lump charcoal designed for bbq's coupled with a hammer for smashing it. This is messy though (dusty), and if you go this route make sure there are no additives to the kind you get (lighter fluid for easy starting will be the most common).
Words can't explain how much I love this post from page 3.

While my background is drying over the next day or two, I would like to get my soil mixture made up.

I decided I want 5" of substrate, so I did:
5' x 1.25' x ~0.42 = 2.625 cubic feet of substrate.
I am doing the following "recipe":
2pt Tree Fernfiber(using FIR BARK as a substitute as recommended to me), 1pt peat, 1pt charcoal, 2pt sphagnum, 2pt orchid bark
Has 8 total parts. SO divide 2.625CF of total substrate by 4 for Fir Bark, Sphagnum, and Orchid Bark. Divide 2.625CF of total substrate by 8 for peat and charcoal.
2pts Fir Bark: ~0.66CF
2pts Sphagnum: ~0.66CF
2pts Orchid Bark: ~0.66CF
1pt Peat: ~0.33CF
1pt Charcoal: ~0.33CF

A 5-gallon bucket is approximately 2/3 of a CF, AKA .66 CF. I can take a full five gallon bucket of Fir Bark, a five gallon bucket of Sphagnum, and a 5 gallon bucket of Orchid bark. Half a five gallon bucket of peat, and half a five gallon bucket of Charcoal...put it all in a large tub and mix it up to make my soil/ABG substitute.

Does this all sound right?