Btw, these are not "hard and fast" rules anyway... I got the "foot print of a 40g breeder" from Dr. Shimek (and Dr. Toonen). But, honestly, I'm not sure where they got that either... but I just figure, if anyone is qualified to give an educated guess... they would be. And, in my own personal experience... anything less just doesn't seem to really "work."
Word to the wise... ALL of this is "educated" speculation. Again, there are no actual "studies" on these kinds of things. We are ALL just (more or less) *guessing* here... it might be smart, educated guessing... but guessing all the same. The only thing I know for sure though, is that no one ever has a problem because their sand bed is too big... so what's the "true" minimum? Who the heck knows for sure? All I have is my own experience and the handed down wisdom of those who have studied these things for a living...
Word to the wise... ALL of this is "educated" speculation. Again, there are no actual "studies" on these kinds of things. We are ALL just (more or less) *guessing* here... it might be smart, educated guessing... but guessing all the same. The only thing I know for sure though, is that no one ever has a problem because their sand bed is too big... so what's the "true" minimum? Who the heck knows for sure? All I have is my own experience and the handed down wisdom of those who have studied these things for a living...