Your question is not clear, ...

Your question is not clear, however if you are referring to normal sand filters, the depth of filter sand (excluding gravel under-drain) should be 0.8 to 1.0m depth, but could be up to 1.2m depth.  Your design is related to the through-put desired, which for rapid gravity sand filters will be in the range of 4 to 8m per hour. So you filter beds must be sized accordingly, allowing additional capacity for down time during backwash operations (5 to 10%). 

In terms of activated carbon columns, the situation is different in that you use the column until the granular carbon breaks through in terms of the organics you are removing - so is highly dependent on the organic load, the type of granular carbon used (and it's absorption capacity), whether you will need to backwash to remove filtered particles from time to time (or whether the input water has already been through a filter media), and your design run cycle (e.g. 1 month or 6 months).  Note that granular activated carbon must be removed and replaced when spent - although it can be partly restored through thermal treatment.  

If on the other hand you are referring to placing a layer of anthracite on top of the sand bed of a normal gravity filter to extend the filtration cycle, a layer of approximately 0.3 to 0.5m is recommended.