Putting egg crate on bottom of tank
- Thread starter a2fire2i
- Start date
goldfinger
New Member
I use egg crates on any fresh or salt water aquarium I set up with rocks or coral. Cover the entire bottom, front to back, side to side. Egg crates help spread the rock load over the glass or acrylic bottom. Sure they trap gunk. But with 2 or 3 or 5 inches of substrate the 3/8" thick egg crate wont mater. Plus if you are going to vacumn the substrate it will clean out the egg crate also.
AND if you drop a rock on a glass bottom while setting up you will probably not break the glass.
AND if you drop a rock on a glass bottom while setting up you will probably not break the glass.
1journeyman
Active Member
Originally Posted by HimandHer
that doesnt sound like a good idea to me at all. the egg crate is just a trap for bad bacteria. I was told to set up my live rock on bare glass then add your substrate.
Exactly.
that doesnt sound like a good idea to me at all. the egg crate is just a trap for bad bacteria. I was told to set up my live rock on bare glass then add your substrate.
Exactly.
dogstar
Active Member
Originally Posted by HimandHer
that doesnt sound like a good idea to me at all. the egg crate is just a trap for bad bacteria. I was told to set up my live rock on bare glass then add your substrate.
Im not saying this is wrong, I just dont understand this reasoning.
If you have bad bacteria ( whatever that means ) deep in the sand then its there whether theres egg crate or not. Same with so called junk, right.? Cleaning sand with typical vacumn systems will still work as well.
I think the idea of it distributing the weight of rock and keeping it from slideing is probly more benifical than any negetives which I really dont think there are any.
If you have livestock for sand sifting ( SSS or Gobies, ect. ) and worried about them eating all the benifical bacteria from the sand then the eggcrate will create safe areas were the sifters can not get to. :notsure: :thinking:
that doesnt sound like a good idea to me at all. the egg crate is just a trap for bad bacteria. I was told to set up my live rock on bare glass then add your substrate.
Im not saying this is wrong, I just dont understand this reasoning.
If you have bad bacteria ( whatever that means ) deep in the sand then its there whether theres egg crate or not. Same with so called junk, right.? Cleaning sand with typical vacumn systems will still work as well.
I think the idea of it distributing the weight of rock and keeping it from slideing is probly more benifical than any negetives which I really dont think there are any.
If you have livestock for sand sifting ( SSS or Gobies, ect. ) and worried about them eating all the benifical bacteria from the sand then the eggcrate will create safe areas were the sifters can not get to. :notsure: :thinking:
chipmaker
Active Member
It may be true you have bad or good bacteria even with or without the egg crate, but the egg crate makes it harder if not impossible for any sand sifter type critters to access it and keep it loosened up. I thinnk I would put a piece of plexi 0n the bottom where rocks contact glass before I would use egg crate on the bottom..
acrylic51
Active Member
I've used eggcrate in all my tanks for the past 8 years or so and have had NO problems at all with the "Junk" being caught in the eggcrate.....I guess good properly flow will negate some of that.....I don't however cover the entire bottom with eggcrate.....I cut the eggcrate big enough from the front point of my rockwork and back.....Everything in front gets covered in sand....
If your worried about eggcrate trapping stuff why not use starboard under your rockwork to distribute weight and to keep your rock from sliding.......
If your worried about eggcrate trapping stuff why not use starboard under your rockwork to distribute weight and to keep your rock from sliding.......