What to put rock on?

ben78

ben78

New Member
Ok, after reading heaps here I am going to pull my tank back down and do it differently (lucky it's only been running for 4 days!)
Every has been talking about putting the live rock on egg crate - what is this? Is just a sheet of acrylic suitable to protect the glass?
I will be removing all but an inch of the coral sand.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
Originally Posted by mcsd22
home depot or lowes in the lighting section.

thats where i got it.
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
I used pvc pipe. I had them cut in 2 inch pieces and placed them under my rock work, works like a charm.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Most people do not use egg crate. Alot of people including me place live rock on bottom glass, then the live sand.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
yea, i hav emy baserock directly on the glass, i got the eggcrate for an in promptu cover to keep my fish in until i can build a canopy. its very brittle when cutting it.
 
reefrank

reefrank

New Member
Originally Posted by Ben78
Ok, after reading heaps here I am going to pull my tank back down and do it differently (lucky it's only been running for 4 days!)
Every has been talking about putting the live rock on egg crate - what is this? Is just a sheet of acrylic suitable to protect the glass?
I will be removing all but an inch of the coral sand.
Where is your rock now?
Are you worried because it is on the sand?
Don't sweat it, if thats why your tearing down. Live rock sits on sand in the ocean. My rock is perfectly fine on sand. Everybody has there own opinion, but dude, don't sweat it to much.
 
cymbal67

cymbal67

Member
would having something like that cause issues for critters moving around in live sand....wouldnt they be confined to the size of each square?
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefrank
Where is your rock now?
Are you worried because it is on the sand?
Don't sweat it, if thats why your tearing down. Live rock sits on sand in the ocean. My rock is perfectly fine on sand. Everybody has there own opinion, but dude, don't sweat it to much.

yea, its fine until you get your first burrowing fish/shrimp. then, as the sand gets pushed out from under the rock cause this animal wants a home your aquascape gets compromised, and youf animal gets squished. oh, not to mention the rock can fall and break your tank. but that isnt an issue out in the ocean.
 
f14peter

f14peter

Member
Originally Posted by cymbal67
would having something like that cause issues for critters moving around in live sand....wouldnt they be confined to the size of each square?
I'll just take a WAG and say that if you do introduce burrowing critters, then one may want to compensate for the support structure by slightly increasing the depth of the sand. Seems like as long as there's enough sand (Depth-wise), they should be happy. Even without anything under the sand, if they dig deep enough, they'd eventually run into the bottom of the tank anyway.
I think the point of putting something under the rock is that seems essentially impossible to get rock that's really flat on the bottom. The openings in the crate/PVC allows the uneven bottoms of the rocks to settle into them and the rock will be more stable.
I am curious that if a crate is used, are there any consequences if some of the "holes" don't get filled with sand and an air-pocket is created.
RUAROUND, hard to tell from the picture but are the squares of the crating larger than the typical light fixture crating?
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
I don't use it either...
I put flat base rock down, covered it with some sand, set more rock down, etc.
I don't understand the use of it myself.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by f14peter
I'll just take a WAG and say that if you do introduce burrowing critters, then one may want to compensate for the support structure by slightly increasing the depth of the sand. Seems like as long as there's enough sand (Depth-wise), they should be happy. Even without anything under the sand, if they dig deep enough, they'd eventually run into the bottom of the tank anyway.
I think the point of putting something under the rock is that seems essentially impossible to get rock that's really flat on the bottom. The openings in the crate/PVC allows the uneven bottoms of the rocks to settle into them and the rock will be more stable.
I am curious that if a crate is used, are there any consequences if some of the "holes" don't get filled with sand and an air-pocket is created.
RUAROUND, hard to tell from the picture but are the squares of the crating larger than the typical light fixture crating?
if some of the holes dont get filled you end up with a trapped pocked of gas not reall a big deal because eventually some worm or something is going to disturb it and it will fill, gravity works wonders. its also like the plenum system. no worries there.
BTW I just set my rock on the sand because I have no plans of introducing engineer gobies or any big time sand movers
 
maeistero

maeistero

Active Member
imho eggcrate = nitrate pockets. i wouldn't do it but there are many that do. i just make sure the rock is set securely on the glass before setting sand.
and i have had success with engineer gobies and will continue to keep them forever.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Originally Posted by maeistero
imho eggcrate = nitrate pockets. i wouldn't do it but there are many that do. i just make sure the rock is set securely on the glass before setting sand.
and i have had success with engineer gobies and will continue to keep them forever.

"Nitrate Pockets"........well good water flow wouldn't happen.......stuffing rock into sand could produce hydrogen sulfide.......and you won't know what hit you....
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
I have always used it under my sand. It helps to keep the rock from slipping and creates safe zones for sand dwellers to reproduce and keep sand feeders from depleateing the sand bed of the dwellers.
Does not limit sand dwellers space any more than if sitting on the glass would.
Also helps natural nitrate reduction if in a DSB.
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
it just helps to insure better anaerobic areas down inside the squares by blocking any current that can carry oxygen.
 
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