Eggcrate for LR support?

[AlfaRomeo]

Hi Guys,

was thinking of putting down a layer of eggcrate at the bottom of my new tank and then filling in the sand to just about cover the eggcrate and arranging my LRs on top on the eggcrate support before filling the rest of the sand to fully cover the eggcrate.

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work?

btw, no longer planning a DSB and will do with just an inch think of sand. read too many horror stories in RC and it scared me of.. better safe than sorry ...

Anyway, how? do you all think its a good idea to do the above?

[bum]

why?

what purpose does it serve?

[AlfaRomeo]

hmmm , the eggcrate will support the liverock and not having the liverock withh all its sharp and jagged edges directly resting on the glass bottom..

[bum]

oh, i see.

[AlfaRomeo]

Hi Guys, any other comment on this setup pls? any disadvantages tha you all can think of?

[reefer guy]

its good.... it will make ur rockwork stable coz those burrowing creatures under ur sand tends to soften or destabilize ur sand supporting ur liverocks, and with the eggcrate supporting it, those creatures can burrow as much as they want and it wont affect the live rockwork... maybe u would want to consider putting up an elevated layer of eggrates as well then just cover it with liverocks. purpose is more water circulation even in the internal parts where liverock formations are, and saves u more money for buying more liverocks... so you would have a hollow core inside the rockworks for ur fish to play and hide!!!

cheers!!!

[terryansimon]

its good.... it will make ur rockwork stable coz those burrowing creatures under ur sand tends to soften or destabilize ur sand supporting ur liverocks, and with the eggcrate supporting it, those creatures can burrow as much as they want and it wont affect the live rockwork... maybe u would want to consider putting up an elevated layer of eggrates as well then just cover it with liverocks. purpose is more water circulation even in the internal parts where liverock formations are, and saves u more money for buying more liverocks... so you would have a hollow core inside the rockworks for ur fish to play and hide!!!

cheers!!!

my question is, how will raising the height of the liverocks by stacking eggcrates at the bottom reduce the amount of live rocks? hmm I'm quite confused at this coz I want to try it out too!

in fact I was thinking of using PVC pipings. hehz...

[jinners]

i'm not sure if this is of a concern, but with the egg crates and its lil squares, will the sand filling it up created something like a 'dead area"?

just a thought~

=D

[Clownfish]

might as well put 2 inches of sand n place LR directly on it?

[junyong84]

eh...where can u get those eggcrates?

[reefer guy]

terryansimon

dont know how to show u but the encircled portion of my tank is structurally made of eggcrated then cover it with liverocks... in this way, water ciruclation is good within it and dead spots will be minimal.... and since it's hollow inside, i have to buy less liverocks

[AlfaRomeo]

clownfish, putting 2 inches of sand and placing the liverock on that sandbed wont solve the problem of settling or sinking rocks due to the sand underneath it becoming loose or shifted away due o the digging on the animals...which 'might' cause a rock slide in the tank...and also the rocks will eventually sink rith thru the sand and will be resting directly on the bottom glass which i was trying to prevent by layering the bottom with eggcrate for LR support.

[terryansimon]

terryansimon

dont know how to show u but the encircled portion of my tank is structurally made of eggcrated then cover it with liverocks... in this way, water ciruclation is good within it and dead spots will be minimal.... and since it's hollow inside, i have to buy less liverocks

meaning that you used a few pieces of egg crates to make an inverted U? then you stack the rocks around and above the eggcrates? thereby you have an open column in the middle where the center of the inverted U is?

example...

__

| |

| |

| |

imagine the center is hollow...so you put the two legs into the sand bed and then stack the rocks around and on top of it?

[reefer guy]

yup... but make sure u tie it sturdily... i used those plastic straps, lots of them, to make sure that the eggcrates are firm and strong enough to carry the weight of your liverocks....

[terryansimon]

yup... but make sure u tie it sturdily... i used those plastic straps, lots of them, to make sure that the eggcrates are firm and strong enough to carry the weight of your liverocks....

hmm okay thanks!

you have any idea on how to do PVC pipings also? instead of eggcrates....