Egg crate or no eggcrate?

[highflyin128]

-90 gallon tank
-150-175 lbs of pool filter sand
- 20lbs misc rocks
- Freshwater Fish
- Fluval 405 Canister Filter w/skimmer and spray bar



Should i use egg crate underneath the substrate or support?

If i should use it, Can i cover the egg create in something to keep my sand from falling into the holes. That way my sand will appear deeper in the glass.

 

[Zagz]

The egg crate sits below the black band and from the outside of the tank, it is not visible. I use egg crate in my some of my tanks and you can't tell which ones depthwise from the exterior of the tanks at all. I find it a safer way to load rocks in the tank.

 

[austinsdad]

Gonna do any sand burrowing critters? Pistol shrimp? Gobies? Wonder how that works.

Why would eggcrate serve as support? Not the same if you place the rocks on the glass bottom?

 

[Zagz]

The precaution is for any pressure points that rocks may make on the glass. I honestly don't know if cracks could occur. For the minute expense, I don't bother testing the theory. I have lava rock and cichlids, they dig alot, it would be quite easy for them to burrow under the rocks and cause rocks to drop on the glass. The egg crate provides a cushion.

 

[austinsdad]

Guess that would make sense for freshwater.

Didn't notice where I wuz. You know I got SW on the brain.

 

[Skyrmir]

Works the same for fresh or salt water, only difference is the critters that do the digging. I used it when I set up my salt water tank, it works nice for setting up base rocks. I'll probably use it again when I have to drain all of them in a few months.

 

[AquaVu]

Good idea!

 

[Bearfan]

I didn't use it, but my LR is sitting on sand, not the glass. The base rocks are larger, so the odds of a critter taking all the sand out so it fell are non-existent.

 

[Skyrmir]

Umm bearfan, they only have to be able to lift one grain of sand at a time to shift the rock sitting on top of it. No single grain of sand hold the weight of the rock, so they can remove as much sand as they want, until the rock falls. Works the same for pebbles.

Consider it's the same thing they used to do to towers in siege warfare. They obviously couldn't lift the tower, but remove enough dirt, and things come tumbling down.