# large amount of slate



## mr. luke (10 Jan 2009)

i want to add a huge amount of slate to my tank, providing plenty of caves and retreats,
its 600l aprox, and i want to add maybe 30 pieces of LARGE slate,  so about Â£100 worth but i dont want to crack the base, and ideas if it will work ok?


----------



## JamesM (10 Jan 2009)

Polystyrene under the slate, then put your substrate in after.

http://www.pbase.com/plantella/malawi_tank

http://www.pbase.com/plantella/4mtank


----------



## aaronnorth (11 Jan 2009)

some people also put a plastic crate on the bottom like these: http://www.plastic2go.com.au/images/c2g6424u_grey.jpg

Just cut it and stand the rock on top of it.


----------



## Ed Seeley (11 Jan 2009)

Or you can just put a small amount of substrate down to spread the load, as long as you don't have fish that will excavate under the rockwork.


----------



## mr. luke (11 Jan 2009)

thanks, i think i might o for the mesh option, maybe greenhouse shading or something? with some gravel on top to hide it


----------



## alip01 (25 Jan 2009)

Egg crate, the white mesh, like this is what most people use in cichlid tanks.  You cut it out to cover the base of the tank, then fill the cells with substrate, then put the rocks on, and then more substrate around the rocks.  

I used it in my Trigon 350, which has got loads of rock boulders in. About 100L of rock.  

You should be able to get it from your local electical supply shop, or some DIY place, as it's used for something to do with lighting, I can't remember what now.


----------

