# Egg Crate



## Twisted Melon (16 Mar 2018)

whats the general consensus on this? Is it necessary to protect the bottom of the tank from heavy rocks?

Are they inert in a tank?

If so, can you recommend a good cheap supplier?


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## Edvet (16 Mar 2018)

I am always sad we don't seem to have that in abundance compared to the USA.
For real heave rocks i would use it, just for ease of mind. I always use a fairly thick layer of river sand and i have never used it. Sand makes a solid base.
You can also use a piece of styrofoam though.


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## Twisted Melon (16 Mar 2018)

I was thinking maybe using plastic chopping boards?

They are good safe so I presume they won’t leech anything into the water. And they should last longer without breaking up like styrofoam/polystyrene?


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## sciencefiction (16 Mar 2018)

Place the rocks directly on the glass, then put substrate around it. If you have digging fish, they can dig the substrate from under the rocks, thus the danger...Plus flow can also slowly dig underneath...So no, egg crate is not necessary at all...When placing rocks on top of each other if the structure is not stable, they can roll, hit the side of the glass, fall over fish, etc...so the structure has to be made extremely stable. Don't use the substrate to do so....


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## Kalum (16 Mar 2018)

i've used Aqua Medic egg crate and then lava rock to build up and also support the larger rocks, works well


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## foxfish (16 Mar 2018)

Egg crate for big rocks, but there are various types of plastic you can find in garden centres that would work too.


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## Edvet (16 Mar 2018)

Why does there seem to be so much more egg crate in the states? Do they realy use it as egg crate??


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## ian_m (16 Mar 2018)

In UK when I have been to demo's of setting up tanks, they either made the substrate so deep rocks hitting bottom wasn't a problem (as seen & done by Mr Farmer) or on another demo they covered the bottom of the tank with Aqua Medic Egg Crate, which is quite easily available in UK.


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## zozo (16 Mar 2018)

Edvet said:


> Why does there seem to be so much more egg crate in the states? Do they realy use it as egg crate??



.. Good question.. But i guess with the proper search query you find as much egg-crates in our region..
TL rooster or louvre rooster. I guess it's a construction thing why it is used more commonly in the states. 

Tho in Europe i find these crates rather expensive. A bit to much, to put in the substrate and hide them from view. Could indeed be the demand is much lower.


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## Aqua360 (16 Mar 2018)

I use neither egg crate nor an excessively deep substrate for the rocks I have  

I will trust fate for now


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## Edvet (16 Mar 2018)

All has to do with weight and shape


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## mort (16 Mar 2018)

I'm from a marine background and our live rock is about as uneven and pointy as you can imagine. I also ran a marine based shop for a few years and so have the experience of the customers I had as well. So when I set up a tank now I don't use eggcrate. The rock sits on the bottom glass so it can't be undermined by anything (or on a sheet of acrylic if I am keeping a mantis shrimp as they can weaken glass overtime with their smashing) then add the substrate. 
It's not the rocks sitting on the bottom that will break it, it's the ones that fall off and they should have the buffer of your substrate. If you want to avoid pressure points (but can't see it being an issue unless you have extremely heavy rock) then use something. 

I had to build a six foot high rock scape once and we used milluput feet on the bottom rocks to give a stable foundation but we also used some ceramic tiles in areas where we could stick them to the base without being seen.


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## zozo (16 Mar 2018)

How about a pantyhose filled with sand enough to make a flat pancake shaped padding..  Would be the perfect padding between rock and glass. Pantyhoses filled with substrate are often used to create elevations. But with sand it would be more pliable.


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## kadoxu (16 Mar 2018)

I've used anti slip underlay... that mesh thing you put under your rugs so they don't slip.


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## ian_m (16 Mar 2018)

I coated the bottom of my rocks with a large blob of aquarium safe silicone on the sharp points. Do it on a polythene sheet on a flat surface, outside the tank. You can the just peel the polythene off once silicone has cured.


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