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Benefits of the egg crate below sand bed?


Laybackk

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Anyone able to fill me in on the benefits of putting the egg crate grid below your sand bed? I see it quite often and always wonder what it does for the tank. Currently about to set up my new IM20 and I want to try this out. Any pointers or info is appreciated.

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Elizabeth94

I did this on my old tank. Honestly, it wasn't a good idea. It is supposed to protect the glass from any rocks falling, but if you just put the rocks on the bottom glass and cement/epoxy them together there is no need for egg crate. You just need a stable structure.

 

The egg crate made it very difficult to clean the sand bed, which lead to algae issues. Eventually, I pull all the corals and rock out to get rid of it. Others may have better experiences with it, but I will never do it again.

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I did this on my old tank. Honestly, it wasn't a good idea. It is supposed to protect the glass from any rocks falling, but if you just put the rocks on the bottom glass and cement/epoxy them together there is no need for egg crate. You just need a stable structure.

 

The egg crate made it very difficult to clean the sand bed, which lead to algae issues. Eventually, I pull all the corals and rock out to get rid of it. Others may have better experiences with it, but I will never do it again.

 

Thanks for the input. I figured it had something to do with the rock and aquascaping. I will most likely epoxy my rocks together, so maybe I'll pass on this idea.

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Elizabeth94

One thing I have really wanted to try is the NYOS Reef Cement. Epoxy can be hard to work with, but this stuff looks amazing. Only use it when you are very confident of your aquascape though, unless you don't mind breaking it apart to change things. I was thinking about taking my rock out and changing the same with this, but some of my sps are starting to take hold of the rock, I don't want to pull them off.

 

 

Thanks for the input. I figured it had something to do with the rock and aquascaping. I will most likely epoxy my rocks together, so maybe I'll pass on this idea.

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Yeah I see what you mean. Looks like a great option for gluing rock. Currently I use the mash-together epoxy that comes in the green tube, seems to work fine. Only problem is that it cures white, so I have to hide it.

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Elizabeth94

Thats the study I used this time around. You really have to get it smushed in the crevices of the rock for the best results. I personally hate how it looks in my tank since it is still white or has some green growth on it. Next time I will certainly use the cement or a crap load of coral glue since it blends in better.

 

 

Yeah I see what you mean. Looks like a great option for gluing rock. Currently I use the mash-together epoxy that comes in the green tube, seems to work fine. Only problem is that it cures white, so I have to hide it.

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I epoxy my rocks and placed them at the bottom of the tank. Then I made sure my sand was above the rocks so that my rocks won't topple over. Make sure the bottom live rocks are secured as you will add more rocks on top of them.

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If you're really worried cut a piece of acrylic or starboard (cutting board material IIRC) to size and stick it in the tank, then rocks, then add sand.

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thanks all.

Just for reference, I consider my rock scape to be in the higher risk category of falling, and I just have 3/4" of sandbed to protect the bottom of the tank.

 

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