Weetabix7 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I just ran across this thread about White Eggcrate causing algae outbreaks and needing a vinegar soak prior to use-- http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17153 I thought this was quite interesting and worthy of pointing out. Have any of you experienced anything like this? Link to comment
DCG1286 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Interesting post ... Actually funny enough ... most of my cyano grows on the eggcrate frag rack ... hmmmm ... I wonder ... I need to remove it clean it ... and maybe do as the thread says ... -David Link to comment
chazde3 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 That explains my frag tank issues last month. I like the black eggcrate anyways, so if I start the frag tank back up I'll be getting some of that. Link to comment
yardboy Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I'd forgotten about this, several years ago someone at ORA, I think, was complaining about eggcrate causing algae outbreaks, and I laughed because I'd never had that problem, but about six months ago I I set up a 20L frag tank, that was connected to two other tanks, and this nasty snot-like agae or dino or whatever kept growing all over every thingin the tank. The eggcrate was new, while all my other eggcrate was years older. I only got rid of it when I removed the eggcrate and moved my jetties 10 gallon into the 20L. That damn piece of eggcrate is cursed. Funny too, that bleaching it didn't seem to help. On second thought, the ORA guy did some research and found that the chemicals used to help release the eggcrate from the mold leached phosphate, so the damn stuff could have leached for a long time. Vinegar could help wash it out faster. Link to comment
jejenkins Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Amazing! That explains my cyano-like outbreak a month ago and my struggles with it since. I made a couple of shelves for the back chambers out of eggcrate, and had the outbreak......thanks for the info. Now off to buys some vinegar. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 PVC pipe doesn't do this, right? Just wondering if anyone out there who uses PVC for plumbing to sumps, etc. has had a similar issue. Link to comment
xbwolfx Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 my mag rack used to have tons of gha growing on it. now that it is covered with coralline, i don't have this problem. fwiw, i've noticed that the corals on my mag rack always grow much more slowly than if i put them on the sand bed or live rock. perhaps it's b/c the cuc cleans the sand and rock more often than the mag rack b/c frag plugs on the rack seem to still grow gha, even though the rack itself doesn't. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 my mag rack used to have tons of gha growing on it. now that it is covered with coralline, i don't have this problem. fwiw, i've noticed that the corals on my mag rack always grow much more slowly than if i put them on the sand bed or live rock. perhaps it's b/c the cuc cleans the sand and rock more often than the mag rack b/c frag plugs on the rack seem to still grow gha, even though the rack itself doesn't. Is your Mag-Rack made of black or white eggcrate? Link to comment
bulldogpet Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I am also aware of the algae issues that eggcrate can cause. My local fish store set up a couple of new frag tanks and after a few months the same thing happened and the corals soon looked like crap they were smothered in this slime snot stuff. I have heard of painting the eggcrate black with Krylon Fusion. Also if I may add there is a company not to far from where I live that sells black eggcrate , You may want to research your local plastic companys and see if they can get it for you. I personaly have not had the need to use eggcrate yet but this sheds new light on a future frag tank project I have been thinking about. Link to comment
StevieT Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Is everyone using 100% acrylic eggcrate? Those that are having problems, where do you purchase your eggcrate from? Link to comment
PoopCola Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Cyano seems to grow in my sump on the egg crate but I do have a bit in my display as well Is everyone using 100% acrylic eggcrate? Those that are having problems, where do you purchase your eggcrate from? Home depot and yep all acrylic Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Crap. And I just used white eggcrate for my rock wall. Most of it is covered in Great Stuff foam, so maybe I won't have that problem. Also, couldn't I just cover the little bit that's exposed in silicone or something to seal it in? Link to comment
StevieT Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Home depot anyone else with a problem purchase elsewhere? Not all eggcrates are made the same. Going to be honest, this thread freaked me out at first glance Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Mine's from Lowes. It'll be at least a month or two before I know if it's leaching anything. It's all going to be on the back wall behind the rock wall though, so any algae will be hidden. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 anyone else with a problem purchase elsewhere? Not all eggcrates are made the same. Going to be honest, this thread freaked me out at first glance I can understand that, but I think it's better know about it and address than spend lots of wasted time and energy trying to figure out algae outbreaks in a tank that uses eggcrate but is otherwise healthy. Shoot, I have eggcrate in 2 out of my 3 tanks right now. I'm still trying to figure out whether Black Eggcrate has the same issues. Also, to those reading this please understand that Eggcrate may not be the cause of algae in your tank, you really do need to eliminate other causes before you decide that the Eggcrate in your tank is SPAWNED BY THE DEVIL. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 SPAWNED BY THE DEVIL. He's got some serious time on his hand's if he's manufacturing eggcrate. What are the solutions if the eggcrate is already in use? Link to comment
Lalani Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Haven't had any trouble with my eggcrate, but I did paint it black with krylon.. Link to comment
StevieT Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I can see it being a situation like everyone that eats bread gets cancer. It is pretty hard to not eat bread and lots of people get cancer. A lot of reefers use eggcrate and algae issues are common eggcrate or not. That being said it may have some truth to it, or it may just be a scapegoat. I use eggcrate from Menards, it is smaller and different in composition than the kind from Home Depot. Personally in my tank I have never seen this issue. I don't have a lot of it, 3 5x6 squares on my media rack and my frag rack at times. I can tell from using it on my products that feels and acts different than the home depot style, it seems less pours, it plastic welds different, it cuts better and it breaks cleaner. I have never herd of any issues from customers, but if it is a problem, a change will have to be made. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 You said it well Stevie, I don't want this to become a scapegoat situation that causes panic. I am hoping that this thread will generate some well thought-out discussion that helps us to determine if using White Eggcrate is really something we should be careful about. In your case Stevie, even if the White Eggcrate is an issue, you should be able to solve it simply by using a vinegar or bleach bath, as mentioned in the original linked thread. Link to comment
StevieT Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I will keep an eye on this thread. As you said it is an easy fix, bucket full of vinegar and soak all squares before finishing construction. Or find black eggcrate, yet IMO, black eggcrate is just black acrylic, same process of extrusion molding. Maybe the black die prevents this issue in our tanks. Link to comment
chazde3 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I do agree that many tanks have algae, eggcrate or not, but the type I had in my frag tank I never had in my main tank. As described above, it was just a slimy, snotty algae. Link to comment
Captainj42 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 How long would you need to soak the eggcrate in vinegar? And what kind of vinegar Link to comment
gurnie Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I'm going to be starting a rockwall soon. Shall i assume if i spray paint the eggcrate with krylon fusion the egg crate should be ok? I can do the vinegar soak too but how acidic does the water soak need to be? Link to comment
Atlantis Reef Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hmm great link and read!! My frag tank has had this snot crap also. But seems to be going away at least I hope it is and never to come back I HOPE. I got white egg crate from Home Depot Iand also would like to know if spraying it black would help Link to comment
hazmat Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hey everyone! While trying to find information on my Bryopsis issue I did read this HUGE thread on the "other" forum. Deep in the pages of the Bryopsis discussion it was brought up about eggcrate and algae. Basically, if you are using eggcrate made from Styrene it's an issue. Because it supposidly leaches out chemicals. It's more porous. They brought up that many hardware stores etc....carry the styrene ones. I think they said something about the plastic holds the biofilm of the algae. Which of course is what I have I believe I have lots of brown gunk of my eggcrate. But if you us the "acrylic" type of eggcrate you are fine. as it's manufactured differently. I'm sure I can find the link again but the thread is like 26 pages long and it's buried somewhere in there. If anyone is interested. Link to comment
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