Eggcrate

[BigC]

Hi,
Should I use eggcrate as shelving for my liverock in my nano reef tank 24"x12"x18" to assist watter flow/current around the rock.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

You can. You can also use PVC tubes to prop rocks up

 

[steelhealr]

You can, but, personally, I think it causes multiple dead areas. I made up my SW, mixed, added my LR directly to the glass bottom, then filled sand in around the base...tried to avoid LR sitting on LS to avoid dead areas and shifting. SH

 

[BigC]

Hi,
I was thinking of putting eggcrate in one layer of eggcrate at the bottom supported on, say, 40mm pieces of plastic pipe/conduit (slotted to fit snuggly into the mesh and siliconed) to act as legs/ supports and then position the spraybar from my Eheim 2217 under and behind this and angled so as it outflows through the rock. Am I a complete madman or would this sort of setup work. I could then place some fragged rock with mushrooms or similar to hide the white mesh along the front. What do ya all think. I would prefer to hide the spraybar in this fashion rather than have another piece of kit on view which kinda spoils the look of the aquarium. I have seen some beautiful setups on this forum and on various internet sites that are let down by too much unsightly appratus on view.
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

Is this for a barebottom tank? SH

 

[BigC]

Is this for a barebottom tank? SH

I was thinking of putting in the grid with legs first and installing the spraybar then arranging the liverock on top and filling the substrate with about 25mm of Aragonite gravel.
Is there a problem if I am employing a substrate with my above reasoning.
Regards
BigC

 

[rhysiboy]

ive seen some nanos on reef central that have stacked the rock on eggcrate and put a powerhead in the hollow bit to stop deadspots.

 

[SkiFletch]

I'm havin trouble invisioning what you're planning BigC. I'll say this though, if you use too much eggcrate in the sand bed, you'll have difficulty vaccuuming it and removing detritus. Over time the sandbed will collect nutrients and possibly poison the system if you can't vaccum it. A single layer of eggcrage on the bottom of the tank meeting the glass wouldn't be a bad idea to prop up the rocks a bit and spread out their weight, but if you have it at the top of your sand bed you're going to have difficulty hiding it and difficulty cleaning it.

HTH

 

[BigC]

I'm havin trouble invisioning what you're planning BigC.

Hi Fletch,
I'm planning on raising the eggcrate up a little way on stilts as it were and the spraybar placed under and behind at the rear bottom of the aquarium, with the outlet holes facing upward into the rock, so as the water flows through the rockwork. Maybe it's not such a good idea after all. I was just looking to expose as much of liverock surface area as poss and creat flow through it.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Gotcha, a good idea . If it were me, I'd just cut some small sections of larger diameter pvc pipe (say 2" diameter PVC, 1" long) and rest the rocks in there and fill around with sand. Works great for propping rocks up and still leaves you with a functional easily cleaned sandbed

 

[BigC]

That sounds good Fletch (what time is it over there) maybe give that a try. The whole concept is trying to hide the kit (spraybar) whilst still having it functional and doing its job.
Many thanks for the replies guys.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, its now 3pm here . Was around noon when I posted before