Live rock on eggcrate, sand or on bottom?

Aquattro · #1 01-13-2012, 05:00 AM

I used eggcrate. Dumbest move I made in setting up my tank. Now it's in there for good, so no option to go bare bottom. The sand is blown all over the place, so it's exposed across the entire front of the tank and looks like ****e. I would not do that again....

Reef Pilot · #2 01-13-2012, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I used eggcrate. Dumbest move I made in setting up my tank. Now it's in there for good, so no option to go bare bottom. The sand is blown all over the place, so it's exposed across the entire front of the tank and looks like ****e. I would not do that again....

What if you had just put it under where the rock is? Would that have been OK?

You guys have got me wondering again now.... Someone mentioned a rock falling and possibly breaking the glass if there is no eggcrate. Is that possible? I would think with the water resistance, the rock wouldn't exactly free fall as if it was in just air. In my current tank, most of the rock is fused together with coralline algae, but what is loose sometimes does get knocked down by an urchin. But with my sand bottom, no harm gets done.

mike31154 · #3 01-13-2012, 02:08 PM

This is why I've used sections of ABS pipe with holes in them. They don't take up the whole bottom like a rack of eggcrate, although you could cut that into sections as well. Other advantages of the ABS is that you can silicone the individual pieces to the bottom so they don't shift, you can cut them different sizes & shapes to accomodate rock shapes, holes & sections allow movement of sand & don't obstruct sand sifters as much. Having the rock elevated above the bottom this way allows more of it to be out of the sandbed & I think aid in filtration. My female Maroon clownfish has blown much of the sand away around her territory partially exposing a couple sections of the ABS, but eventually it gets covered with coralline, so not as much of an eyesore as white eggrate. The eggcrate should get coralline on it with time too though, I would think. When your tank is dry is the perfect time to do some planning & you can make the ABS technique work to your advantage when scaping. It's probably easier to remove individual pieces of ABS as well, rather than trying to get a large piece of eggrate out of there if you change your mind.

lastlight · #4 01-13-2012, 02:43 PM

Putting it right under the rock isn't going to protect your glass if you were to drop a piece somewhere else later. So why bother? It's also bound to get exposed and looks ugly. Biggest reason in my mind is wrasses though. Mine dive full speed into the sand and move pretty fast under the sand finding a sweet spot. They're clearly hitting glass and then sliding along it. I can easily see them getting beat up doing this on eggcrate.

Reef Pilot · #5 01-13-2012, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastlight

Putting it right under the rock isn't going to protect your glass if you were to drop a piece somewhere else later. So why bother? It's also bound to get exposed and looks ugly. Biggest reason in my mind is wrasses though. Mine dive full speed into the sand and move pretty fast under the sand finding a sweet spot. They're clearly hitting glass and then sliding along it. I can easily see them getting beat up doing this on eggcrate.

So, your recommendation would be just to set it directly on the glass? That was actually my initial plan, and have a thin sand bed around it (maybe 1 inch deep), which would still protect my tank bottom from a falling rock.

mark · #6 01-13-2012, 03:43 PM

BB now and rock direct on the glass but when I had the DSB made little boxes out and eggcrate and zip-ties to support the rock. This was so I wasn't burying the rock under 4+ inches of sand and by having the platforms rather than continuous support still allowed critters to burrow around the LR.

Reefer Rob · #7 01-13-2012, 03:49 PM

Has anyone actually heard of rock falling and breaking a tank bottom? I wouldn't think it likely, they fall in slow motion in the water... but you never know. I think a piece of 1/8" Plexiglas would be better than egg crate if you're worried about your glass.

I would still raise the back of your rock up on stilts to get flow across the bottom of your rock. Any rock surface buried in sand is wasted. Leave the door open to go bare bottom if you find your nutrient levels aren't where you want them.

lastlight · #8 01-13-2012, 03:52 PM

I highly doubt it's possible in reefing. You either have manageable sized rocks in a smaller thinner-bottomed tank or you have massive boulders with a 19mm bottom or thicker. I can't see it happening and the risk at the very worst can't be great.

I did drop a rock and blow the bottom of my frontosa tank out back in the day though. They were juvies and the tank was only a 45 gallon. Difference being I was using heavy rundle rock slabs. Our rock is WAY lighter you're right.

So yeah rock right on glass. I'd consider pegs of some sort if they're short to elevate the rock but I'd never do it with eggcrate.

goby1 · #9 01-13-2012, 02:46 PM

I used egg crate under my rock and don't find it has caused any problems, but second the opinion to keep it away from the glass - especially in front, or you will see it if the sand shifts. I have a 2 inch sandbed and have a jawfish who seems happy. I don't see the egg crate so it doesn't cause me any concern & when I switched tanks over a few years back when the tank was about 5 years old the sand was still great and there were no pockets of yucky stuff. I definately wouldn't cure rock with sand or eggcrate though - when I did that I did it barebottom and did a ton of water changes.

globaldesigns · #10 01-13-2012, 09:10 PM

Wow, quite surprised how many use eggcrate.

I myself use fine araganite, and then placed my rock on it... When creating my landscape I would work/wiggle the base/bottom rocks into the sand so the were basically at the glass bottom, and then the sand is all around the base.

Nice thing with this is that I can syphon my sand, of which I have been doing for about 6-8 months now, since I was having coral issues.

And I guess like others stated, I can go bare bottom if I wish. I won't, but I have that choice.

I guess if you are concerned about falling rock, breaking your bottom pane of your tank, then it would be a matter of making sure everything is secure.