under the sand question

[tada1096]

do most people but something under the sand like eggcrate or do you just pore the sand right onto the tank and let the rocks sit ontop? just wondering what most people do?

[husslr187]

from what i've read most people lay somethind down to stabilize the rock and to protect the glass from fallen rock. i sure wouldn't want a ton of water on my floor and eggcrate is cheap so why not

[kingevil]

eggcrate.

[MaxxedMan]

I put down about an 1/8" of sand, put the rock on that (probably touching the glass in a few places), then added 2" of sand around the rock. Nothing is going to dig under the rock to cause it to fall, if it does fall its onto 2" of sand, and not the bottom glass.

I guess I could see if the rock snags the eggcrate right it might not be as likely to slide, but I don't think mine is likely to move anyway.

[thegrun]

I use egg crate on all my tanks (no bare bottom tanks for me at this time) to help stabilize the rock. After aquascaping, I then add sand which further helps lock in the rock. If you place the rock on top of the sand, it will eventually shift under the weight of the rock and/or you bumping into the rock during cleaning and fragging.

[sibesforlife]

Just sand on glass.

[Typo R]

Just sand here too.

[Mel 2038]

eggcrate to help stabilize and to protect glass. cheap help and protection

[calveezzzy]

Where can I buy eggcrate locally in SoCal?

[kingevil]

The home depot

[calveezzzy]

What section is it in? LOL wow..out of all the places I tried to look, I totally miss the obvious!

[drew2007]

I put my rock in first then added sand.

[kingevil]

What section is it in? LOL wow..out of all the places I tried to look, I totally miss the obvious!

Check the lighting section

[Hal]

Eggcrate, then 4 inches of sand, then rock. I'm too cheap to bury rock under the sand as a support. The way my diamond goby digs I may regret that. Regardless, the eggcrate will prevent any rockslide from cracking the bottom of my tank.

[billdogg]

In my 60g cube, it is just a sand bottom. In my 150, I have eggcrate , then just enough sand to cover it. The reason is because I have a 4' moray who likes to move things around and I don't really want to come home to a REALLY PO'd wife!

[softieatheart]

I have a DSB with a plenum under it.

[albano]

I put my rock in first then added sand.
+1...but even better is to keep rockwork raised above the sandbed (I used acrylic rods, drilled into rock)...
IMO...eggcrate is a bad idea

[kingevil]

IMO...eggcrate is a bad idea

oh, please do explain.

[aleonn]

I put eggcrate, then PVC rock supports, then rocks, then sand. The eggcrate helps distribute rock weight and minimizes impact from rock slides from a possible earthquake (Socal resident).

[albano]

oh, please do explain.
Use of eggcrate prevents some sand sifters from doing their job!

I put eggcrate, then PVC rock supports, then rocks, then sand. The eggcrate helps distribute rock weight and minimizes impact from rock slides from a possible earthquake (Socal resident).
I don't have any experience with earthquakes...sounds like it might help, but still same problem as mentioned above.
BTW...in an earthquake 'rockslide'...what protects the 4 glass sides?

[Humuhumunuku]

I just assume, in the event of a decent quake, my tank is screwed.

[kingevil]

Use of eggcrate prevents some sand sifters from doing their job!

yes good point!

[MaxxedMan]

Eggcrate, then 4 inches of sand, then rock. I'm too cheap to bury rock under the sand as a support. The way my diamond goby digs I may regret that. Regardless, the eggcrate will prevent any rockslide from cracking the bottom of my tank.

That's what the very cheap base rock is for :)

I had a maroon clown that loved to dig himself a den. My rocks were on 4" of sand. It was hell. The entire structure would collapse, I'd fix it, he'd do it again. I went to the bottom this time, too much of a pain otherwise.

Rocks on the bottom of the glass have no where to fall to. Rock slides from higher rocks should land on your sand and not the glass, and they are falling in water. Has anyone experienced a bottom breaking rockslide personally?

[bnumair]

direct sand and rock on glass