# Do you use eggcrate?



## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

*Do you use eggcrate?*​
Yes2845.90%No3354.10%


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## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

I wanted to get a feel for how many people on the forum use eggcrate. I was thinking about stacking my rocks a little higher in my 55gal and was wondering if I should invest in a sheet.


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## gilberbt (Aug 1, 2009)

I use it in mine. In most cases it probably isnt needed but its probably one of those things if the rocks do tumble over you would be glad you had it. Also another benifit of it if you ever wanted to try plants is that it gives ther roots something to ancor on too.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i never had a rock fall until after i removed the egg crate

nothing happened and it rolled from near the top of the tank, down the rock pile, and plopped onto the sand in the middle of the tank

fortunately i liked where it landed so left it


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## duds (Apr 16, 2010)

I don't have eggcrate at the moment, but I'll be adding some in the next week or so. A few dollars invested in eggcrate to protect a few hundred dollars of tank sounds good to me.


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## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

im not too worried about the tank, if anything im worried about 55 gallons of water flooding my living room


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i think if you make sure your rocks are sturdy it won't matter


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

If a rock falls will it only hit the bottom which is covered with sand or will it be as apt to hit the side? Since I'm not covering the side with eggcrate, I don't worry about the bottom. If you take a rock outside and drop it on eggcrate the feeling of security can fade out pretty quick.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

lol


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## GotCichlids? (May 21, 2010)

Is the 10 dollar investment worth protecting a several hundred dollar investment (being your tank)? And the whole if you tank a rock outside and drop it on egg crate to show you how easily it will break when laying on concrete is so silly. They aren't taking into consideration the affects of water on weight, velocity of falling (gravity), and other factors like having sand on top to also help with the fall! People that don't have it in the tank are either too cheap to spend 10 dollars on something that could potentially save you tank or didn't add it in regret not having it and making themselves feel better by saying it isn't necessary and now are fighting that they are right and saying that you don't need it haha Go for it splurge and give your self that peace of mind!


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

GotCichlids? said:


> Is the 10 dollar investment worth protecting a several hundred dollar investment (being your tank)? And the whole if you tank a rock outside and drop it on egg crate to show you how easily it will break when laying on concrete is so silly. They aren't taking into consideration the affects of water on weight, velocity of falling (gravity), and other factors like having sand on top to also help with the fall! People that don't have it in the tank are either too cheap to spend 10 dollars on something that could potentially save you tank or didn't add it in regret not having it and making themselves feel better by saying it isn't necessary and now are fighting that they are right and saying that you don't need it haha Go for it splurge and give your self that peace of mind!


dude you're nuts, the only reason i ever had it was because it came with a used tank, and i took it out, don't use having egg crate as a crutch to think your tank is safe from falling rock, your sides are at larger risk even without eggcrate on the bottom because nothing, not even sand protects them, taking to time and effort to make sure your rocks are seccure is more important and safer than using egg crate, i never fear a rock cracking my glass because i make sure my stuff is sturdy, aside from the one fall i had.

to sit there and accuse us of "fighting that they are right" is a joke. I had over 200 lbs of rock in my 55, no egg crate, i've had a rock fall, no egg crate, and for the most part my rocks are sturdy enough to not even have to worry or care. don't sit there and accuse us of being wrong, when in fact those of us who don't use it have a MORE valid arguement since we have the experience to say it's safe without it, you have no ground to stand on to say it isn't safe since you use it.

take the time to make sure your rocks are sturdy, forget the eggcrate, it's not worth the money time or hastle, i'd rather buy another 20/30 lbs of rock with the $10

in fact i think you know it was a waste and now are trying to fight to prove you're right and make everyone else waste their money like you did so you don't look bad with your ugly eggcrate showing when the fish dig out the sand


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i'll also add that i noticed you need more sand when using egg crate or it will get exposed


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Used it in my 38. Won't bother using it in the 125 I'm building with 360 lbs of rock.

kevin


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## drthsideous (Apr 12, 2010)

First off think of snow shoes................Snow shoes (egg crate) distribute your weight over a larger surface area than your feet (rocks) do, so you don't sink into the snow. Basically when you lay down eggcrate the weight of your rocks is distributed over the entire area of the tank bottom instead of the significantly smaller area where they are actually located, no pressure points. Plus when a rock falls it hits the eggcrate and it does the same thing and spreads the load over the entire surface area rather than one tiny spot. 
Everything i said above are facts, not an opinion. And yes it might be true that the glass in the tanks can support a lot of weight and impact and the egg crate is over kill. BUT consider this, would you rather have 55, or 120 or 150 or 180 gallons of water empty into your home. Not to mention losing hundreds possibly thousands of dollars of fishor spend 8 bucks on a piece of eggcrate and have a little added security. 
Like others said before, IT"S 8 DOLLARS FOR A SHEET AT HOME DEPOT, are you that cheap?
Jeff


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Nothing like going into a discussion with an open mind.
Weighing the relative merits of either side of an issue.
For those that feel the need, use it.
Those that can sleep soundly without it, fine and dandy.
Personally, I feel comfortable without it.
I think no less of those that have it.
My rockwork was selected and stacked in a stable manor.
My fish are large, but not big enough to shove a rock off of the stack.
If you are worried about rockwork shifting, you need to re-do your stack, period.
That is for those who use the eggcrate as well as those who choose not to.
Would suggest you have a greater risk of trapping a fish by rock shift than breaking an aquariumÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s glass.
The number one cause of rock slides has nothing to do with eggcrate or bare bottom.
It has to do with not having the bottom rocks on a firm base that can not be dug under. 
If they can`t dig under the rock, it will not move, eggcrate or no.
Just like any structure, a poor foundation will lead to trouble.
Simple as that.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

I've never used it and I've never heard if a tank bottom blowing out without it. But, $8.00 is a cheep price to pay if it helps you sleep better at night.


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## Imaconvict (Feb 1, 2010)

Really! an argument on a fish forum concerning a piece of plastic. If you wanna use it, use it, if you don't then don't, it's really that simple, as long as it does no harm to the fish then it's a matter of preference kinda like using a car cover on your car.


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## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

Does anyone use it with gravel? I have really fine gravel in my tank (not quite sand).

:-?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

That's my feeling. If it makes you happy , use it. If not don't worry about it.

As to needing to prove you are right???? That's for guys that have little else to worry about. If a forum post makes or breaks your day, you really need to get a life.

Turn off the computer and deal with the real world. Find someone who needs help or shoot yourself in the foot, either way it will give you a real passion for something besides a computer.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

KaiserSousay said:


> Nothing like going into a discussion with an open mind.
> Weighing the relative merits of either side of an issue.
> For those that feel the need, use it.
> Those that can sleep soundly without it, fine and dandy.
> ...


this is mostly my point, it's not that i'm cheap necessarily, but having egg crate really shouldn't give you piece of mind since you have 4 other pieces of glass plus fish (that cost more than my tank) to worry about. My piece of mind comes from knowing that i knock my rocks and push on them and they don't move. Having agg crate is not an excuse to allow your rocks to be unstable and fall, and at that point, you lose the need for it. you can buy it, cut it and have it all you want, go for it. my point is if you use it as a crutch, and an excuse to not care about your rocks' stability, you're going to run into much larger issues than the sand/gravel protected bottom of the tank

as for weight blow outs, it's my understanding that the whole reason almost all tanks bottoms are tempered now is to prevent this, which seemed to work when i had a 55 stuffed with rock and it didn't break or leak.

i'm not going to tell you you're wrong for using it, and definately don't want to see someone saying i'm wrong for not using it.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

*weight blow outs*

I look at that as another one of those aquaria myths.
Never happened to me, but I heard about it happening to....fill in the blanks.
One of the best answers to that was a video I saw of a tank full of rocks with a guy standing in the tank, on the rocks. 
Wish I would have kept the link to it.

*As to needing to prove you are right???? That's for guys that have little else to worry about. If a forum post makes or breaks your day, you really need to get a life. *

Jeeze man, what brought that on :-?
No one said anything bad about the Cowboys.  
Though between you and me Jerry should be looking for a Romo replacement.
He was never the same after the actress hookup/breakup.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Your link, sir:






Note also that the tank is only supported on the corners, just in case we want to mix in the debate about putting foam underneath glass aquariums in which only the frame touches the stand.

kevin


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

there is a shot of a big guy jumping up and down in the middle of a piece of tempered glass with each end on blocks, the thing flexed over a foot tot he ground and didn't break, then 3/4 guys stood on it


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## Imaconvict (Feb 1, 2010)

Kaiser, read the entire post and I hope you will understand the point that PfunMo was making. This is a simple question by the OP that deserves a simple yes/no answer. Instead it fell to a name calling debate that got off track to the original OP's question. "Should I use egg crate or not". I myself have never seen or read a comment regarding rock falling and egg crate saving the day but I still used egg crate on my last set up anyways just for my comfort, kinda like wearing underwear, do I have to have them or is it just for comfort. This was once a forum where someone could get useful information, now the worst thing (from my experience) is to ask a simple question, I last asked a question regarding filters and after three days I found that all filters are useless and wondered if I should just forget the whole fish keeping idea. Go ahead ask about blue vs. white, sand vs. gravel etc. and all you will get is bickering and ultimately confusion. This forum should be to pass along experiences in a positive way that won't cause confusion and will leave the OP with positive info gathered from experience, not emotion. Just my .02[/i]


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## niccomau (Oct 14, 2008)

I have plexi so IMO its not needed. Plus I don't tend to use a lot of sharp rocks.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

I use eggcrate on the tanks I have rock structures. On the tanks that have sand or gravel only I find it unnecessary.

Also I omit it on our bare bottom tanks opcorn:


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Imaconvict said:


> Kaiser, read the entire post and I hope you will understand the point that PfunMo was making. This is a simple question by the OP that deserves a simple yes/no answer............... _Lots of stuff, omitted_ .........................................................................Just my .02[/i]


Too bad you feel that way.
The members of this forum are a pretty passionate bunch.
Being passionate, sometimes words are exchanged that might have been better left on the page and the submit box not clicked. 
For the most part, their personal preferences were arrived at by trial and error over a goodly time period.
I would rather hear the why about choices made, rather than a simple yea or nay.
With that information in hand, I can then make my own mind up.
Being an open forum, when a question is put out, there is no telling what will come back, if anything at all.
This forum has the most useful information of any I have visited.
It is the personal experiences of the members and their willingness to share that make it so. 
I value the additions of those experiences over a simple yes or no.


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## Imaconvict (Feb 1, 2010)

Kaiser wrote: "This forum has the most useful information of any".

absolutely, without a doubt that's what attracted me to this forum. I don't wish to keep this going any longer and apologize to the OP for having to endure all of this. I guess my point was missed.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i got you point, and i was slightly offended

i will comment that i did make a comment about rock falling, and i didn't have egg crate, and my bottom didn't crack or break. so if i had egg crate, it would not have saved the day, since the day was fine without it.

people who have agg crate can't say "oh i have egg crate and a rock fell and it saved my tank!" because they have no idea what would have happened without it. those of us without egg crate could very well say "a rock fell and nothing happened so i don't see the need for egg crate" or we can say "a rock fell and shattered my bottom, so i always use egg crate now, and have not had issues when rocks have fallen since"

but simply saying that agg crate saved my bottom is not a proper statement to make without knowing whether something would have happened without it, and that's not an opinion


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

*cjacob316*
I dropped a rock in a half filled aquarium without egg crate and I did chip the bottom. The chip went out to the edge of the tank and made it a pretty quick leaker. A glass patch and I was back in business. I suspect that egg crate would have avoided the chip as it would have crushed under the rock and absorbed some of the force, but no idea for the exact reasons you mention... I'm not omnipotent.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

that's a tough one, how often do rocks fall straight down in a half full tank? lol egg crate might have helped. but i thought tempered glass doesn't crack? i thought it shattered when it broke


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## front-fan (Nov 2, 2005)

I have a bunch of thin (about 3/16") foam that I put under my larger rocks just to avoid tiny pressure points. I like to find med-large rocks that are nearly flat on one side to give the impression of much larger rocks partially buried. If there are one or two 'peaks' on the bottom, the foam is enough to spread the weight. Al little paranoia can be a beautiful thing when it prevents 100 gallons of water from the living room floor. As for falling rocks, just make sure that you don't have any likely to fall! I little planning is a beautiful thing too! 
Personally, I don't like egg crate because you need too much sand to keep it out of sight, especially if you have any diggers.

--- Front-fan


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

cjacob316 said:


> but i thought tempered glass doesn't crack? i thought it shattered when it broke


tempered does, my tank must not have had a tempered bottom. In my tanks, the chances of dropping rocks into half filled aquariums is high... I can't afford an overflow if I misjudge the amount of displacement (hovering wife!) and I'm very particular about the rock formations... wet rocks are moved around the tank frequently until I'm either happy or hobbled over with a very stiff back! :lol:


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