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Egg crate light diffuser


Tamitha
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Is it a good idea to put egg crate under the substrate if using large stones in the aquascape? I have seen this done on videos and bought some thinking it was a good idea but I got to thinking. I'm using sand as a substrate so how do I keep the sand from working under the egg crate possibly causing pressure issues? Stupid question I know but I was moments away from setting up my next tank when this thought hit me and now I'm worried. 

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Using eggcrate is pretty common, but I've only used it on rocks that have sharp or semi fine pressure points on the glass. The eggcrate then will raise those points away from the pane and then you should be good. Besides the sharper pressure points, the other thing to consider is the weight. If you plan on making a giant tetris balanced pile then you might want to consider it. As for the sand part, just lay the eggcrate down first, assemble your hardscape and from there you can add the sand. You don't need to have eggcrate across the entire bottom of the tank, but just under the rocks and depending on the weight, I would keep the edges of the eggcrate 2-4 inches from where the rocks end for the distribution of the weight (more rocks, more eggcrate foundation margins/overhang/excess.) In terms of keeping the sand from building up under the foundation, I'd cut down the pieces used as I've mentioned above so that the weight of the rocks is keeping the eggcrate firmly pressed against the glass, that should prevent a majority of sand from getting under there, but sand is sand and eventually it will get to areas you don't want it. If you want to be 100% OCD about it, silicon the eggcrate in place. Once that sets nothing will get under it from routine maintenance. 

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