PVC "stilts" and egg crate

[Jakemac]

OOOOHhhhhhh boy another egg crate question!

WRONG!

Im looking to do a conecpt with either eggcrate or marine safe starboard...
Only difference is i want to super glue the base rock with PVC piping approx the same height as the sand bed.

WHY?
- I plan on having a goby and shrimp mix and the tunnels the dig around the rock i dont want to be affected. byhaving them on stilts, i hope to keep the pair from knocking them over.
- Eggcrate/starboard is to keep the stilts from shifting. My hope is to after getting the rocks secured on a sold base with the stilts to then super glue them to the starboard.

Sounds like a lot of permiment glueing huh? Dont worry! I just want the base to be glued in, the rest of the rock will be held in by gravity.

What are your thoughts?

I attached a picutre below to give you more of an idea

(this is not my rock scape)

 

[nanoreefer22]

I like what you're going for. If i understand correctly you'll be using something like starboard at the very bottom (against the bottom pane of glass) and then attaching pvc "stilts" to hold the rocks above the sandbed, preventing rock slides when they get to digging.

Are you going to drill the rocks?

I think instead of suing PVC for the stilts, look into fiberglass rods or acrylic rods, I'd worry about the water sitting still in the pvc stilts. The acrylic rods are solid and completely avoid that.

 

[Jakemac]

Basicly yes. I kinda look at it like a pier. The entire pier is solid and everything on top ins removable. I think pvc will be good because it will serve as a wider base. I was going to do acrylic rods attached to a thin paving stone but that would limit the diggers from digging. As for dead space? Im thinking now maybe drilling several small holes horizontaliy into the pvc to eliminate that. I just want a great tunnel system underneath and peace of mind so that i can say... yupp they aren going anywhere ever

 

[nanoreefer22]

What about the acrylic rods attached to a sheet or acrylic? You could just put a couple dots of silicone to hold it in place on the bottom of the tank. Once everything is bonded it'd be one solid piece. Then you could even drill the rocks and stack em that way.

 

[bct15]

Why not just place the eggcrate on the bottom of the tank, then set the rock on the eggcrate, then poor the sand around the eggcrate. That is what i see most people do. Then the rocks won't slid when dug around since they are already on the bottom.

 

[RJAllen]

I did something very similar to you. I used PVC pipe & large diameter pipe reducers [ 2 1/2" to 2"]. I did not use eggcrate although I considered it. I used some 3/4" pvc pipe that fit into drilled holes in live rock. I would of used acrylic rods but they were not available locally. I drilled multiple large holes in my piers and partially filled them with sand up the level of the surrounding sand. The holes are both above and below the level of the sand. Some of these supports lifted my rock off the bottom 1/2 to 1 inch. At one point I have a large base rock up about 2 1/2" off the sand.

The larger rocks simply sit on the large diameter coupler/ reducers if I could get three solid points of support. At critical points, I used reef safe epoxy to secure the rocks to the PVC piers.

I have great flow and no build-up of detritus. I have 2 peppermint shrimp that live in one pipe a fire fish makes his home in another. I imagine some of my worms and serpent stars live the smaller places.

The rock work is rock steady, pun intended. My only complaint is some of the pipe is visible but it has become encrusted and is not very noticeable now. I have diamond spot goby that has excavated a huge burrow under one of the larger rocks. Everything is strong and steady.

The next time, I would use some acrylic tubing for smaller pieces but would use the PVC for the large rock.

Hope the above helps with your planning.

RIchard

 

[Jakemac]

I did something very similar to you. I used PVC pipe & large diameter pipe reducers [ 2 1/2" to 2"]. I did not use eggcrate although I considered it. I used some 3/4" pvc pipe that fit into drilled holes in live rock. I would of used acrylic rods but they were not available locally. I drilled multiple large holes in my piers and partially filled them with sand up the level of the surrounding sand. The holes are both above and below the level of the sand. Some of these supports lifted my rock off the bottom 1/2 to 1 inch. At one point I have a large base rock up about 2 1/2" off the sand.

The larger rocks simply sit on the large diameter coupler/ reducers if I could get three solid points of support. At critical points, I used reef safe epoxy to secure the rocks to the PVC piers.



I have great flow and no build-up of detritus. I have 2 peppermint shrimp that live in one pipe a fire fish makes his home in another. I imagine some of my worms and serpent stars live the smaller places.

The rock work is rock steady, pun intended. My only complaint is some of the pipe is visible but it has become encrusted and is not very noticeable now. I have diamond spot goby that has excavated a huge burrow under one of the larger rocks. Everything is strong and steady.

The next time, I would use some acrylic tubing for smaller pieces but would use the PVC for the large rock.

Hope the above helps with your planning.

RIchard

Im not so worried about the top pieces falling off more i am worried that the bottom pieces will shift. If i can secure the bottom pieces to the bottom of the glass, or eggcrate, or starboard... that should keep the others from moving on top

 

[Jakemac]

After snooping the internetz i finally found something that im trying to explain after 2 months lol

Heres what im talking about

Now imagine the rockscape epoxied on top of the lifts

 

[Jakemac]

And to see the layout on my scape

 

[RJAllen]

Im not so worried about the top pieces falling off more i am worried that the bottom pieces will shift. If i can secure the bottom pieces to the bottom of the glass, or eggcrate, or starboard... that should keep the others from moving on top

Ref my description... I placed most of my base rock directly on large diameter pvc. These larger pipes sit on the aquarium bottom glass. Nothing but the weight of the rock and 2 to 3 inches of sand hold the structure in place. Each large rock has a minimum of three points of contact with the pvc.
You do not need the eggcrate. It will cause debrie to build up under your sand and interfere with sand cleaners. Works okay if you elevate it for rock support but is really no strong enough to support larger structures. Smaller rocks were supported wih expoxy and drilling holes for 3/4 inch pvc in 2 or 3 places but most of upper rock is not glued or bonded to anything.

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[Jakemac]

Do you have any picture? i guess im having difficulty seeing it. Are the PVC pieces laying on the round side or the flat side?

 

[RJAllen]

Sorry no pictures. I used large diameter pipe sections mostly 2 1/2..3..or 3 1/2 INCH diameter cut in 2 to 4 1/2 lengths. I drilled multiple 3/4 to 1 inch holes through the walls of each pipe fo circulation. Since each piece is so short in relation to its diameter it is very stable. These pipes stand on there ENDS.

RJA

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