Egg Crate help

Altohombre

Altohombre

The Tennis Pro Reefer
Ok so I went to Home Depot and they have two egg crates. One being the typical white one and the other has a metallic color to it but is still acrylic. Is this metallic one safe for an aquarium? I am worried about the word metal and the possibility of it flaking off into the tank. However I am guessing since it is made for lighting that it would not flake. Anyone familiar with this egg crate?
 
It should be fine. Just check it every month for signs of wear and corrosion. Metallic should be a better reflector then white also.
 
Wouldn't egg crate block some of your lighting though?

I have a glass top on my aquarium and have heard this isn't good?

How about black egg crate? Also, how do you cut the egg crate?

Thanks!

~RC
 
can't something small like a goby still jump thru the hole? seems like they are small enough, but would have to jump practically straight up I guess.

any tips on cutting it for a bowfront. Seems possible, just gonna be somewhat difficult.
 
Last edited:
Stopped My Goby From Jumping!!! I Used The White And Didnt Notice Any Difference In Light. I Just Removed It Again, Since The Goby Doesnt Try To Jump Anymore !!
 
Alto just set it on top of the tank and map out your cuts with a marker or use a piece of poster board and a razorknife to make a pattern.
 
I cut my eggcrate with a jigsaw. It only took a few minutes. Remember to wear goggles if you use a saw.
 
The shiney egg crete will work fine.Its just painted chrome for looks.
To cut it easly,pick up a set of weiss straight(yellow handle)cut tin snips.They'll cost about 13 bucks.
 
well I got the shiny egg crate, looked around for about 20 minutes to look for help on what to use to cut it and finally got someone. We tried out the Weis cutters that Yote suggested and the problem with them was that on first cut it snapped the plastic in the direction we didn't want to pull away from the crate. He ended up with success from using a razor blade cutter of some sort so that is what I got. It was about 4 bucks. I didn't have the time or patience to come home to check your suggestions after work. I am glad the metallic egg crate will work out and lets hope that I don't screw it up. The egg crate was like 25 bucks!
 
it was 23 to be exact. Hey at least it's shiny. I'm not gonna lie this cutting it with a razor is quite a pain. My hand hurts and I only made about 10 cuts.
 
even a plain old hack/wood saw would be better than a razorknife, howd you go about making your pattern If I may ask?
 
I am going to sit it on top and use a black marker to mark where I want it to cut. It is not going to be easy at all and I have a feeling there are gonna be some sides cut that I don't want to be cut.
 
ok well that was not fun. A couple of questions. Do you guys usually just lay the egg crate on top of the tank or do you put it into the interior grove where the glass top tank would fit? I ended up doing the interior one and it took all sorts of tweaking to get it right.

Secondly, now I have a lighting problem. Right now I have the standard Eclipse Natural Light that came with my tank. Originally it just sits on top of the glass and is protected from the water. Now that I have an egg crate it would be directly on top of that which scares me a little because the condensation, evaporation, and splashes can now all contact the lighting fixture. Are these lights built to handle this or am I risking electrocution of my fish and whatever else could happen? As a precaution I have my glass top on top of my egg crate so that the light is on top of the glass but the front part of the glass is propped up so that the tank is 1/2 open for oxygenation. What is your advice?
 
The salt creep will build up on the light pretty quick.So I'd say your doing right by using the glass tops for now.When you get new lights,they should have legs to get em off the top a few inches.
But for now your alright.Just make sure there not getting hot enough to melt the egg crete.
 
I would try and figure out a way to make legs for the light. Do you have a ground probe? Are you using a GFCI? It's not much fun getting shocked. Take it from someone whos been there.
 
Ground Fault Connector, basically waterproof recepticle the kind with a circuit breaker that you find in bathrooms
 

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