# alternative to eggcrate !



## no_one (Oct 14, 2008)

hey guys !

am starting to plan for my false bottom paludarium but i cant find eggcrate !

is there any other alternative for the eggcrate ?


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## karl47 (Sep 3, 2008)

Have you looked at Lowe's or Home Depot in the Electrical or Lighting sections? They may know it by another name but just ask for the 2'x4'x3/8" white, plastic, light diffuser grid panel that you lock into a false/dropped ceiling light fixture. They cost about $12.
When I built my first couple of PDF Vivs,and before I knew better, I tried 1/2" gravel but water just didn't circulate well through it well and kinda stagnated. I've read where some froggers just use Leca balls but I'd think they'd try to float up to the water surface and you'd need alot of substrate to keep them down. Of course you'd want a screen between the substrate and gravel or Leca to keep the dirt out of the water.
Hope this helps,
Karl


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## no_one (Oct 14, 2008)

am not in the us !

and i have looked everywhere for it ..

i hear it is used for lights went to all local electronic-light stuff and no one knew what it was !

so am trying to find an alternative ..


today i thought of putting together several layers of plastic mesh so it can withstand the weight of the structure ..
dont know if this will work ..


then i thought to use thick chicken wire .. but it will surely ware out and rot !

most likely poisoning my water ...


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

Why don't you use Leica or some Hydroponics product instead?


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## bobberly1 (Jul 16, 2008)

Yeah try using mesh over gravel or LECA.


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## no_one (Oct 14, 2008)

the thing is that i want to make complicated designs and how am gonna shape the land area and the water area ..

for this reason the egg crate would be very useful ..

and how about the back and side of the paludarium ..the GS and the drift wood i want to support ..?

if i apply silicon and then the GS .. it may not hold the weight of the drift wood ..

any thoughts ?


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## weta (Mar 2, 2008)

I couldnt find eggcrate when making my viv either, so I used the base of a seedling tray for the false bottom. 
you'd find them in garden centers or garden sections of department stores for a few $ 
heres a pic to show how it looked after I cut it to shape-








I'm sure there are all kinds of other things that could be used in place of eggcrate as well


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## fraser2009 (Jan 4, 2009)

if your in the uk try ebay you can get black stuff that is a bit tougher and pretty cheap its used for corals


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## no_one (Oct 14, 2008)

weta 

that s a good idea 

i have 2 of them around the house ..

the only downside of this is that you cant cut it ad shape it so good and easy like eggcrate !


fraser2009
what is the name ?

can i find it in aquariums stores?


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## Morgan Freeman (Feb 26, 2009)

I'm in the UK and got mine from ebay.

Just search "egg crate" and a few options come up.


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

did you try asking for a light diffuser for the 2x4 foot fluorescent ceiling lights? Most large homecenters will have them, or big hardware/lighting stores.


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## no_one (Oct 14, 2008)

yeah i did ..

and didn't find it ..
maybe e bay is the something to be considered ... if i don't find any goot working alternatives ..


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## JLHayes13 (Feb 21, 2009)

Product Information Error Page

Follow the link above; it is to Home Depot. I don't know why it says product error. Just take down the part number and take it to the store and they should be able to locate it in store or tell you which Home Depot has it.


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## fraser2009 (Jan 4, 2009)

egg crate, Home Garden, Musical Instruments, Photography items at low prices on eBay.co.uk
sorry i never got back to you if your in the uk thats the stuff i was on about . the koi one


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