"cure" eggcrate?

[burnah]

hey there.

ive been running my sump for half a year with rocks only on a small eggcrate shelf so the detritus falls down. i plan on growing frags in my sump, and have heard that when doing so, eggcrate tends to be overgrown with algae soon. that is (ive heard) from leached phosphates.

my question now: if ive kept my eggcrate in my tank for lets say a few months without lights, would this be less likely to happen? when i want to build a frag rack in my sump, should i do that now, as i plan to put a light over it in a few months?

answers much appreciated, greetings martin

 

[nces519]

The eggcrate that you are speaking of is made of styrene. If you can locate acyrlic eggcrate you wil be good to go with no preparation. If not, I hear soaking the eggcrate in bleach and then in vinegar will also solve the problem.

Also, the eggcrate may leach phosphate and cause algae, but the main problem I had with it seemed to be some type of bacterial bloom the covered the surface of my frag tank with redish mucous about .5" thick. Nasty stuff, I am glad its gone now!

Nick