[my2rotties]

Hi all, I did a search for this question but there is such a huge amount of threads to go through. My question also differs slightly rather then just using or not using, I was wondering if I could use an alternative.

We have decided to do the background on our 260 gallon with 4"x4" travertine marble, since one of the LFS said it is nice and porous much like live rock. They also sell it for a small fortune and this stuff was free for us. It is untreated, and we are to treat it with an inpregnator after installing it for our clients. It closely resembles the colours of the live rock, and so far looks pretty darned awesome. It is laid on a brick pattern and looks very natural since the marble has natural distress cracks, holes and chips along the edges. I was concerned it would look too man made, but there will be a huge amount of live rock stacked up against it anyways. It looks like a wall from a sunken ruin under the ocean.

I have a bunch of 1"x1" travertine left over from a job, and was wondering if we could glue it down to the bottom of the tank with aquarium safe silicone, just like we have done for the back ground. There would be no gaps for grout joints, and they would be butted up together tightly. I had planned to cover it with substrate, but read about all the difficulties and pains of keeping it clean. I know this personally due to caring for my 55 gallon, and cannot imagine syphoning a 260g that is 30" tall not including the stand.

I am not a fan of no substrate, but can appreciate and love the fact of not having to syphon it, since it is my job and I hate it. It takes time and effort for a little 55g, so a 260g scares me to think about.

If I do not like the look of the travertine on the bottom, at least I do have the option of covering it with substate. It is the same colour anyways, so it would not have to be super thick to cover any hard to reach spots.

Any opinions or insights on this at all? Again this untreated marble and must be sealed after installing it for clients to keep moisture out. Of course I would not be sealing it, and would be leaving it in it's natural state. The tank will not have anything but water cycling for at least eight weeks or more if needed. The water would be tested regularily to make sure things are good.

Thank you in advance for any help or insights that you may have.