Shallow Sandbed or No Sandbed

[Chin_Lee]

Why not just put a 1/4 inch clear acrylic on the bottom? Its shatter resistant, if a rock lands too hard on it, it will only crack but not shatter through and break the glass. I don't really get this starboard thing nor do I see any benefits of using this expensive material - other plastics can still be used even in a high flow tank.