Gorgeous Japanese SPS Reef

[Myka]

Yeah, I agree about the corals on the sand too. My new tank has a starboard bottom so it should be a nice clean look.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Myka

Yeah, I agree about the corals on the sand too. My new tank has a starboard bottom so it should be a nice clean look.

'Starboard bottom'
qu'est que ce ?

[Myka]

Starboard is a brand of HDPE or high density polyethylene. It is the plastic used for cutting boards; particularly those used in commercial applications like restaurant kitchens and butcher shops. It has a texture to the surface so it is not slippery and commonly comes in 1/16" to 1" thickness. Starboard is used to create a sandbed look in barebottom tanks, and although its use in aquaria en masse is relatively new, it has gained some popularity. Not only does it provide a more appealing look than a glass bottom it also can significantly distribute the rock weight depending on thickness. HDPE does float though, and silicone doesn't stick to it (pretty much nothing sticks to it lol) to you have to use the rocks to hold it down.

I have 3/4" in my tank. I got it from a plastics shop (they do custom acrylic signs and such) and it cost $60 I think. I think I'm going to drill it through part of its thickness and insert acrylic rod to help support my rock structure. The HDPE is cut 1/2" smaller than the inside tank dimensions to have a 1/4" gap all around. I put a bead of silicone around it to fill that gap so detritus and other gunk can't get down between the HDPE and the glass.

[Myka]

This tank has very thin HDPE installed which I understand is prone to warping...

[Myka]

You can also let coralline grow on it...

[gregzz4]

Kool, thanks for the info
As a cutting board, it would have come to mind right away, but in a tank it never crossed my mind

[Myka]

Haha, funny how that happens sometimes, eh?

[Dez]

Mindy, Do you have many tabling sps to mimic that first pic? I've found that tabling acros are hard to come by. Half the time you won't know what shape the coral will take in your tank over time.

The only tabling acro I have came from Bignose. We traded 1" frags and he gave it to me as a purple mili. I mounted it on a golf tee and now it looks like a colourful fuzzy pancake.

Also my super grape mili from Snappy took on a tabling form. However, I don't think that Snappy's was ever tabling. It is about 1 1/2" tall and tabling out to about a 6" diameter.

[Myka]

No I don't have a tonne of tabling Acros, I will have to develop a new obsession. My A caroliniana tables pretty well, an A deswalli, and my Supergrape Milli tables too. Lots of Millis will table, and I have a few that are looking promising. That's a good start.