Shallow Sandbed or No Sandbed

[digital canuck]

Originally Posted by Beverly

I understand why folks would use starboard or similar products in a bare bottom tank, and that is to more evenly distibute the weight of the rock over a larger area. I'm thinking, though, that unless the starboard is siliconed all around the perimeter to the tank walls, detritus will accumulate under the starboard

Silicone doesn't adhere to the HDPE types of plastic - tried - even after I'd read it wouldn't work

I put my plastic real close to the sides. I figure even if some stuff gets in there, it's a heck of a lot less than in a gravel or sand bed

If you leave a larger "trough" around the edge, your flow may move any detrius out back into the water column. The key here as I mentioned before is maximum flow, so detrius can't collect, but gets skimmed out.

Rick

[LostMind]

The idea behind the staroard is to be able to run more flow - 50x turnover and up is what a lot of people are aiming for. Seems to be very popular technique for the sps obsessed...

With the higher flow rates, people report little to no detritus accumulation.

And according to some people, even if the starboard did allow some detritus to accumulate underneath it, it would be an insignificant amount compared to having a sandbed trapping the detritus.

Just what I've read....

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by chin_lee

I'm thinking either the ABS or Sintra would work just as well. ABS is black but will get covered with coralline very quickly - it should provide impact protection at 1/4 inch. The sintra will float but if its weighed down by rocks, shouldn't be a problem - its also good for impact absorbtion since its relatively soft

Looking for thoughts/ideas..........

I'm looking for other ideas as well and had one thought - another piece of glass. If the glass was cut so it sat directly on tank bottom and not on any of the silicone holding the tank together, you'd have absolutely no chance of detritus getting under there. That would mean at least a 1/4" or so of perimeter where detritus might accumulate, but if you set up your rock right, you could easily it siphon out.

Don't know how thick the glass would have to be to distribute the weight of the rock evenly. Any ideas here?

[LostMind]

Bev, what's different from using starboard then?

[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.

[Beverly]

Pros for 1/4" glass:

- can get it at any glass shop (there's one about 10 blocks from here)
- 47" x 23" costs $64 (approx. size for the bottom of my largest tank)
- will not float and will adhere to the tank's glass bottom very well with few or no trapped bubbles
- coraline algae will readily grow on it

Cons for any glass:

- heavy
- easily broken during installation and afterward

Don't know the pros or cons for acrylic, except acrylic will not be as easily damaged as glass, but will be harder to come by.

Really, I don't know which would be better - the plastic-type materials or glass. What do you think?

[AJ_77]

I am not getting the glass-on-glass thing... what is the point? I would think the potential for damage (cracking, chipping) outweighs any benefit, and it's lacking aesthetically... at least the starboard is white (to begin with), and supremely durable,

[Beverly]

Alan,

Glass is just an idea among many.

Another idea is Plexiglas. Have a small piece and tested it for floating. It sinks easily and will probably adhere well to the bottom glass so there would be no possibility of detritus getting underneath. Plexi can be bought and cut cheaply at Rona.

Don't have a clue where to get starboard around here. Checked the yellow pages under plastics and did not see any mention of it in any of the ads.

Don't know what you mean about glass lacking aesthetically. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[digital canuck]

snip...
Don't have a clue where to get starboard around here. Checked the yellow pages under plastics and did not see any mention of it in any of the ads.
snip...

When you call the plastics companies, ask if they carry HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene) and if they say never heard of it, tell them it's the plastic that cutting boards are made of - so it's food grade.

Rick

[Richer]

GE Polymershapes sells starboard (aka. high density polyethylene) and just about any other plastic board, tube, rods, etc.

http://www.gepolymershapes.com/

16536 117th Avenue

-Richer