BB and no starboard/internal bottom...do you put anything to cover the outsidebottom?

[PaintGuru]

Meaning if you have just your glass bottom, do you put anything on the outside of the bottom to prevent light from spilling down into your sump area? I thought Al foil would be interesting (and reflect the light back up), but not sure yet. Still planning for the big starboard removal.

[gman0526]

Why are you taking the SB out? FWIW, my rock sits on the glass, but if I could've get ahold of some SB I would've gone that way.

[Wiskey]

Some people put white floor tile on the top of their stand to reflect some light back up, but I immagine that the bottom would get covered in coraline too fast for that to be very effective.

Whiskey

[PaintGuru]

Originally Posted by gman0526

Why are you taking the SB out? FWIW, my rock sits on the glass, but if I could've get ahold of some SB I would've gone that way.

Too much detritus getting trapped under it IMO. I have two pieces which don't fit very well together, so there is plenty of space for it to get around and under....and I think it is causing some problems.

[gwaco]

Originally Posted by PaintGuru

Too much detritus getting trapped under it IMO. I have two pieces which don't fit very well together, so there is plenty of space for it to get around and under....and I think it is causing some problems.

i kind of agree with ya . i know stuff gets under it including pods , bristle worms and detritus . i like the idea of starboard but don't like the following things about it ! its bouyant , by the time you get rocks on it to weight it down you already have stuff getting underneath it , nothing sticks to it , so you can't glue or silicone it down , which also means you can't glue any corals to it . i think that people are starting to explore alternative things to starboard . epoxies and polyester resins might be something to look into . while there is more work involved in making a bottom like these i think you can do more with them .
by the way other than the stupid color i added to my polyester resin bed and the crappy mold i made for it , i really like this stuff . you can drill it , cut it , grind it , whatever you need to do . silicone sticks to it like stink , and the mounting epoxy for corals will attach pretty darn good ! just look at other things i think you will find something !

[Viv]

I believe Kayla, TOTM, had spray painted the underside of the tank for esthetic reasons, but it could probably be done to prevent light also...for that matter you could probably tape paper (reef background stuff the sell in LFS has a coating on it) too.

[Leonardo's Reef]

I have a stand that have holes in the wood, so I see the underside of the tank. It's perfectly clean. On the edges there is al little bit of sand (heavier than detrius) that came of the LR.
If you cut a plate of starboard that fits nice, and you place liverock on it so it's pushed to the glass firmly, nothing can go under it IMO.

[APFish]

becareful with the tight starboard. I have heard of blow outs caused by the starboard breaking the seal where the glass meets. Just what I heard. I cut mine back about an 1/8" and use the ditch as a place to catch detritus for easy vaccuuming. I guess in the other hand if you caulked it it would just return up the glass and then out. HMMMM? I might...

Rob

[Leonardo's Reef]

The seal can't be broken IMO, because the seal depends on it's strength BETWEEN the glass panels.

But thanks for warning me

Leonardo

[Fly Guy]

My latest is the first time i have used starboard, i just went true barebottom with glass but i did crack my last tank by droping a big rock............ I used a 3/4" thick piece and i had to cut it in two lengthwise to get it by the eurobracing.......i took great care to make sure the starboard lays flat along the bottom and is perfectly flush everywhere with the exception of the backside which has about a 1/8" gap..........i have a few holes in the bottom of my spraybars that comes on and off every 15 seconds directly underneath to blow out anything that may think of accumulating........

I really dont think there is room for anything of any signifigance to get underneath.....but only time will tell.........havent even added water yet.......reading some of these comments does make me wonder though

I also used 8 drops of weldon on the corners and middle to make sure it remains flat as can be....i did some experiments before doing so and the starboard is soft enough in comparison to the acrylic that i can pull the starboard off of the bottom if i ever needed to.....

[PaintGuru]

Well I did the removal of the starboard. Plenty of crap underneath, that is for sure. I can now easily see where detritus is collecting and syphon it out. My rockwork isn't very tall so I have little worry about a rock slide.

[Viv]

Hey Paint, I did the same. It's a slow change for me as I have had to change some husbandry skills, now that the sand bed is no longer there to catch the junk. Since going this way I have remained faithfull to geting out the detrius piles, and cleaning my pad (I use a 100 micron pad instead of a sock-but its the same thing) frequently. It's taken a little while but I am now seeing an even greater change than when I first switched over. I have a couple of frags that went brown introduced before taking out the starboard, they are now turning back to their original color-blue tip with a green/teal base. Very pleasing-hope you experience the same! Nitrates have dropped way down-now that I know where to find the stuff! It's a good feeling when you can look at your tank and see its condition, rather than wondering what's causing a bloom and you see nothing.

[Leonardo's Reef]

Hmmm, I will regularly have a look under my tank to see if any crap is acumulating under my board... If it does, I'll take it out.

leonardo

[REEFSTOCK]

You can silicon HDPE down. It won't hold if you flip the tank over and expect it to hold long (been there / done that, fell out after a few days), but it will seal it and keep it from floating. Personally, I don't think it is important. The only time it becomes an issue is if you take all your rock-work out. When the HDPE floats you will get pebbles underneath. That is the danger. Worms and dirt are so nominal they arnt worth giving a second thought. But, getting something lodged in there like a piece of rubble will put all the pressure on one spot of your tank's bottom.

While HDPE is popular, and the white is great for its reflective properties, it is not my choice. I've said it once, and I will say it again: White makes the poo look like poo, black makes the poo look like sand.

Black cast acrylic 1/4"-3/8" in the display tank, for the win!