So, I am setting my 65gallon tank up again and I don’t want to deal with sand. Anyone have experience with starboard, or sprayed in sand bottoms?
im setting up a new tank as we speak and im trying to decide myself. i was going to go with starboard but its pricey and i dont have a table saw to get the precise cuts i want. i think im going to go true barebottom with a black bottom and bind my rockwork together.
there was an awesome RC post on epoxy/sand beds that looked great, i think i linked to it befroe in DRC…ill have to try and find it for you.
here ya go
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:3, topic:756”]
here ya go
Be careful with that… I saw a guy in the big tank forum that tried to do that and the epoxy cracked his bottom in the curing process somehow. I dont remember exactly what happened and I’ll try to find the thread, just thought you might want to do some research on it before you try it.
I was thinking starboard also but the more I think about it I wont be using it. I was planning on securing the rocks together and the only other hurdle to overcome would be pressure point. I was thinking of either a 2 part epoxy or epoxy putty to dull the points. No landslides as the rock is secured.
As for sand I was thinking of using epoxy and then sprinkling sand on it. This would allow a power head to be blown across to remove debris.
Be careful with that... I saw a guy in the big tank forum that tried to do that and the epoxy cracked his bottom in the curing process somehow. I dont remember exactly what happened and I'll try to find the thread, just thought you might want to do some research on it before you try it.
hey icy. there is actually a link to that thread in the thread i posted. its HDTVGUY’s tank, the same guy i whose tank i linked to in jeffs aquascaping thread. i think the general consus in the thread about the tank breaking was the fact that he filled the tank with very cold water causing the epoxy to contract and shatter the bottom of the tank. it seems to be a legitamte method if done correctly.
I was planning on securing the rocks together and the only other hurdle to overcome would be pressure point. I was thinking of either a 2 part epoxy or epoxy putty to dull the points. No landslides as the rock is secured.
thats pretty much what i plan on doing as well Al. although i dont think i will have to worry about pressure points because its a braceless cube tank that sits 100% flush on the stand. i think im going to use threaded nylon rods and nuts to secure the rockwork into one or two large pieces to avoid landslides. im really beginning to appreciate the look of barebottom tanks.
That’s a great thread, I dunno about trying it though. I may just do a very shallow bed after all.
Ok, just wanted to make sure you had heard about it.
Great ideas, I’d just be worried about permenantly doing this to your tank. Incase you change setups or sell the tank. I’ve thought about starboard, but no matter how close you cut it, there will still be a small gap around the edges and deterius could build up. I may just paint the underside of my FO tank. Any type of BB is great for maintainence and for flow, loved my old setup.
I’d really like to try the starboard bottom. Most of my tanks are bare bottom, but I now have one with Special Grade reef sand(aragonite) and one with Fiji Pink. I’ll be doing another tank with south down sand soon.
Surprised I haven’t seen anyone do a marble bottom or just a small flat pieces of marble at the bottom of a stack of rocks that the rocks are epoxied to. They would be flat and disperse the weight out.
Jon
is it just me … or are there others out there that see this topic on the board list and chuckle like Beavis
Wouldn’t marble be expensive? I heard starboard is too, but I have never looked into it so I don’t know. I would just worry about stuff getting caught between the starboard and the tank, plus you could never get it to fit right. I like that epoxied sand idea but its permanent so I don’t know about that. I guess I’ll just stick to the boring bare bottom and maybe just paint the underside white.
Very expensive
Have you thought of making a concrete bottom with reef sand? I have seen it done in pictures, and it looks just like a sand bed but you can hit it with as much flow as you want.
What about silicone? Do you think it would hold? I could sprinkle sand over it and let it cure. Any thoughts?
I don’t see why not… it would just take a lot of silicone. I’m guessing that if you coat the whole bottom in silicone and then press in some sand, it will actually come out looking pretty neat once the excess sand is cleared away. If you do it that way you could also put in little dunes and stuff like that to make it look like a real sand bed, while still keeping stuff from blowing around. Seems like its worth a try. Plus since it is silicone it would probably be able to be removed with a razor blade later on. If you do try it make sure to take some pictures and let us know how it turns out.
That sounds like a good idea, I would just be worried overtime it couldn’t hold the all the sand to the silicone. I don’t know if you could get enough on there to stick permenantly for it to look ok? Joe you gotta be our guinea pig and try it, let us know how it goes lOl
it will come off easily.I use the same method with all kinds of substrates for my hero tanks. Also, scraping silicone off of glass is a pia and it will never look the same if U change ur mind
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:18, topic:756”]
it will come off easily.I use the same method with all kinds of substrates for my hero tanks. Also, scraping silicone off of glass is a pia and it will never look the same if U change ur mind[/quote]
How about using a thin sheet of acrylic, cut to fit the bottom of the tank - spread the silicone on it then bury in sand until everything dries. Once the acrylic is place in the tank a small bead of silicone around the eds keeps gunk out of the gap, can then cover the bead with sand for asthetics.
if you change your mond later, just cut the bead out and pull up the acrylic.
It would work
You could remove it if you need to later