'permanent' sand floor

[albano]

thought I'd post this here...
got tired of the Vortechs moving the sand from the front of the tank...decided to try something different...glued sand to acrylic sheets, and placed them on the aquarium floor!

have some add'l pics on my tank thread ...starting w/post #523
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/tank-threads/63397-hundreds-coralsfishfree.htm

 

[rideit6578]

what about when one of your wrasses goes to dive under the sand right there....:banghead: lol

 

[albano]

what about when one of your wrasses goes to dive under the sand right there....:banghead: lol

working on a trap door, right now!

 

[lfsmarineguy]

What about detritus getting trapped under the sheets or stagnating water?

 

[albano]

What about detritus getting trapped under the sheets or stagnating water?

the plates are an average 10" wide (tank is 40" front to back)... I'm hoping that very little will get under them, but just in case, I did drill about 10 small holes in each plate.
As long as it works out 'long term', I would consider gluing sand directly on the tank floor, or gluing the plates down, and sealing the edges.

 

[JonnyJ]

What did you use? Epoxy?

 

[albano]

What did you use? Epoxy?

super glue

 

[JonnyJ]

must have been a lot of super glue lol. i have a lot of left over epoxy from Bob smith industries thats inert when cured. got me thinking! [i have no sand atm but wish i did]

 

[albano]

must have been a lot of super glue lol.

why do you say that?

 

[rookie07]

I think you have a great idea here! Ive thought about it as well, but definitely keep the sheets in the tank, as i fear breaking the bottom glass panel god forbid something falls or i drip something.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Let me know before you do this to the entire bottom of your tank so I can buy some stock first.

 

[Mattl22]

Great idea I'm getting feed up with my sand bed blowing around its very annoying and agitates my sps !!
Id try it but wonder if alage will just grow on it !

 

[nanoreefer22]

Completely missed this! Wish i'd seen it before i started my tank up

 

[KathyC]

Completely missed this! Wish i'd seen it before i started my tank up

Not to worry Kris, with your track record it won't be all that long before you start up a different tank :hug:

 

[NYreefNoob]

you got too much time on ur hands

 

[nanoreefer22]

Not to worry Kris, with your track record it won't be all that long before you start up a different tank :hug:

I'm already planning it haha

 

[Nomadic1]

You can use a clear epoxy resin instead of all the super glue, as well. A while back, someone on Reefcentral tried this directly on the glass bottom of his tank (resin and sand), but what he didn't realize was that the resin he used expanded on set, so it cracked his tank. Some people use Starboard on the bottoms of their tanks in place of sand, but before they fill the tank, they put a silicone bead around the border of the board as it sits on the bottom of the tank, sealing out detritus.