Starboard, Who's done it?

[Neo_TA]

I'm about to move in a month and the tank is going to be broken down after 2.5 years of running and the DSB is pretty ugly looking, working but fugly. Anyway I wanted to try going Bare bottom aka Starboard, Marina Board...

Who here had done it and where did you order from?

I'm looking at the cutting board factory web page and there are a few different types. ANyone know which is best?

Thanks Don

 

[jhale]

hi, you want to use the marina board,
http://thecuttingboardfactory.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TCBF&Category_Code=3x

check out this thread on RC, it shows the colors better.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=521019

 

[Neo_TA]

Cool, thats what I figured. I saw this
NOW 1/2" x 24" x 54" cut-to-size board stock
Do they charge alot for the custom sizing?
Thanks

 

[Neo_TA]

I just read your thread I might, just cut it myself with a rotozip. The thing cuts everything.

 

[jackson6745]

I made a "faux sandbed" with my starboard. I bought a 2 part epoxy from homedepot and poured it on the starboard. Then I sprinkled the sand over the board. It has the look of real sand but the function of a BB tank. I'll post pics soon.

here's a link with the info
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=519136&highlight=faux

 

[nilo]

just a question, what happens when algae grows on the faux sandbed? how do you clean it? i assume w/ a bare bottom you can still scrape it off if it grows too much but w/ the sandbed you can't do this. won't it also be a little sharp for the fish?

 

[jackson6745]

Nilo those are all very good questions, unfortunately i don't have an answer for you Maybe DRZL can chime in. I believe he has a faux sandbed setup for a while....

 

[cali_reef]

Rich,

You will see on Sunday how the Algae looks like on a faux sandbed. You can't do anything other than be upset about it.

 

[pecan2phat]

You can also see what a light blue starboard setup looks like about 20 blocks away.

 

[Neo_TA]

So if I understand what your saying Cali_reef, you regret doing the faux sandbed look?

Jackson how close to the inside edges of the glass did you get with the starboard? And are you going to silicone it down?

 

[wedfr]

i wouldnt faux sandbed it. At best itll be covered in coraline just like the plain starboard woudl be in a few months.

At least with teh plain starboard you can scrape coraline or other algae off

 

[jackson6745]

NEO the starboard is about 1/2" from the glass. The tank is recessed 2" in the stand so I won't see the front of the board anyway. I am reconsidering the faux bottom after talking with Pierce. I just hope that I can scrape the epoxy off the board

 

[Neo_TA]

Plain it is then, thanks. I was hoping for the reflective effect of the white starboard anyway. I have seen pictures of Bombers tank(reef central) and the strange yet cool growth of the corals because of the extra light hitting them from the bottom too.

I'm going to try to get it closer to the edge, and possibly silicon it down. Good luck trying to remove it. A shame with all the hard work I'm sure you put into it.

 

[zahner]

i have been trying to get thru the massive RC thread...so far only like 20 pages. what i am gleaning thus far is that SB is basically good for protecting the bare glass (from rock slides, even distribution of weight, etc)... are there any other benefits to using SB (aside from aesthetics)?

zahner

 

[pecan2phat]

Originally posted by zahner:
i have been trying to get thru the massive RC thread...so far only like 20 pages. what i am gleaning thus far is that SB is basically good for protecting the bare glass (from rock slides, even distribution of weight, etc)... are there any other benefits to using SB (aside from aesthetics)?

zahner

Only two other reasons I can think of:
The starboard has a slight texured surface and actually helps a lot in keeping your live rock from sliding along the glass bottom.

prevents excess light from entering your sump if your stand is not a solid top & scatters more light back into the tank.

 

[cali_reef]

Originally posted by Neo_TA:
So if I understand what your saying Cali_reef, you regret doing the faux sandbed look?

Yes, but not enough to pull all of my little sticks out to replace the bottom yet

 

[ShaunW]

Not to play devils advocate here (especially at home/manhattanreefs) but I don't think that it is totally nessesary to be completely barebottom.

Please wait and don't jump on me repeating the "Bomber mantra", BB - good, DSB - bad. I read all the scientific literature that Bomber did concerning DSB crashes and oligotrophic environments. It boils down to this - after considerable time (years) the anaerobic/microaerophilic population of bacteria present at the bottom of the DSB push into the aerobic region of the DSB and begin to compete with the aerobes. Once this happens phosphate is released by anaerobic bacterial death as oxygen hits them and from the wake of two competing bacterial populations (anaerobes vs. aerobes) literally going at it for nutrients.

If you had a shallow sandbed, i.e. not deep enough to harbor anaerobic bacteria, then the potential for phosphate release and a future sandbed crash becomes minimal. But one might say "When I removed my DSB it stank and was FULL OF CRUD!!". Well what you smell and looks like crud is the anaerobic bacterial population, not fish $hit and such!

I would bring this up on reefcentral, however, describing the potential thread as UGLY would be an understatement.

[ March 22, 2005, 01:44 AM: Message edited by: solbby ]

 

[ShaunW]

Check out this guys disaster from trying to have it both ways, i.e. BB with the sandbed look.

Breaks my heart, .

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=392144&perpage=25&highlight=epoxy%20and%20cracked%20tank&pagenumber=11

 

[DRZL]

Hey there Jackson,

Yes it is true i have done the faux sandbed, Ive had it for about 3 1/2 mths now. If I were to do it again i think i would have not done it, not because it leaches or anything but because it is getting covered in coralline anyways, the REAL reason i went this route was because my tank is a bowfront and it would be a real pain in the a$$ to get the slight curve fit right, I DO NOT regret it per se, as no starboard can be shaped to have rolling sand dunes effect, more importantly you would want to have such distortion on SB...lol

My only suggestion to anyone who wants to give it a shot is to let it be as smooth as possible, i made mine mistakingly a bit rough and have crap get caught in the lil spaces, I guess it keeps me on my toes when for siphoning

Andres

 

[jackson6745]

Shaun, I don't understand any of the scientific mumbo-jumbo from bomber etc. I take a more practical approach to things

. I have a 65gallon with no fish, no feeding, and a skimmer that pulls out nasty crud everyday. I don't even have much live rock in the tank since I am in the process of "cooking" it. This is more than enough proof for me that my sandbed of 3" is a septic tank.
I do agree that a shallow sandbed would not store nutrients like a DSB but ANY sand bed will limit the amount of flow you can have without having a sandstorm. In my 120 I will have 8,000GPH+ flow. I know it seems like overkill but it really isn't. My goal is to have every inch of that water moving so no detritus can settle in the tank and add to my nutrient level. So the plan is to keep all the crap in suspension so it makes it to the over flow, then the micron bags, and finally the skimmer.
I know this will strip the water pods and any plankton that maybe in there, it is also not a very natural method. There is nothing natural about putting sticks and fish in a glass box I just don't want to have a litter box

Anyway, with all that said I have seen awesome tanks with many different methods. It really all comes down to your husbandry.

[ March 22, 2005, 08:11 AM: Message edited by: jackson6745 ]