placing acrylic on the bottom of a DT

[thetman36]

I am about to add my sand and aqua scape my 210 gal reef tank. I was thinking about putting a sheet of acrylic on the bottom of the tank to protect the glass from an avalanche. Not so much for long term but while i am building and gluing rock i a afraid of rock tumbling. any thoughts on how this will affect the tank in the long run?

 

[thirty6]

are you putting rock scape in first? sand will fill in underneath and around it and protect glass at that point. i dont know if acrylic would be harmful in long run. im sure this has to have been discussed in the past and someone will hop on and comment. i think you would be ok doing rock, sand without the acrylic. BUT if it gives you piece of mind i say go for it

 

[thetman36]

i have been trying to get the rock staked up high on a tarp outside the tank practicing and moving rock around but the same result it comes crashing down. I guess I am going to have to glue as i go and hope for the best. I want it to stack high up the back wall to hide the two overflows if possible but it does not seem to be going well with my dry runs. might have to can the high stack idea.

 

[thirty6]

people use acrylic rods to hold rock in place for structure like that, i cant see why a sheet would be problem on bottom on tank. make sure clean surface before placing it down. i have never used glue or rods, i just keep at it til works usually till the wee hours

 

[thetman36]

yes i guess that is another route to take. I did buy some of the rods i guess i will have to do some drilling. Yikes

 

[nanoreefer22]

If you're stacking high, definitely go with the acrylic rods and drilling. You won't regret it and it'll give you piece of mind

 

[thetman36]

do you use the same drill bit for drilling concrete

 

[nanoreefer22]

That's what I used. Use a 1/2in bit for 1/2in acrylic rod and remember to go slow, let the drill do the work or you could split the rock.

 

[thetman36]

got it thanks everyone for all the help. Tomorrow is drilling day

 

[thirty6]

nice, post some pics when you are done

 

[Imbarrie]

Acrylic rods are probably the better way to go.

Acrylic sheets can bend after a while it may get to the point that it gets unstable.