Bare bottom reefers I have a question for you

[kered38]

I'm in the middle of a 180 build and am leaning towards going bare bottom. My question is I've seen people mention putting star board down to protect the tank from any rock falls, I was wondering why star board and not just use a acrylic 1/4" instead?

 

[reef life]

I Used 1/2" PVC Board on my 180. Looks exactly like Starboard but a lot cheaper. Make sure you seal edges with silicone, and save the pieces you contour(cut) around overflows to place them as caps on top of your overflows.(Keeps fish from jumping in)

 

[nazzman]

Pics please

 

[kered38]

I Used 1/2" PVC Board on my 180. Looks exactly like Starboard but a lot cheaper. Make sure you seal edges with silicone, and save the pieces you contour(cut) around overflows to place them as caps on top of your overflows.(Keeps fish from jumping in)

I really like the idea of using the cut outs as caps that's awesome.

 

[Paul C.]

I also used 1/2" PVC in my 200 gal. Basically its cutting board. Star board has got UV protection in it for Marine applications. Like mentioned above, seal the edges up to keep stuff from getting under it.

 

[kered38]

Did you get the PVC board at a Home Depot, Lowes store or was it a specialty store?

 

[Paul C.]

Luckily, there is a local specialty store. Fln-Mar. Got my sheet 63" X 31" for $138..

 

[-Logzor]

I didn't use any sort or protection for the bottom of my BB tank, I wasn't terribly concerned about it breaking. Most people use HDPE board at around 1/2".

1/4" will curl up so you'll want to silicone it down.

Don't see any reason why using acrylic would be any better or worse than HDPE.

You can buy HDPE board at usplastics.com for pretty cheap. Also, there is no reason (that I am aware of) to purchase actual "Starboard". Real starboard is way more expensive.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23869&catid=705&clickid=searchresults