Starboard / bare bottom

KrautBurner · Oct 22, 2011

I found this on another forum

I've been kicking around the idea of doing a BB tank,
but I like the white/light bottom

what do you guys think?

Buy Starboard Online - The Reef Tank

<H3>Buy Starboard Online

Click to expand...

Just wanted to let any future BB reefers know that http://www.cuttingboardcompany.com/custom.asp will custom cut (to nearest 1/8") 1/2" or 1" HDPE cutting board material and ship it to you at a pretty reasonable price. I had them cut and send me a 36"X12"X0.5" and it cost $33 total. Customer service was very good. There is an option on their online order form where you can ask them to notify you of the shipping cost before they process your order.

Product info:
"Our Cutting Boards are made of Super High Density Polyethylene Plastic. The plastic cutting boards are Commercial Dishwasher Safe, including the spike temp that exceeds 185Â°. The cutting boards are stain resistant, warp resistant, non-absorbent and resistant to bending, chipping and cracking. They are USDA, FDA, and approved by the Canada Dept. of Agriculture."

Happy reefing

AEB

</H3>

KrautBurner · Oct 22, 2011

I just did a quote for a std 75/90 gallon tank

Board ColorProduct nameQuantityUnit PriceTotalWhite.5" thick Custom Cut - 18"w / 48"h1$12.38/sqft$74.30Checkout Price$74.30

$148.61 for 1" thick

ScubaJay · Oct 22, 2011

Why not simply paint the underside of the bottom pain of glass in the tank. Then you could pick how "white" or off-white you like it and probably even be able to make up some sort of reef sand/epoxy/paint mix that might keep the sand look for you (maybe...). Keep in mind what I'm talking about is the glass outside of the tank, I am in no way suggesting anybody paint the glass inside their reef tanks. I only make this suggestion as it's something I am strongly considering for my next tank.

Wy Renegade · Oct 23, 2011

Saw a tank that was done using this on another forum, it looks pretty nice.

Troylee · Oct 23, 2011

Hated it haha!!!! :tongue:

KrautBurner · Oct 24, 2011

ScubaJay said:
Why not simply paint the underside of the bottom pain of glass in the tank. Then you could pick how "white" or off-white you like it and probably even be able to make up some sort of reef sand/epoxy/paint mix that might keep the sand look for you (maybe...). Keep in mind what I'm talking about is the glass outside of the tank, I am in no way suggesting anybody paint the glass inside their reef tanks. I only make this suggestion as it's something I am strongly considering for my next tank.

I guess it would protect the glass bottom
As well as giving the rocks something to grip against instead of bare glass

dakotasreef · Oct 24, 2011

Coraline will cover the glass and prevent things from sliding(not your rock.). It will also cover your starboard, I believe. You are supposed to silicone the starboard in to prevent detritus and critters from being lodged/trapped.

Just my thoughts

Tabasco1 · Oct 24, 2011

Not a huge fan of the bb look. It would look better with the starboard down there, but agree, that coralline will eventually cover.

-Logzor · Oct 24, 2011

dakotasreef said:
Coraline will cover the glass and prevent things from sliding(not your rock.). It will also cover your starboard, I believe. You are supposed to silicone the starboard in to prevent detritus and critters from being lodged/trapped.

Just my thoughts

Yes you need to silicone it down.

I think regular HPDE is fine, but starboard might have less imperfections, I found the HDPE to be kind of warped.

spanishfly69 · Oct 24, 2011

I once did a 75G AGA RR BB just to try it out. Cost about $15 a board x 2 boards. I cut it myself. After awhile missed the sand.

KrautBurner · Oct 25, 2011

spanishfly69 said:
I once did a 75G AGA RR BB just to try it out. Cost about $15 a board x 2 boards. I cut it myself. After awhile missed the sand.

Where did u find it for that price

reef life · Oct 26, 2011

I went with PVC board. Looks just like star board but a third of the price to cover a 180 gallon tank. If your a good carpenter, save the cut outs where you fit it around over flows and use them to top off your over flows to keep fish from jumping in. I don't miss the sand.

rosko23 · Sep 25, 2012

Starboard is basically used to prevent scratches and protect the glass. No matter how much coraline u have it can still scratch the bottom of tank. And if u decide u want sand. Just put sand on top. Not a big deal. Starboard is super nice but $$$$. Look at wwc's tank.

steamer51 · Sep 26, 2012

I don't like BB tanks but saw one with starboard (still bright white with no coraline) and it looked great. I didn't notice that it was BB when I first looked since I was looking at the center where all the corals and fish were. When I did see there was no sand but a clean bright white bottom I liked it. I don't like a tank with clear glass at the bottom, looks like something to raise brine shrimp in, not a natural reef.

hatfielj · Mar 11, 2015

You don't need to put starboard down. I run bb and I just have a glass bottom. It got covered in coraline algae in a matter of weeks. Now it looks exactly the same as a starboard would have and its covered in corals anyway. And who cares if the bottom glass gets scratched (which I doubt would happen anyway). Its the bottom! Nobody looks through the bottom

Use the money for corals

-Logzor · Mar 11, 2015

hatfielj said:
You don't need to put starboard down. I run bb and I just have a glass bottom. It got covered in coraline algae in a matter of weeks. Now it looks exactly the same as a starboard would have and its covered in corals anyway. And who cares if the bottom glass gets scratched (which I doubt would happen anyway). Its the bottom! Nobody looks through the bottom Use the money for corals

I ended up doing the same thing. I actually like the look of the bare glass, it's easy to remove the coraline if you don't like the look.