Cutting board or starboard for BB tank?

[CoralReefer]

I am planning on going bare bottom in my new 57 rimless tank and want someone's opinion on what to put on the bottom.

I like the idea of longevity with a bare bottom tank and won't have to worry about leaching phosphates.

I like the idea of the cutting board that MikeC used on the bottom of his tank but was wondering if starboard would be better.

I am leaning towards the cutting board and want to know if I should silicone it down or just place it down.

A 1/2" thick piece of cutting board is around $55.

 

[E.intheC]

Starboard is just a brand name for HDPE. I've used the Cutting Board Company (.com) 2x and recommend them often. You can have a custom board cut to size.

If you want to silicone the board down you can. I kind of wish I had done that but the tank had water already.

 

[CoralReefer]

Thanks for the reply. My tank has water in it but nothing else so I could drain it dry it and silicone it I suppose.

 

[CoralReefer]

I have a melanarus wrasse and want to keep him. I guess I am going to have to put some sand on some Tupperware for him.

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks for the reply. My tank has water in it but nothing else so I could drain it dry it and silicone it I suppose.

It's up to you. Certainly not required (I haven't siliconed any of my boards yet) but some people prefer it.

One other thing; make sure the board doesn't rest on the tank's silicone. You want it to lay flush with the bottom glass, and I don't think it's good for the silicone to have all that extra weight on it.

 

[CoralReefer]

Thanks the the advice I was gonna cut it a little short just for that reason. I figured it would leave a gap for detritus.

 

[duke62]

If i do my upgrade im going to use cutting board and silicone all around the edges of it. Im also planning on painting crazy glue on the top and sprinkling sand on top to give it a natural look. Also for the wrasses im going to put a tuberware for my wrasses

 

[albano]

Im also planning on painting crazy glue on the top and sprinkling sand on top to give it a natural look.

Been there , done that...the 'natural look' won't last a month, and it'll be brown and dirty, with no way to clean it!

 

[MikeC]

Guys I was told cylicone will not adhear properly to the cutting board and if you decide to try it make sure you don't create more of a gap for the detritus to collect .
I went with 3/4 in cutting board from http://www.cuttingboardcompany.com it is heavy and had them round over just the top. If you order from them call them and talk to them, many people have used them and when you tell them what it is for they know exactly what to do.

I got mine cut a inch short all the way around so it did not sit on the cylicone on the bottom of the tank. You need this inch all the way around because that is ware your detritus is going to settle, I adjusted my power heads so now my detritus only settles in one spot(front left corner) it makes it super easy to siphon out the detritus.

Then the setteling tank is just the icing on the cake.
It is amazing when you see how much crap(phosphate food) comes out of your tank.

If anyone wants to see my system they are more than welcome and if I can help you in anyway just ask

P.s. I have some update tank shots in my tank build if you want to check them out.

 

[MikeC]

Been there , done that...the 'natural look' won't last a month, and it'll be brown and dirty, with no way to clean it!

Not true in my tank at least see pics and I'm 4 months in

 

[MikeC]

Sorry my bad albano!
I re read duke post.
Ya sand is not needed

 

[CoralReefer]

Thanks for all the input guys. Yea I have seen the glued sand and apparently it gets covered in coralline rather quickly. I hope that doesn't happen to the HDPE. My current tank now is covered in coralline and it is a pain scraping the front glass every week.

 

[CoralReefer]

My only concern is melanarus wrasse. I will make a little bed for him and change the sand out every couple of months with reef flakes.

 

[E.intheC]

Guys I was told cylicone will not adhear properly to the cutting board and if you decide to try it make sure you don't create more of a gap for the detritus to collect .
I went with 3/4 in cutting board from http://www.cuttingboardcompany.com it is heavy and had them round over just the top. If you order from them call them and talk to them, many people have used them and when you tell them what it is for they know exactly what to do.

I got mine cut a inch short all the way around so it did not sit on the cylicone on the bottom of the tank. You need this inch all the way around because that is ware your detritus is going to settle, I adjusted my power heads so now my detritus only settles in one spot(front left corner) it makes it super easy to siphon out the detritus.

Then the setteling tank is just the icing on the cake.
It is amazing when you see how much crap(phosphate food) comes out of your tank.

If anyone wants to see my system they are more than welcome and if I can help you in anyway just ask

P.s. I have some update tank shots in my tank build if you want to check them out.

I have to buy some frags from you at some point man. Your tank is looking great. That settling tank is very cool.

My only concern is melanarus wrasse. I will make a little bed for him and change the sand out every couple of months with reef flakes.

I would add a Tupperware box for the wrasse. Should be fine.

Also, to those reading this thread and thinking about going barebottom, (go for it!!) there's definitely some reading you'll want to do first. There should be a bare bottom thread on here I started a few years ago. Other forums have more info as well.

I've used white starboard mostly, but for my Solana I went with blue. I think it's awesome. The colors pop a little more and the whole tank just looks a bit better overall. They also have black starboard and colors like tan, green, etc.

 

[CoralReefer]

I thought about black but I like the fact that the white reflects a lot more light back up at the corals.

 

[CoralReefer]

I just placed the order with the cutting board company. I went with the 3/4" in white. I was gonna go for the 1/2" but wanted the extra weight to prevent anything from sneaking under there.
Thanks again for all your help guys.

 

[MikeC]

Cool did you have them round over the top?

 

[CoralReefer]

Cool did you have them round over the top?

I am waiting for the phone call back from the guy who makes them.
I have to give him the final measurements and tell him to round off the top.

You really think i should leave in Inch on all 4 sides of the tank.

So if my tank is 36" x 18" your saying to make it 34" x 16"?
I was gonna have them make it 35" x 17" but I will take your advice.

The worst thing would be for it to be too big, and it wouldn't really bother me if it was a little short.

Thanks.

 

[MikeC]

Definetly make a inch gap all the way around and good call on the 3/4 inch

 

[E.intheC]

The board is also pretty easy to cut.