bare bottom "bottom" ideas...

[charlestonreefer]

So I'm in the process of setting up a pretty decent size (450 gallon display) room divider tank in a new house and I think I've decided to go bare bottom. Everything I'm reading leads me to believe BB once established and running will allow for easier maintenance and that's pretty important to us. Here's the debate though... we think sand looks much nicer and makes the tank appear more "natural" especially to folks who don't know anything about the hobby. Has anyone experimented with placing black starboard and then gluing down a bunch of gravel and smaller pebbles or anything to give it a more natural look? I'd think giving some zoos some landscape on the bottom to grow on could look pretty cool in time.

 

[RDA]

I have used something like THIS before in freshwater bare bottom tanks, not sure if it would work for you or not. It doesn't really give any texture to the inside of the tank, but does add a little bit of a sand look to the bottom.

 

[X-37B]

Here is a few pics of my 120.
At one time the bottom was totally covered in coralline. My 2 urchins are coralline lawn mowers.
There are many ways to make a reef tank look good with no sand.
On my next 3x my 120 build I will do the same.
Tank is easy to maintain and is now 15 months old.

 

[Saltyreef]

Heres my current setup with 1/2" seafoam colored king starboard from tap plastics.

Only issue is its 1/2" thick so it will be quite ugly on a 1/2" glass rimless tank looking at 1/2" of starboard from the side.
With a rimmed tank it sits perfectly behind the bottom frame.

In my honest opinion its the closest thing to a sand bed look and does add a little texture to the bottom but does collect coraline so it wont be white forever.

 

[92Miata]

Starboard with substrate glued to it is a worst of both worlds kind of thing. It's just going to collect crap without giving you the advantages of either type of tank.

The whole bottom of the tank will be purple after a bit. Then it will be covered in corals.

 

[charlestonreefer]

so just roll with the dark starboard and let the coraline and zoos do their thing sounds like the plan. This tank is a beast and built into the wall so I'm wanting to set it up with the idea that it's there forever and a big part of the house. Want to do whatever I can to avoid a crash down the road and I think no sand helps to that end

 

[X-37B]

so just roll with the dark starboard and let the coraline and zoos do their thing sounds like the plan. This tank is a beast and built into the wall so I'm wanting to set it up with the idea that it's there forever and a big part of the house. Want to do whatever I can to avoid a crash down the road and I think no sand helps to that end

You dont need starboad.
You just need patience, which is hard to come by in this hobby.
Plan out what you want your tank to look like and stick with your plan.
There a multitude of corals that can be put on the bottom over time.
For me this looks more reef like than sand, which you dont find on many reefs anyway.

 

[charlestonreefer]

agreed, just thought the starboard was more of a safety item like if a rock structure were to tumble or if we drop something during set up etc.

 

[92Miata]

Starboard isnt necessary - but it's a feels better kind of thing. And corals glue better to it.

It's also nice when you upgrade to be able to.just lift the starboard out and drop it in another tank, or hang it to seed coraline - but if this is for a 450 - you're probably not upgrading soon.

 

[charlestonreefer]

no, definitely no upgrade on the horizon. We're almost building the house around this freaking tank. Had to rent a lull just to get it up to the first floor the other day (house is elevated here in Charleston due to flood zone). Getting it set on the stand and in place tomorrow!

 

[X-37B]

agreed, just thought the starboard was more of a safety item like if a rock structure were to tumble or if we drop something during set up etc.

I have never had an issue with glass. I may have my upgrade done with a pvc bottom though since the size will be custom.

 

[Fishnut]

I have painted the bottom before placing on the stand with a textured spray paint that looked like sand. I found it helped reflex light back into the aquarium.

 

[Ray's-Reef]

I have put a sheet of 3mm pinseal white ABS plastic in my tank bottom on the inside.

 

[Joeg]

I had the same thought with my most recent build. I did one test piece of black plastic with silicone and sand pressed into the silicone and it just didn't look right to me. I tried another with a thin layer of mortar with sand and grave on top and didn't like the look of that either.

In the middle of this fiasco I went with just the black plastic and then had an impossible time getting a complete tank cycle.

So, in the very end I decided that I really missed the look of sand and added 2 inches on top of the black plastic and was immediately happier with the look of the tank. My second attempt at a cycle was almost immediate (likely because I was most of the way there already) and I can now enjoy some gobies which have a lot of character.

I still find some bare bottom tanks very appealing so I see the attraction, but in the end I didn't think I could do it justice.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Zoa carpet, Zoa carpet, ZOA CARPET!!! :D

 

[DocRoz]

Eventually the coralline algae should begin to cover the glass on the bottom of the aquarium. At some point it will be a nice matt of whitish, red, purple. Some people say the coralline algae reflects more light as opposed to sand beds too. Just food for thought...

 

[AquaHobby31]

I’m 16 months into my tank and no coraline growing on the bottom glass

 

[DocRoz]

I’m 16 months into my tank and no coraline growing on the bottom glass

Lights might be too high/intense. I've only had my bb set uo fr a few months but from what I've read/heard, the lights can be too high for the coralline algae to grow. Food for thought.

 

[DocRoz]

Lights might be too high/intense. I've only had my bb set uo fr a few months but from what I've read/heard, the lights can be too high for the coralline algae to grow. Food for thought.

"just food for thought" should be the name of my restaurant some day lol

 

[hart24601]

I like starboard just because the rock doesn’t slide on it as easily and glue holds better for frags.

it does take much to break up the plane of the bottom, glue some smaller rocks and put zoas on them, just give it 3d, not just corals that encrust. Sps work well too ask the vertical elements off the bottom. Once you break up the solid vertical element I think BB looks far better than sand. My old 120 with zoa rocks and few other items. Tore tank down and don’t have good shots of the bottom but it’s enough to get the idea.