Bare Bottom- HDPE | Starboard | ABS

[Reefahholic]

Woo-hoo! Thanks for the info.

I think some may even be NSF certified too.

 

[Reefahholic]

So the King CuttingBoard family have all three.

Food Services
The King CuttingBoard® Family of Products now with advanced antimicrobial technology to produce a more effective application compared to our formerly untreated cutting board polymer sheet. Made entirely from FDA and made with USDA approved material. NSF listed to meet requirements of commercial food processing operations for direct and indirect food contact.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

So the King CuttingBoard family have all three.

Food Services
The King CuttingBoard® Family of Products now with advanced antimicrobial technology to produce a more effective application compared to our formerly untreated cutting board polymer sheet. Made entirely from FDA and made with USDA approved material. NSF listed to meet requirements of commercial food processing operations for direct and indirect food contact.

I would recommend staying away from anything with antimicrobial technology in it. It may be FDA and USDA approved, but it doesnt necessarily mean its reef safe. Copper can be used in a lot of places that come in contact with food, but it doesnt mean its reef safe.

 

[Reefahholic]

I would recommend staying away from anything with antimicrobial technology in it. It may be FDA and USDA approved, but it doesnt necessarily mean its reef safe. Copper can be used in a lot of places that come in contact with food, but it doesnt mean its reef safe.

It’s NSF listed as well, but I’m kinda wondering why it’s “listed” and not “approved.” Who knows.

I honestly think the best choice is the regular original King Starboard.

 

[A4goulet]

Question for you reefers with Starboard bottoms. I would need a 72"x26" sheet of starboard, would it be worth the extra $100+ in shipping to get a full 72" pcs so there is no seam vs two 36"x 26" pcs? Mind you a 72"x26"x.25" is only $104 so would be spending more in shipping then for the board.

 

[Why-Me]

.25" over a 6ft length may warp.
I'd get half inch instead of quarter inch.
Because of shipping prices I'd get 2 pieces 36x26
That's just my opinion

 

[NY_Caveman]

I agree. Definitely half inch think. Quarter inch will definitely warp. I did rounded edges on one side of mine. If you do too pieces definitely do the edge flat.

 

[A4goulet]

My original thought when using the .25 was to silicone it in. Has anyone had any luck with silicone adhering to the Starboard after properly prepping the Starboard surface?

 

[NY_Caveman]

I used silicone so I could fill the tank without it floating. Once the rock weight was in the silicone should have formed a seal, but it will not adhere long term or strongly. As far as I know there is nothing that adheres to Starboard unless there is some industrial option that is also reef safe.

EDIT, I did nothing to the surface before hand.

 

[jent]

Starboard is not that buoyant, I had no issues using a moderate sized rock on one side while I started my aquascape on the other.

I also don't see any reason to seal the bottom as long as it's think enough it wont warp. I just recently removed mine after being setup for 4 years. I thought after 4 years there must have been some serious detritus, but there was almost none. I don't see any real value in gluing, there is so little water under it, and now knowing that detritus was not really collecting there anyways, I don't see any reason.

 

[don_chuwish]

Since putting 1/4” HDPE in mine I’ve kinda decided a thin sheet of ABS would have been fine. 1/8” or even 1/16”. Much cheaper.

 

[Thle009]

Yes BRS went with 1/8” black ABS. It does silicone better than the others, but doesn’t commonly come in white like Starboard and HDPE.

I’m personally going with Starboard because I think it’s a more durable material. Plus I like the white. It reflects light better and my stand is white.



[

Love the look of your barebottom. How is your tank these days? Also, would you provide info on where you purchased the starboard? I'm considering doing the same thing and there are way too many brand and variety out there, I didn't want to run the risk. Thank you.

 

[galantra]

I recently bought abs textured the look is what did it for me. I used a 1/8th sheet had to order online through E-bay (Fplastic) that offered a great deal and the size I needed

 

[Ross Petersen]

Is a vinyl bottom an option in the reef world? I’m totally naive in this world. Thanks!

 

[cthedaytrader]

Thought I would revive this thread rather than start a new one. I keep going back and forth between 1/4” and 1/2” starboard despite the price different I was also a nit concerned with getting a sheet of 1/2” into my new tank with the euro bracing all the way around, I thought the 1/4” might flex a little more. I also thought the 1/4” would blend in better. I know a lot of people say the 1/4” might warp but there really aren’t any examples if it happening to people ( other than one thread where it appears it was cut too long).

Has anyone tried the 1/4” and what their experience has been with it? Also my tank is a 150g so it’s 60” long 24” wide.

 

[jent]

Even my 1/2" starboard warped slightly after 5 years. It was so slight I could not tell until I took down the aquarium and removed it. If it was 1/4" the warping would have undoubtedly been worse, but it's impossible to know how much worse.

Starboard is not very flexible, I doubt you could bend 1/4 in enough to get it around a euro brace anyways. You probably instead will need to get two pieces and just have them meet together on the bottom. With a tank that size two or three pieces will be much cheaper to ship anyways.

 

[cthedaytrader]

Thanks for the input, I didn't even think 1/2 would be an issue, but now you have me thinking I will need two separate sheets no matter what with the Euro bracing going all the way around. I was hoping to avoid a seem in the center. Would you use starboard again, or would you skip it next time? Also how much space did you leave between the starboard and the glass?

 

[jent]

I did use starboard again, I personally think it's one of the best materials you can use, just a little pricey. The place I ordered it from also routed the edges so they are curved on both the top and bottom. I personally measured the distance between the silicone, so that the board will come very close, but not rest on the seam. This does leave a small channel between the glass and starboard. Personally I don't mind it. It fills with detritus, but I just suck it out on water changes.

 

[cthedaytrader]

Thanks for the info I think I will definitely go with the 1/2" now. I know silicone doesn't stick well to it, but did you silicone yours down, have you ever tried to silicone the edges to create a seal, I was going to use black starboard and black silicone to try and create an even seal around the edges.

 

[jent]

I have never siliconed mine. I wondered what the underside of my old tank was going to look like, I expected it to be tons of detritus from slowly getting under it. But it was almost spotless, it seemed very little could get under it. So I did not see any reason to glue the new one down either.