Loose starboard sheet

[mfollen]

hey all,

Despite my efforts very discouraged to see water getting under my starboard sheet. I siliconed underneath and around the edges... but not enough ughhhhhh...

What options do I have to seal this edge up? I can’t tear the tank down at this point... :(

Thank you!!!

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Silicon will not stick to Starboard. In fact almost no adhesives will stick to starboard. You just need to weight it down. How thick is your starboard? I am surprised it is not staying flat.

Dennis

 

[RCS82]

Can you at least take all the rock out and put it back starting in the middle and working your way to the the edges. Not sure what else you can do, I would be emptying the tank and redoing it, put everything in a rubbermaid or 2 with pumps and heaters.
Do people use the thicker starboard to avoid the warping?

 

[mfollen]

Ughhhh not what I want to hear... I really can’t (don’t want to) take everything out now...

But if that’s the only way. So discouraging after putting so much time in setting the tank up the last few weeks.

So only two options?
1.Weight it down & deal with the eye sore or
2.Take the rocks out and push it over?

Thank you everyone

 

[mfollen]

Double post

 

[mfollen]

The starboard is 1/8 “

If I remove the rock and push the board flat to one end, then reapply the rock would that help?

It looks like the rest of the board stuck fine. But it’s gotten worse the last few days.

Thanks everyone. Major bummer here. Spent a lot of time siliconing this as BRS outlined.

 

[mfollen]

I can take half the rock out and push the warped part to the closest edge of the tank but the problem is that the rest of the starboard is siliconed I’m still and fixed inline with the tank.

Both starboard edges are flush to the internal edge of the tank! How’d this happen? The sheet fit perfectly when I siliconed it... it looks like some of the silicone didn’t hold up and water got in and pushed it up.

My fear is if I take the rock out and push the warped up section to the edge (to flatten), it won’t sit flush on that end of the tank. Ugh what a nightmare... :(

 

[afuel]

It must be to tight to the sides of the aquarium and is being pushed up from the pressure of being squeezed. Maybe it was cut perfectly in a different temperature and expanded in the aquarium. I kept my starboard off the silicone seems and ran a 45degree chamfer bit along the edges with a router in hopes of not having a detritus trap on the edges and it has worked well for me. I have enough flow where very little collects there and in most places none at all. I did use 1/4” thick but I don’t think having 1/8” is your problem. Good luck

 

[mfollen]

Thank you very much. I’m trying to figure a way of doing this without tearing everything down as resources are limited.

Not sure how I can cut the board in the tank though...

 

[mfollen]

If I cut a hole or two in the top of the warp for water and air to release, does anyone think I can get the sheet back down?

I tried putting heavy rock on top but the water and some air bubbles underneath is keeping it up... every other edge of the sheet is still siliconed in...
Thank you so much.

 

[afuel]

I’m not seeing much in there for live stock. There will never be an easier time to get it right

 

[mfollen]

If I take everything out should it be to resilicone? Or to lay it flat and apply a lot of weight throughout?

 

[mfollen]

Prior to taking everything out I’m going to try to drill holes into the sheet to let air bubbles and water release. Hopefully I can then apply weight from the rock and push the sheet down.

Thank you everyone.

 

[mfollen]

Drilled the holes, problem not fixed. It appears that the board must of warped with the temperature change.

Is it likely for an ABS plastic to warp? It was a little cold when I cut it and siliconed it in...

I honestly am feeling beat up now as I don’t know what to do. I have a hard time trusting the board long term now...

Should I cut the board smaller LxW and resilicone a ton more on? Or just buy a bunch of sand and forget the board and all the work I put in to it?

Thank you so much everyone. I really need the help...

 

[Dennis Cartier]

You say it was cold when you siliconed it down? I wonder if the temperture differential caused it to expand enough to warp once it warmed. That would explain the odd behaviour. Also, is it Starboard (HDPE) or ABS (or perhaps PVC)? Silicone does not adhere to Starboard so I am suspecting it is something other than Starboard for the silicone to hold it enough for the thermal expansion to cause warping.

Dennis

 

[scriptmonkey]

As other said, silicone is futile and are you sure it might be cut a little too tight and expansion is causing it to bow?

 

[madweazl]

Easy fix; remove rock, throw starboard in trash because it's worthless, replace rock.

 

[Fishfinder]

It shouldn’t warp like that. You either need to cut to down because it’s too tight. Or you have something else. If find it unlikely that you cut it tight enough to cause this problem


I will also say that you can just go bare glass no starboard needed. And now is the perfect time to empty your tank.... trust me

 

[Tautog]

First, Starboard can be attached to anything with 5200 , but be careful, once cured, and it must be dry to cure, 48 hrs. This adhesive is super strong, in fact, you could fill a hole, and then drill back into it. If you want it permanent use 5200, if not, 4200 will stay soft forever, and it’s easy to remove, just in case. Unfortunately, you will need Acetone to clean your hands.
I would remove it. Be careful moving your rock and replacing. If nitrates build up under the Starboard your giving yourself problems. Remember, your tank is and will mature, and your landscape can change, I have changed mine serveral times. I never understood why anyone would permanently glue their landscapes. If you don’t know how to stack rock, practice on your wooden blocks. I don’t stack. I keep most of my rock above the sand, thus allowing more hiding places, break of flow, and little to no dead spots in your display

 

[mfollen]

Thank you so much everyone. I will be draining the tank tonight.

It is ABS sheet.

I believe that the sheet is too tight, which tells me the ABS expanded with the temperature change? It was a perfect fit when I siliconed it in.

I will be taking an angelfish and three other fish out and in brute containers with a power head and heater. Not ideal. But it works.

At this point point I’m not sure if I should:

A) cut the sheet shorter, use it without resiliconing to get the livestock back in the tank ASAP and hope for the best with the board.
B) cut the sheet shorter, resilicone and wait days for the thick silicone to cure. Livestock waits in brute containers.
C) forget the board and buy live sand. Dump the sand and get everything back in the tank ASAP. Not ideal for maintenance week to week.

A decision will be made as I need to take care of this as much as I can during the weekend.
I’m worried about going bare bottom without a board too.

Thank you so much everyone. Not sure where I’d be without the reef2reef community.