Protecting non-tempered tank bottom? Red Sea Reefer.

[TinyChocobo]

I believe the bottom pane in the Red Sea Reefer tanks are not tempered. I've read a lot where people said, "the glass should be fine, it's tempered," and that seems to imply that if it's not tempered it's more fragile.

I had planned on putting my rocks on the glass and surrounding them with sand - but I can support them up off of the glass if it's not a good idea to put them right on the glass?

I was looking at getting some of these for their fiberglass rods:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-48-Red-Driveway-Marker/3044825

That said I'm trying to determine what size drill bit I should use in order to use these rods. I figured I would drill a 3~4 holes in the bottom of the rock and use short pieces of fiberglass to support them on the glass instead of the bare rock on the glass.

Maybe I'm being overly cautious? I'm not worried about the bottom glass getting scratched - just about it breaking.

 

[TinyChocobo]

Also I could get a thin sheet of Acrylic and cut it to the size of the tank bottom and then put the rocks on that?

 

[Lowell Lemon]

In general you can place rock on the glass bottom without a problem unless the bottom is not supported properly. The other option besides Acrylic is PVC or Polyetheleyne. You want to avoid pressure points on glass so the broader the support the better. Many people who are using sand substrates in the aquarium place some of the sand first to prevent pressure points and stablize the rock. Make sure your rock structure is solid and stable and will not fall down after it is constructed. Falling rocks are a problem with glass due to possible breaks.

 

[TinyChocobo]

I'm going to be running about a 1.5 to 3" sand bed [haven't decided just yet] but I am going to be drilling the rocks and using fiberglass rods to help make sure they stay the way I want them [as well as trying to stack them stable none-the-less].

I will have some sand-burrowing snails but nothing that I think could/should undermine the rocks. I thought about drilling some holes in the bottom of the rocks and using short pieces of fiberglass rod to support them off the tank bottom a bit [i.e. put sand down, then push the rocks with the fiberglass points down into the sand until they reach the bottom] hopefully to help keep critters from dislodging my rocks if they move the sand around.