Idea for Faux sand bed. Envirotex Lite high gloss finish.

[spamin76]

I was sold on this, but I am too nervous since what happened to HDtv guy.

How can you still participate in this thread HD?

I'd wanna cry every time someone mentioned this if I were you.

 

[rtcpenguin]

I was really set on using dark/black sand, until I read a post on how easily the dirt on black stands out.

Matter of seconds to change my mind!

How the hell can "dirt" (I think you mean detritus) show up more on black sand than white sand?

 

[FastUno]

Well, I am looking at some detritus (i.e. crap) that has settled in a corner right now (must vacuum out this weekend!) & it looks camouflaged. I can easily see how it would stand out against a black background.

 

[rtcpenguin]

Anyway...what about posterboard under the epoxy?

I don't know of anywhere to buy starboard locally, and I have a bowfront tank.

 

[FastUno]

How about this, experiment on a plastic container first & see how it turns out. Heat up some silicone & pour in the container. Sprinkle sand on top & then force some into the silicone. Then sprinkle another fine layer.

May sound crazy, but just might work. I will try that soon.

 

[hdtvguy]

I was sold on this, but I am too nervous since what happened to HDtv guy.

How can you still participate in this thread HD?

I'd wanna cry every time someone mentioned this if I were you.

LOL well I was not laughing at the time when it happened but.... Now that I have the new tank it's a little easier to look back on it. I just wanted to post what happened to me so it may help someone else down the road that is thinking about doing this.

 

[FastUno]

hdtvguy wish you had made your post just 1 week earlier & I would have not attached stuff directly to the tank. Would have played it safe. Although, seems like things are just fine the way they are.

 

[hdtvguy]

Well things happened some here on this thread have done it without problems. I was the unlucky one. The shame was it was a large tank.

 

[moosejac]

I'm another converter from DSB to faux sand bed, and I love it! I used the EnviroLite Tex, and no problems yet...snails and crabs have been keeping everything pretty clean looking so far...

 

[FastUno]

What is posterboard?

While on the note of BB/Faux sand beds. What critters do you find that are really taking care of your detritus removal needs? I have a mostly softy/LPS tank & cant have toooo much current. I have a 650GPH return & Tunze 6060 1600GPH. I still see some hot spots behind the rockwork that are hard to get too. Otherwise everything that is exposed is clean.

I have a sand sifting starfish, which I was told consumes this stuff, however I don't see anything to support that. Urchin I would believe would work, but they get too large & knock corals over.

Anything better?

 

[spamin76]

Anyway...what about posterboard under the epoxy?

I don't know of anywhere to buy starboard locally, and I have a bowfront tank.

There are a few places you can order starboard off of the internet. One of them is the The Cutting Board Factory

Marina board is just generic starboard .

All starboard is is UV stabalized high density polyetheylene - high density polyetheylene is the material they make cutting boards out of, but HDPE will discolor from exposure to UV. Some people are just using non-UV stabilizied HDPE(just plan cutting boards) for their tanks and there don't seem to be any problems so far, but if you are worried just get UV stabilized stuff - it will not react to the UV put off by say halides.

Another place that deals in HDPE is US Plastics Corp

 

[jnb]

interesting as I am about to update to an AG RR and was going starboard already missing the look of sand - Has anyone ever wondered about a reaction between epoxy & and the flexible stuff (silicone) holding our tanks together - did not see it addressed - I always assumed silicone was used in part because it is pliable and here we are pouring a rigid filler over it and I am concerned that it is also going to react with the silicone. I trust its not - just wanted to confirm that someone thought this thru.

For those of you who have made the transition, do you have any additional thoughts now that you have lived with it for a while that maybe it was not so worth the trouble compared to just starboard? Not trying to be negative - just getting worn out by working to much on my reef over the last year and don't want to have any more regrets or nagging thoughts about what I could have done differently.

Thanks
Nick

 

[FastUno]

We can make all the statements we want & describe our experiences (mine has been great so far), but the reality is that you simply don't know. A simple rock tumble can potentially create a cascade crack.

If you put it in this perspective, in which you can potentially loose all your stock, tank, & then some, then it's not worth it. Better to play it safe & not directly apply it to your tank. If you are a risk taker then, why not? Most people are doing just fine applying it directly. For my next tank I will use the same method that I have used, except that I will do it externally & then add it to the tank after its dry.

 

[spamin76]

interesting as I am about to update to an AG RR and was going starboard already missing the look of sand - Has anyone ever wondered about a reaction between epoxy & and the flexible stuff (silicone) holding our tanks together - did not see it addressed - I always assumed silicone was used in part because it is pliable and here we are pouring a rigid filler over it and I am concerned that it is also going to react with the silicone. I trust its not - just wanted to confirm that someone thought this thru.

For those of you who have made the transition, do you have any additional thoughts now that you have lived with it for a while that maybe it was not so worth the trouble compared to just starboard? Not trying to be negative - just getting worn out by working to much on my reef over the last year and don't want to have any more regrets or nagging thoughts about what I could have done differently.

Thanks
Nick

The epoxy should create a hard, probably water tight seal. If it does react, most of the reactant chemical will be trapped under the epoxy indefinitely . I wouldn't worry immensely. If it formed anything that toxic I think people doing this method would have already had tank crashes.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Has anyone applied this directly to the bottom of an acrylic tank? Do I need to be concerned about the heat of curing affecting the 3/4 inch acrylic bottom? My sides are all 1" thick so I don't think the expansion of this material can hurt those.
I'm going to do this but not sure if I need to pay the extra for starboard on the bottom if I'm just covering it up anyway.
Great thread!

 

[rtcpenguin]

If anything I'd think you should be less worried since acrylic is much stronger than glass.

 

[FastUno]

Acrylic is more reactive than the glass & can be more easily affected by the heat, but since it's 1" I doubt that it will penetrate deep. Let the mixture sit outside for a few min to dissipate some of the heat, that is what I did. Don't let it sit for too long either, or else it will dry easier.

 

[EmergencyDpt]

Has anyone tried applying the epoxy to the fish and corals also? This would really keep the tank low maintanence. You could probably just fill the tank full of epoxy after you set your stuff the way you like it. The epoxy would displace the water and then you'd have a beautiful display. I think I'll try it. I'll post pics.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

This seems like a pretty good idea. I think I might try it on my next tank, I'm getting really tired of my sandbed moving around with my flow in my current tank.

 

[pickle311]

Has anyone applied this directly to the bottom of an acrylic tank? Do I need to be concerned about the heat of curing affecting the 3/4 inch acrylic bottom? My sides are all 1" thick so I don't think the expansion of this material can hurt those.
I'm going to do this but not sure if I need to pay the extra for starboard on the bottom if I'm just covering it up anyway.
Great thread!

I did it on my acrylic tank with no problems at all. Mins is only 1/2" too. I didn't do anything special, just mixed and poured it in.