G-money
Premium Member
After much deliberation, I decided that sandbeds weren't giving me the results I wanted. After tearing down a 3-year old DSB tank last spring due to moving (smell about knocked me over) and having very poor results after 9 months with a shallow sandbed (fills up quicker IMO - less nutrient buffering), I decided to scrap the whole thing a few weeks ago and start anew. Thus begins my tale...
For starters, the tank is an AGA 120 viewable on 3 sides, with one overflow in the center of the wall side. There is a closed loop intake drilled on that same wall side and all returns come up and over the same side. Here's a pic of that side with all the plumbing:
All the pipes are 3/4" PVC connected to the closed loop (Sequence 750 @ 3800 GPH), save the second pipe from the bottom is the return from the sump (Mag 12, soon to be replaced by an Ocean Runner 6500).
The sump is a 40 gallon long with 4 partitions to keep them dang bubbles out! The skimmer is a Reef Mania beckett style skimmer rated for around 250 gallons. I'll attach a pic of the sump area once it's closer to done (and less messy).
Over the last year or so, I spent alot of time looking over the BB and then Starboard-type tanks out there as well as reading about the "less obvious" ways to deal with nutrient accumulation in the system (thanks to Bomber). While looking at these BB and Starboard setups, I found that old aesthetic preferences die hard and I couldn't see setting up a tank with a bare bottom - or a tank with a big piece of white plastic on the bottom . This is what led to some other disscussions about other options and downright crazy ideas...
I knew that if I didn't have something to protect the bottom glass, I'd drop a rock while aquascaping or something and have a real mess on my hands. I then decided to incorporate a Starboard-type base, but also find a way to include the traditional substrate look without having to deal with sandbed-type issues. After some trial and error, I ended up with a finished product that really pleased me:
I used Geo-marine crushed aragonite and PVC/ABS cement to affix the substrate to a piece of HDPE (high density polyethylene). It took a few runs and was a definite brain cell-killing event (even outside), but the results were what I was after. I had tried using Portland cement (best adhesion, but turned the sand grey) and silicone (don't bother) before someone suggested trying PVC cement. Although I was worried about possible leaching into the system (as with cement), I figured a month or two of an empty tank running with carbon and heavy skimming would remove most of any posible residual left from the process. I'm now on week 3 and here are a few closeups of the substrate (there is rock in the tank, but it hasn't been aquascaped)
Notice the Tunze Stream sitting right on the bottom - also notice that it's not blowing anything around.
A close-up of the front side:
To tidy things up, I ran a thick bead of white silicone around the perimeter of the substrate board and affixed aragonite into it. As you can see above, the result is a mostly seamless pseudo substrate right up to the walls of the tank. There are a few small areas (about the size of a quarter) where the substrate didn't hold. I'm assuming that over time, the bottom is going to be pretty well covered in coralline (or coral) anyway.
For starters, the tank is an AGA 120 viewable on 3 sides, with one overflow in the center of the wall side. There is a closed loop intake drilled on that same wall side and all returns come up and over the same side. Here's a pic of that side with all the plumbing:
All the pipes are 3/4" PVC connected to the closed loop (Sequence 750 @ 3800 GPH), save the second pipe from the bottom is the return from the sump (Mag 12, soon to be replaced by an Ocean Runner 6500).
The sump is a 40 gallon long with 4 partitions to keep them dang bubbles out! The skimmer is a Reef Mania beckett style skimmer rated for around 250 gallons. I'll attach a pic of the sump area once it's closer to done (and less messy).
Over the last year or so, I spent alot of time looking over the BB and then Starboard-type tanks out there as well as reading about the "less obvious" ways to deal with nutrient accumulation in the system (thanks to Bomber). While looking at these BB and Starboard setups, I found that old aesthetic preferences die hard and I couldn't see setting up a tank with a bare bottom - or a tank with a big piece of white plastic on the bottom . This is what led to some other disscussions about other options and downright crazy ideas...
I knew that if I didn't have something to protect the bottom glass, I'd drop a rock while aquascaping or something and have a real mess on my hands. I then decided to incorporate a Starboard-type base, but also find a way to include the traditional substrate look without having to deal with sandbed-type issues. After some trial and error, I ended up with a finished product that really pleased me:
I used Geo-marine crushed aragonite and PVC/ABS cement to affix the substrate to a piece of HDPE (high density polyethylene). It took a few runs and was a definite brain cell-killing event (even outside), but the results were what I was after. I had tried using Portland cement (best adhesion, but turned the sand grey) and silicone (don't bother) before someone suggested trying PVC cement. Although I was worried about possible leaching into the system (as with cement), I figured a month or two of an empty tank running with carbon and heavy skimming would remove most of any posible residual left from the process. I'm now on week 3 and here are a few closeups of the substrate (there is rock in the tank, but it hasn't been aquascaped)
Notice the Tunze Stream sitting right on the bottom - also notice that it's not blowing anything around.
A close-up of the front side:
To tidy things up, I ran a thick bead of white silicone around the perimeter of the substrate board and affixed aragonite into it. As you can see above, the result is a mostly seamless pseudo substrate right up to the walls of the tank. There are a few small areas (about the size of a quarter) where the substrate didn't hold. I'm assuming that over time, the bottom is going to be pretty well covered in coralline (or coral) anyway.
:
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