what do you put on the bottom of a glass tank?

[Reefski's]

i will have a sand bed over...what? i want to put the rockwork down before adding the sand. what goes in first before everything? and where do you get it?

Carl

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Ummm...I guess I don't quite understand the question?

Are you putting in a deep sand bed (several inches)? If thats the case, I have seen people build racks from PVC or acrylic rods to lift the rocks up. Otherwise, if you are putting in say 5" of sand, you are covering 5" of costly rock.

I only use a inch or so of sand, striclty for looks. So I just put down the rock right on the glass, and filled aorund it with sand.

 

[Sk8r]

I used a sheet of eggcrate cut to fit the bottom: that prevents rocks from tipping and distributes the weight of the rocks over a wider area, rather than just the single point a given rock may rest on. Rocks first, then sand.

 

[mflamb]

I use 3 sheets of eggcrate for the same reason Sk8r. I put enouogh sand to just cover the eggcrate, then the rock, then the
rest of the sand.
Mike

 

[WDLV]

I don't use sand anymore but when I did I set the rock work up first so it would be stable on its own, then added the sand around it. You definately don't want to rely on sand to support your rockwork.

 

[Reefski's]

i want to put something on the bottom of the tank to protect the glass from breakage. then build the rock structure and then add the sand.

Carl

 

[WDLV]

You could try starboard (cutting board material.) A lot of people use it in BB tanks.

 

[kelhuffman]

it can be a little spendy on a larger tank, but I used starboard on the bottom of mine and then put a thin layer of sand over it with thicker areas of sand in certain places for wrasses etc. The starboard is really just for aesthetics when the pumps blow the sand back off the corners, but its also grippy for the rocks and protects the glass. Cost me 100 for a 6x3 sheet.

 

[WDLV]

Want a cheaper alternative? How about a 1/4" sheet of white acrylic from the local plastics shop???

 

[Reefski's]

thanks everyone.