Bare bottom tank

I am pretty sure there are people in the club who have used cutting board on the bottom of their tanks successfully.. with the plexi glass, is it manufactured in black or painted?

 

I use bare bottom with nothing else on the bottom for covering. I love it.

 

Mine is cutting board I believe it was in the tank before I got it pm AJ it was his tank

 

just keep in mind that if is not siliconed down. detrititus can build up under it causing some nitrate problems

 

I would say its going to cause a problem. Why not just paint the underside of the tank?

 

I like your reason for having the plexiglass and likely would have done it the same way, but if you can still drain it and silicone the plexiglass down to reduce the risk of detritus collecting...I think I would do it. For what its worth, my 46 gallon is bare bottom...but I did make the rock pile as stable as possible. Just keep an eye out for a thread on a rock slide and broken bottom /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/wink.gif.

 

I understand your reason. I think most glue the rocks together in bare bottoms tanks. I think that's the way I would have gone, but plexi glass is a good idea too.

 

+1 - I'm using black acrylic that's siliconed in.  I had to put it in in two pieces...the only way I could get it past the top lip of the tank.  You shouldn't have to worry about reinforcing it.  I've never heard of a rock falling and breaking that tank from the inside.  If you're concerned about that, you may want to take the approach of stabilizing your rocks vs. reinforcing your tank.
--AJ

 

IMO I would think about draining and getting that sealed down. I think if you start to have nitrate problem, and try to take that plexy glass out. You will stir up and the detritus and shock the system with a nitrate spike. Which could cause serious issues with fish and coral. That just my 2cents worth of information