Worried about rock breaking thru tank on BB

Surfnut

Surfnut

Active Member
I'm restarting with a sterile tank setup in the next month or so. This new setup with be an SPS tank with a bare bottom. My concerns at this time are that the weight of the rock pressing directly against the glass will cause it to fail.

I've considered placing 1/8" plexi sheets at the pressure points. This would be sufficient to spread the load out. However, I'm not sure the overall look of this will sit well with me.

Any thoughts or suggestions are always welcome.


Thank is 120g 4'x2'x2 Dual Overflow, Glass.
 
CATALYST

CATALYST

Well-Known Member
You'll have the tank flat on something like a stand underneath right? The bottom should be fine. If you have space between the glass and the stand you could fill the gap with the plex under the tank.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Doni, I thought "Cutting board" was Starboard? I have a link somewhere in my "posts" where someone sent me an address to a company that custom makes cutting boards (he said aka Starboard) for tank bottoms.

I like the idea of starboard for the bottom of the tank.
 
mps9506

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Technically starboard is a brand that is used for boats. It is the same material used in cutting boards though. I found the cutting board plastic is cheaper, unless you live nearby a marine boat builder that has access to cheaper starboard prices.
That being said, I used rock directly on my glass in my last tank, I had no problems with break, some minor scratching occurred. If I were to do it again I would use starboard or plastic because it provides some friction to stabilize the rocks if nothing else :)
 
Dentoid

Dentoid

Smile Maker
PREMIUM
The rock doesn't exert as much pressure in water as it does out of water due to the bouyancy factor. I don't think compression will be a problem. Rock slides and shifting, causing sheer and breakage of side glass, I would think, will be more of a problem.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Scott's right. When I was "Aqua-Scaping" it took both hands and some real "Effort" to get my rock structures INTO the tank.. but once they were IN the water it was much easier to maneuver them around with just one hand.

I used Egg-Crate in my 90g build but that would look silly in a BB situation. I will say the Egg-Crate DID protect the bottom during the layout phase because I dropped my cordless drill into the tank (Don't ask) and it just bounced off the Egg-Crate only breaking a few squares. I would think that the plastic breaking absorbed the energy that was "Destined" for the bottom of the tank.

:)
 
J

Jake

Member
Interesting topic. I just saw myth busters on TV trying out the car underwater myth. To get to the related point: they showed that you could not break the car window glass when under diffential pressure (like our tanks) easily by kicking or other methods of banging. But here was the surprise for me,,, when a resonable amount of pressure was applied at a point location, the glass shattered with ease. (They used a simple hole punch and easily pressed the point against the glass.) The window glass was tempered glass. Isn't the bottom of our tanks also tempered? Doesn't live rock have points?
 
Whiskey

Whiskey

Just some guy, you know?
Yep, allot of people use starboard, or cutting board on the bottom of the tank to both protect the bottom and help reflect light.

However my 50G BB tank never used it, and I didn't have any problems.

I was constantly worried about a rock slide shattering the bottom pain though,.. I would use some sort of protection if I were you, just for peice of mind if nothing else.

Whiskey
 
mps9506

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Jake said:
Interesting topic. I just saw myth busters on TV trying out the car underwater myth. To get to the related point: they showed that you could not break the car window glass when under diffential pressure (like our tanks) easily by kicking or other methods of banging. But here was the surprise for me,,, when a resonable amount of pressure was applied at a point location, the glass shattered with ease. (They used a simple hole punch and easily pressed the point against the glass.) The window glass was tempered glass. Isn't the bottom of our tanks also tempered? Doesn't live rock have points?
Click to expand...

I saw that. I'm not sure if it makes any difference, but they had water on both sides of the glass, not just one side (heck might make it easier to break for all I know).
I think the rock would be more like trying to break the glass with a set of keys with constant pressure which wasn't successful. I think the punch they used a spring inside that applies a bit more force when you hit the glass with it. Plus the difference in glass thickness for the bottom of a 50G aquarium or larger is probably pretty significant compared to a glass window in a car. At least the side windows like on the show.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
And the tip of a punch is very pointed (concentrated pressure) and case hardened. Given that aspect, plus all other factors I don't think it's a BIG worry or we'd hear more about it. I'm sure if it was too big of an issue we'd see and hear about it all over the net. I honestly haven't seen a tank shattering story (other than from an outside force like my Vacuum cleaner or the guy on YouTube using a barbell in his room and busting one) in a long time. But I like the idea of SOMETHING between the rock and glass either way. Makes me sleep better at night.
 
Surfnut

Surfnut

Active Member
I considered using StartBoard. However, this material, from my readings, has a tendency to look a bit ragged over time. Thats why I was leaning towards clear or blue tinted Plexi.

As pointed out above, pressure points and the type of rock I intend to use is my biggest concern. I'm going to price some plexi today. I had the idea of using a blue tinted plexi with a little bit of bottom lighting to cast dull blue light into the overhangs within the tank... Work in progress.
 
B

boozeman

Well-Known Member
Surfnut said:
... I had the idea of using a blue tinted plexi with a little bit of bottom lighting to cast dull blue light into the overhangs within the tank... Work in progress.
Click to expand...

:chair: and so concludes another episode of ''pimp my reef'' ...please stay tuned for an update
 
Surfnut

Surfnut

Active Member
Upon further thought. I may actually need to put a panel of blue glass down. If I were to put plexi, it would get torn to hell during Coralline Scrubbing. Maybe even use dimpled glass (think shower door circa 1960's), this should give an interesting shimmering effect if setup correctly.

So many idea's.... Too bad my bank account cant keep up atm.
 
tbittner

tbittner

Well-Known Member
BigAl07 said:
I will say the Egg-Crate DID protect the bottom during the layout phase because I dropped my cordless drill into the tank (Don't ask) and it just bounced off the Egg-Crate only breaking a few squares.
Click to expand...

Oh boy...

And Al flies airplanes....

And he is talking about bouncing....

I've been on a few "not so fun" flights that ended like that...

They broke a few squares too....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top