No substrate?

[sts]

I spoke with a guy who had a 90gal reef with a white board in the bottom and no substrate. Does anybody have any experience with this. Does anybody know what the board is called, where to get it etc...

 

[fishgeek01]

did it have little squares, like the stuff in over head lights? If so then it was eggcrate and is available at most home improvement stores. I think that a tank looks bare without substrate, and you will get a more pleasing look if a little sand is employed... JMO

 

[sts]

Actually it looked like a white cutting board for lack of a better description. He also said the one at his home in Florida had sand glued to it with a thin layer of silicone so it looked more natural. He said he never has problems with algea and thats the main reason he does it. I bought some equipment off of him a while back and I was trying to find the emails from him but I must have deleated them. It actually looked really good.

 

[sts]

Bump.

 

[teen]

its called starboard. im pretty sure its just cutting board.
usually used in sps dominated tanks to keep excess nutrients out of the tank. you also have to use very agrressive skimming and frequent water changes.
and you need a lot of flow to prevent "stuff" from collecting on the bottom.

 

[1journeyman]

Bare bottom tanks come and go in their popularity.
Research your planned livstock carefully. For much, a substrate-less tank is simply not good habitat.