Starboard Reef is up and running

[Narkon]

We have an acrylic tank, do we need starboard, or is the starboard to keep the rock from sliding? Under the tank, the stand is painted bright white.

Second concern, is will a sea urchin make scratch all over the acrylic?

[tankslave]

Originally posted by cb747
I know your not suppopsed to put any kind of back pressure on a SS. If you try it let me know how it works out!! Thatll be awesome if it works well long term
Chris

hmm, yea, that' s right. I forgot about that. I guess I'll try it out and see if the seals leak. Yea, its going to be hard to find a place for it do, so that it does not directly hit any corals. I'll keep ya'll updated.

[LittleBlueGT]

Oops

[Detritivore]

hi bomber, where do you have your chiller venting to?
-thanks

[Bomber]

Originally posted by Narkon
We have an acrylic tank, do we need starboard, or is the starboard to keep the rock from sliding? Under the tank, the stand is painted bright white.

Second concern, is will a sea urchin make scratch all over the acrylic?

You really don't need it, but it gives you a nice white bottom.

[Bomber]

Originally posted by jonah310
hi bomber, where do you have your chiller venting to?
-thanks

Unfortunately, right under the table beside the sofa in the living room.

[DownUnder-Reefer]

That urchin would sure do the trick Jerel, but I banished all my D9's to the refugium to clumsy and way to messy for my liking.
Might try some Limpets.

[Reef Addict II]

Well thanks for the info in this loooong post, I just ordered 3 sheets of 24x27x1/2 starboard. Only 24.99 each(plus 6 shipping each)

I will be covering the bottom of my 180g, im sure a roto zip will work well in cutting the board around the overflows.

I went with the seafoam color, kinda of an off white, a little more like the color of sand

Steve

[makoJ]

Originally posted by Reef Addict II
Well thanks for the info in this loooong post, I just ordered 3 sheets of 24x27x1/2 starboard. Only 24.99 each(plus 6 shipping each)

I will be covering the bottom of my 180g, im sure a roto zip will work well in cutting the board around the overflows.

I went with the seafoam color, kinda of an off white, a little more like the color of sand

Steve

where did you find this deal??

[Reef Addict II]

Hi

Go to this website

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...hdx&hasJS=true

The first 27x24 is suppose to be 54x24 for 84.99. but the second one of each color is the 27x24x1/2" for 24.99 plus shipping.

They only have 1 white left, but are suppose to get more by April 5th.

again I went with the seafoam color. They have white, seafoam,black and gray.

Steve

[aussiemike]

Hey guys i just started my start board which has been running for 1 month its a 55gallon tank i have

1 2000ltr and hour powerhead
1 1000ltr
1 600 ltr powerheads

but i am still getting diatoms on the starboard and on the glass any advice

thanks Michael

[RonSF]

Jerel-
I wouldn't want to post something just for the sake of baiting you (on second thought, why not?), but a well respected author wrote this today in a post on his RC forum:

Anthony Calfo wrote:
This reminds me of the silly DSB critics that blame the DSB... and not the lack of adequate water flow for sinking nutrients into the substrate. Fault the (incorrect) application of the methodology... not the methodology itself.

Here's the full post, most of which deals with the concept of 100% water changes:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=560077

I've acquired a great deal of reef insight from Anthony and find him to be a great guy, but I have to admit that this one doesn't sound right to me anymore after reading the Book of Bomber (that is what BB stands for, right?). Although flow can prevent as much detritus from settling on the sand, I fail to see how it can prevent the accumulation of undesirable organics in general. I accept the fact that DSBs process waste to a degree, but it seems hard to compare a closed waste processing system that stores processed byproducts with one that ships the raw material out before the need to process occurs in the first place.

I know I preaching to the choir in this thread, but sometimes I just like the sound of the music.

[Bomber]

I could say a lot of things right now, you know? LOL

What do you ask a DSB to do? It's a filter you put in the aquarium, right? It's supposed to perform denitrification. What has to happen in order for it to perform denitrification?
How do you stop the other things that the bacteria need from building up?

I didn't write a bunch of books, articles, etc on DSB's and I don't have a bunch of associates on some hobby lecture circuit that we all defend each other, but I do know that:

Denitrification = nutrification = eutrophication

If you ask a marine sediment to perform denitrification?

But then, I'm too dumb to run a DSB so what do I know. LOL

[skooter571]

Well, one week of lunch time reading and I finely got through all of the thread and all of its attachments, and I'm sold...GOOD BYE DSB hello Starboard.

Thanks Bomber of all of the wisdom and knowlede you have comtributed to YOUR THREAD.

[drtango]

I've been with this thread from the start, and have a year old starboard tank (after being burned by a DSB twice!)

The term EUTROPHICATION hasn't been used much but sums up the argument quite nicely--any relatively closed aquatic system will go to to eutriphication, be it a septic tank, farm pond or marine tank--it's just a matter of how long it takes depending on nutrient input/output, realizing that in a DSB system input will always beat output.

John

[Bomber]

John

Here's the short answer. In order for a marine sediment to perform - not necessarily complete - denitrification, marine bacteria need more than just nitrogen compounds. What happens to all those other things? The proponents of DSB filters like to explain it "bottom/up". That the other things that are necessary and incorporated into a DSB enter the food chain and are associated from the bottom up.
That's well and fine as long as two criteria are met. One, that the inputs do not exceed the systems ability to reduce and introduce those components. Two, that the system does not run out of habitat for those bacteria and animals, that they are able to have unlimited habitat.

This has never worked.

I find it very strange that only in the hobby do you find people professing that it does.

[drtango]

Amen, and proud to be "too dumb to run a DSB"!!

John

[RonSF]

Originally posted by Bomber
This has never worked.

I find it very strange that only in the hobby do you find people professing that it does.

Come on guys, what's with all this science stuff. What ever happened to good old fashioned faith? Add one part faith and one part marketing and voile: A Sustainable Capitalist Culture.

In all seriousness: Thanks again, Bomber, for sharing your scientific knowledge with us. DSBs made perfect sense to me at one point, but what you have to say on the subject is just so . . . logical. I see no way to conduct a sound defense against your reasoning, particularly the last few capsule arguments posted above.

[SunnyX]

Ok after reading the many posts here I have decided to go BB on my new 225gl. The tank will be 60Lx36Wx24H so I need a custom peice of Starboard. Any links to find some?

[NuclearReefs]

Sunny,, its in the thread,, the cuttingboard company is where most are buying it. But the best bet is to call a local plastics company or a boat supply place .

[SptfireXIV]

Originally posted by SptfireXIV
Bomber, I've been tossing this idea around in my head for the last few weeks, let me know what you think about it.

For my next tank, I was thinking about having the bottom made of white acrylic, and then adding a very very thin layer of sand. Once the flow kicks in, the sand would probably get piled up around the rocks, leaving me with a tank that is essentially bare bottomed, but without the look of having such a flat, unnatural looking bottom. Could this work, or would it still end up trapping too much detritus around the rocks?

I hate to quote myself, but I'm really curious if anybody has tried this long-term.

[Bomber]

would it still end up trapping too much detritus around the rocks?

and in the sand.

[Bomber]

Fault the (incorrect) application of the methodology... not the methodology itself.

Does anyone remember the famous "it's as easy as falling off a log" quote - immediately followed by the 6 week course on how to run a DSB?

ROTFLMAO

[Louis Governo]

I would like to post this question here since this group seems to "think" more than just go with what is being done. I inherited my small tank and have been tormented on what type of substrate to use since I started (mine came with an UGF). I was leaning towards DRLHAWKE's idea (but don't like the look of CC) until I found this thread. Thank you bomber. I would like the look of a shallow sand bed but we decided that health is more important since we have already experienced loss. That being said my question is; I'm setting up a new 150 gal and want to get enough flow and keep things quiet. I'd also like to use what I already have. My tank is made to drain 1200 GPH. I will be putting all the "stuff" in the basement. I have a ETSS 800 skimmer and a 300 gallon water tank. My original idea for aquiring such a large one was for safety. I don't think I'll need that now, but I have it. I would like to add a suction line to my tank. My thought was to make something like a spray bar (maybe 2" pvc) but with slots cut into it to run along the back of the tank beneath the default water level. I would have my pump suck from the spray bar and the sump. It would feed the return, my skimmer, a CA ractor and UV. I know that you can't match water flow with a pump but thought if my natural drain could handle 1200 GPH and my suction bar could handle let's say 800 GPH and i set my return for 1700 GPH then my natural drain could handle any fluctuations in flow from 800 to 2000. Any ideas? Thanks!

[Travis]

Originally posted by Narkon
Second concern, is will a sea urchin make scratch all over the acrylic?

Yes, they will leave bite marks in the acrylic.