Starboard Reef is up and running - Page 51

gregt · #**1251** 04/22/2004, 08:27 AM

I bought mine at a local fabricator that had it in 8'x4' sheets. You may have a hard time getting it into the tank in one big sheet anyway.

You could cover it with one sheet if you did two 2x5' strips and then a 1' x 4' sheet and a 1' x 1' square.

Or you could get them to cut you 3 5' x 1.6' strips or 2 5'x2' and 1 5' x 1' strips, but either of those will take two sheets...

Nanook · #**1252** 04/22/2004, 09:28 AM

Thanks!!

Do you recommend using 1/2" thick board? I am looking at using a black sheet for the bottom, anything wrong with that?

Dave

cvye · #**1253** 04/22/2004, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nanook
I am looking at using a black sheet for the bottom, anything wrong with that?

Bomber's white SB tank is using only 2hrs of MH light, saving lots o electricity. You're gonna convert those visible rays to IR - more heat, less light. I don't know why anyone would want that, but hey, it's a free country!

DLS · #**1254** 04/22/2004, 03:11 PM

people have had success with black. I personally like the look of the black more, but it doesn't reflect light as well so white is probably better for your corals. I don't know if that's a significant difference or not.

gregt · #**1255** 04/22/2004, 03:13 PM

It's significant.

It's also debatable about whether it's a good thing or not. I've noticed some unusual growth patterns due to the fact that light is coming from below as well as above.

I still think it's a good thing.

Bomber · #**1256** 04/22/2004, 04:52 PM

It's enough to grow fire corals upside down under the rocks.

Scleractinian · #**1257** 04/22/2004, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bomber
It's enough to grow fire corals upside down under the rocks.

Another excellent reason to minimize manual detritus removal!

maxxII · #**1258** 04/22/2004, 06:19 PM

Rob,
thats a self correcting problem...lol
Positive reinforcement.....
Positive ya dont wanna touch that again!
Nick

Bomber · #**1259** 04/22/2004, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scleractinian
Another excellent reason to minimize manual detritus removal!

I don't get it.

musicsmaker · #**1260** 04/22/2004, 08:17 PM

Bomber, are there any anemones in there? If so, how do they like the flow?

Scleractinian · #**1261** 04/22/2004, 08:18 PM

Some people siphon out mulm with tubing or a turkey baster... sometimes their hands get close to rocks. Ever had the back of your hand or the inside of your forearm contact Millepora ?

Bomber · #**1262** 04/22/2004, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by musicsmaker
Bomber, are there any anemones in there? If so, how do they like the flow?

Not yet, but I think Greg has talked me into some.

Bomber · #**1263** 04/22/2004, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scleractinian
Some people siphon out mulm with tubing or a turkey baster... sometimes their hands get close to rocks. Ever had the back of your hand or the inside of your forearm contact Millepora ?

We've set these tanks up so we don't have to siphon.

But yes, I do know what you mean.

Ereefic · #**1264** 04/22/2004, 09:55 PM

Mind if I join the 'Starboard Crew'?

Actually it's Food Grade HDPE. Couldn't beat the price of free.

We'll see how it holds up. Here's a 'in progress' pic.

kwjones · #**1265** 04/23/2004, 07:33 AM

Hey guys, so after removing the sand and some of the LR, how much lighter is your bio-load now?

I'm just waiting for all the pieces to come together before I can set up the new tank.

If it's going to take much longer, I may just bite the bullet and go bare bottom on my current tank while I wait for the new tank to be set up.

Bomber · #**1266** 04/23/2004, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ereefic
Mind if I join the 'Starboard Crew'?

Actually it's Food Grade HDPE. Couldn't beat the price of free. We'll see how it holds up. Here's a 'in progress' pic.

Not at all.

and they accused me of being minimalist! LOL Just kidding, looks real good so far.

Bomber · #**1267** 04/23/2004, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kwjones
Hey guys, so after removing the sand and some of the LR, how much lighter is your bio-load now? .

kw, take your time! Do it the way you want it the first time.

That's the hardest thing to get past, people have somehow been hoodooed into thinking detritus, bacteria, worms, etc don't count.

MiddletonMark · #**1268** 04/23/2004, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ereefic
Mind if I join the 'Starboard Crew'?

Hey Ereefic, nice to see you found the light

Of course, now you're going to get on me for half of my bottom that isn't bare. Going to have to find out your source for that free HDPE .... get some myself.

Next time Kris heads out of town ... lay that starboard down. That is, unless too much coralline grows on what's bare [glass]already. Then it's just a couple water changes away

But now that the bare area is moving towards all my zoanthids ... I see strong desire for starboard. Heck, eventually I'll be able to cut the starboard in pieces [where there's zoanthids/etc grown on] and sell it.
Sorta like my frag rack, which now has xenia, anthelia, and yellow polyps grown onto it. A couple more corals and I'm going to Ebay it

kwjones · #**1269** 04/23/2004, 08:58 AM

Bomber,

I am really looking forward to reducing my bio-load...

The only thing I'm really waiting on is getting a pump for the closed loop and some "new" live rock. LOL...my wife has to restrain me from sucking the sand out when I do water changes now. I told her I wouldn't touch it until I'm ready to put the new reef ready tank in...this is worse than a 5 year old waiting for Christmas.

K9 · #**1270** 04/23/2004, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MiddletonMark
Actually, I thik it's more like a political party or philosphy.

Some might go so far as calling it a "cult"

. I'm seriously considering converting my 30g to Starboard now based on the info I've learned from this thread alone. I have a SSB of about 1-1.5" in my tank now, and I'm already sick of dealing with the upkeep and maintenance it takes to keep it looking nice. I do have a few questions though, and I apologise if they've already been asked. Here goes:

1) Is a 30g tank big enough to have a successful Starboard setup, or will this idea only work in larger tanks?

2) I don't want to just throw all 40lbs of sand away once I remove it from my tank. Would it be worth it to put it into a fuge for a DSB, or would that defeat the purpose of going Starboard in the first place?

3) Is a protein skimmer a "must-have" for a Starboard tank? I would assume so, but I just wanted to ask to be sure.

Thanks!

MiddletonMark · #**1271** 04/23/2004, 09:33 AM

K9 ... here's my peanut-gallery comments.

Skimmer ... yes, I would consider a very efficient skimmer necessary for the export part of this method. You need to be pulling stuff out, consistently, to remove the detritus as it's `available'.

While filter floss [changed very regularly] or similar `trapping' methods will work, IMO skimming it out is the #1 best method as it cannot degrade anymore in the tank.

--

Again, IMO ... there is no `too small' area for a starboard tank the way I see it. Unlike a sandbed, where it needs a certain size for longevity/balance ... I don't see `smallness' as a problem here.

The DSB in a fuge/sump ... probably will just collect even more detritus. Yes, I modified Bomber's method ... probably not in a good fashion ... and use one. It's still a likely `ticking bomb' ... easier to swap out, but yet I'm keeping detritus as a pet there.
Esp. as such locations tend to be lower flow ... it's likely to collect even MORE detritus in a sump or fuge than the main tank.

When I have to re-do mine, I'm going with macro, LR, and spaces to siphon detritus in my sump/fuge again. I like the chaeto with the pods, but given all the life I see on rocks/algae ... think the sandbed in the 'fuge was a mistake now.
[just a total pain to remove, so I'm giving it time]

---

With a good skimmer, and no dead spots/good flow ... I don't see a `tank size' limitation. That's just my understanding, which has been and will be wrong at times.

Heck, while I totally see the method here, I violate it [1/4-1/2 of substrate in the front of my tank, sandbed in fuge] ... and slowly I'm realizing how I should have gone 100% Bomberite from the get-go ... as every tank tweak I'm going that direction.

Anyway - that's my peanut-gallery opinions

SPC · #**1272** 04/23/2004, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by K9Decoy

1) Is a 30g tank big enough to have a successful Starboard setup, or will this idea only work in larger tanks?

You bet.

2) I don't want to just throw all 40lbs of sand away once I remove it from my tank. Would it be worth it to put it into a fuge for a DSB, or would that defeat the purpose of going Starboard in the first place?

Two things here IMO, once the sand has been in the tank for a while, cleaning it effectively would be very difficult to do, and sand in a remote low flow area will accumulate more detritus than the tank itself.

3) Is a protein skimmer a "must-have" for a Starboard tank? I would assume so, but I just wanted to ask to be sure.

Well in my opinion a skimmer is a "must have" for any reef tank that has plans to be around for a while. BTW, Dr Ron and Rob Toonen recommend that a skimmer be run with the DSB method. too.
Steve

bluereefs · #**1273** 04/23/2004, 10:02 AM

Ever had the back of your hand or the inside of your forearm contact Millepora ?
I frag her with my hand,she dont have so powerfull sting.
Because I regulary clean dozens of scorpions fishes for dinner at least once a week(with bare hand too) I dont find contact with millepora so dangerous.

K9 · #**1274** 04/23/2004, 11:35 AM

MiddletonMark and SPC,

Thanks for the responses. I guess I'll just try to sell my 40lbs of LS to a fellow reefer down here or give it to the LFS or something. My tank is skimmerless/sumpless/fugeless right now, so that's why I asked the skimmer question. I understand the reasoning behind a skimmer being a must-have item though. I'd much rather have a skimmer than rinse out filter floss from an HOB PF every day to remove detritus.

How much flow am I going to want in a 30g tank for the Starboard method to be effective? I have 2 MJ600s right now (160gph/ea) which I know isn't enough for a Starboard reef, so they'll go bye-bye when I change the setup. Will 700gph (I'm considering buying a Mag-Drive 7) on a closed-loop system make enough flow to keep waste from settling so the skimmer can suck it up, or should I go with more/less? Thanks again!

MiddletonMark · #**1275** 04/23/2004, 11:48 AM

I dunno [and hate to have to say that].

From messing with my tanks for a while ... you can set up a tank with seemingly less flow and no dead spots ... and lots of flow and still dead spots. I don't think there's a mathematical formula on `__ flow is enough'

---
And yes, export is the crucial focus [opinion] in Bomber's take on barebottom that we're discussing. Obviously limiting imports, but he does admit being a heavy feeder ... it's the balance and heavy export that really does the trick IMO.

And you will need a skimmer running to work this system. How much flow? So much depends. I like my spray bar as it seems to keep a wide area free of debris ... plus I've found aquascaping seems to affect things here.

Anyway, before I turn this ramble into War & Peace, time to let other people talk