Bare Bottom- HDPE | Starboard | ABS

[Reefahholic]

HDPE (regular)
HDPE “King Starboard”
ABS

Does anybody know the “True” differences of each?

 

[Reefahholic]

“HDPE is FDA approved for food contact”




Polyethylene is an industrial plastic. Its surface will have some imperfections and scratches.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a versatile thermoplastic that is made from petroleum. This multipurpose material offers excellent chemical resistance to suit a wide variety of applications at a competitive price. Our selection of HDPE sheets includes a wide range of sizes, colors, thicknesses, and customization options to choose from. Polyethylene sheets are resistant to impact, moisture, and chemicals, making it ideal for machined parts, industrial cutting boards, wear strips, tank linings, livestock containment, material handling systems, and other applications. Businesses, schools, and other organizations choose HDPE, because it does not splinter, rot, or retain harmful bacteria. Just select the ideal thickness, width, length, and quantity to get started. Not sure what you need for your DIY project? We offer polyethylene samples.

Each cut-to-size sheet can be customized in width and length, but we can also add holes, radius corners, and rounded or routed edges for an additional cost. Cut-to-size requests may take one to two business days to process, or you can visit one of our store locations to get custom HDPE in five minutes or less, from start to finish. Our highly trained experts can promptly provide a quote for any cut-to-size request. HDPE sheets can also be used to produce loose-leaf binders, indexes, sheet dividers, boxes, signs, and point-of-purchase (POP) displays. Our natural sheets have a low coefficient of friction and can be easily cut, welded, or thermoformed for easy fabrication.

————————————————————————


ABS is easier to silicone/ glue which is why Reef Savvy is using it I believe. I just think the HDPE or (King Starboard) is a better choice for our reefs. I could be wrong. Still researching.



ABS ACRYLONITRILE-BUTADINE-STYRENE


General purpose ABS Plastic is a rigid thermoplastic with a combination of properties that make it ideal for the widest range of applications. We stock general purpose ABS Plastic with the standard "haircell" finish

• Outstanding formability
• Very high impact strength
• High tensile strength and stiffness
• Excellent high and low temperature performance
• Resistant to many chemicals and plasticizers
• Excellent ductility
• Lends itself to dielectric welding

Note: ABS Plastic in Engineering grade is also available. Please call. We also CNC to your CAD drawing, cut to size to +-.005 tolerance, and sell full sheets in quantity. This material is also available THINNER and THICKER as well as in ROD and TUBE. ABS Plastic - aka Absylux, Acrylonitrile, Butadine, Styrene, Royalite.

For larger sheet sizes of ABS Plastic sheet, custom cutting, or larger quantities, please call our Sales Dept.

Applications Include

• Machined prototypes
• Structural components
• Support blocks
• Housings
• Covers

Advantages of Absylux®

• Excellent impact resistance
• Good machinability
• Excellent aesthetic qualities
• Easy to paint and glue <~~~~~~~
• Good strength and stiffness
• Low cost

Manufacturing Capabilities

• Rod: 1/4” to 8” diameter
• Sheet: 1/16” to 6” thick
• Film: .001” to .029” thick

Color/Grades

• Absylux – FDA compliant grade (natural and black)
• Absylux II – Machine grade, non-FDA (natural and black)
• FR Absylux – Flame retardant grade (natural and black)
• Custom colors available

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MARINE GRADE - SEABOARD OR STARBOARD HDPE


Top SEABOARD/STARBOARD Applications
Marine grade and non-marine grade outdoor cabinetry, furniture hatches, covers rails, trim, and components, decorative wood, metal replacement and many more.

Key Material Benefits of Marine Starboard:

• Excellent scratch resistance
• Great impact and stiffness
• Weatherability (UV stabilized)
• Will not delaminate, chip, rot, or swell
• Easy to machine with standard tooling
• No moisture absorption
• Gloss finish
• Easy to clean
• Stiffness
• Stocked colors, sizes and thicknesses
• Still FDA and USDA approved with UV Additive

SEABOARD/STARBOARD Sheet Compliances:

• FDA, USDA, and RoHS

Marine STARBOARD/SEABOARD Colors Available:

• Polar White
• Black
• Craft Gray
• Mercury Gray
• Seafoam
• Sand Shade

Marine grade HDPE is also commonly referred to as SEABOARD, STARBOARD, star board, marine lumber, marine plywood, and design board.

 

[ca1ore]

Whether it is best or not I cannot say, but I always used starboard because it is dimensionally stable (does not absorb water).

 

[Reefahholic]

Whether it is best or not I cannot say, but I always used starboard because it is dimensionally stable (does not absorb water).

Yeah, I’m not sure either. A quick google search and you’ll see that a few people have reported that regular HDPE (cutting boards) can break down over time. It’s apparently caused issues in a few tanks. I find that hard to believe, but won’t rule that out until I get the facts. From what I hear, ReefWiser had a guy in his club that experienced this.

The purpose of this thread is to identify the appropriate or safe materials for our reef tanks.

As far as I know...from calling eplastics is that the Starboard is “UV Resistant” but the same HDPE material. That’s the only difference the guy told me.

However, on another website in a video it says that regular HDPE is used for interior applications while the Starboard (like King Starboard) is for exterior applications and is considered “marine grade.” It’s used heavily in the boating industry. So going back to what you said, I think you are correct sir.

So if their using words like “interior” and “exterior” then apparently it can break down.??

Check out their video:
https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_sheets_rolls/hdpe_sheets/529

 

[cromag27]

marine grade hdpe all the way. seaboard and starboard are brand names of marine grade hdpe. i prefer starboard.

 

[Reefahholic]

marine grade hdpe all the way. marineboard and starboard are brand names of marine grade hdpe. i prefer starboard.

Do you know any pros and cons for either material?

 

[cromag27]

Do you know any pros and cons for either material?

i prefer king starboard because it is less prone to warp and it was the first. and i love innovators.

had to correct a typo in my last post. the other well known brand is seaboard. there are a few others as well, but like i said i prefer starboard. there are various styles as well.

http://www.kingplastic.com/products/king-starboard/

 

[Reefahholic]

i prefer king starboard because it is less prone to warp and it was the first. and i love innovators.

had to correct a typo in my last post. the other well known brand is seaboard. there are a few others as well, but like i said i prefer starboard. there are various styles as well.

http://www.kingplastic.com/products/king-starboard/

Thanks for your input. Yeah the only difference I can see is that Starboard is UV Resistant and Used for Exterior applications and Regular HDPE is not.


Look what I found. Although Randy May have a different opinion now.

01/16/2010
Randy Holmes-Farley
Reef Chemist

Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Arlington, Massachusetts
Posts: 86,408

There is certainly nothing wrong with ordinary HDPE for reef aquarium use.

__________________
Randy Holmes-Farley

Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

 

[Tyreef2016]

Starting up a new bare bottom tank myself and I wanted to go with frag tiles. that way once corals grow I can remove the tile, frag it and then just replace with a new tile.

could tiles be added into this equation? or is there a negative side i'm overlooking?

 

[cromag27]

Thanks for your input. Yeah the only difference I can see is that Starboard is UV Resistant and Used for Exterior applications and Regular HDPE is not.


Look what I found. Although Randy May have a different opinion now.

01/16/2010
Randy Holmes-Farley
Reef Chemist

Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Arlington, Massachusetts
Posts: 86,408

There is certainly nothing wrong with ordinary HDPE for reef aquarium use.

__________________
Randy Holmes-Farley

Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

Starting up a new bare bottom tank myself and I wanted to go with frag tiles. that way once corals grow I can remove the tile, frag it and then just replace with a new tile.

could tiles be added into this equation? or is there a negative side i'm overlooking?

both regular hdpe and tiles have been used in reef tanks for years. i’ve used both myself.

 

[cromag27]

Thanks for your input. Yeah the only difference I can see is that Starboard is UV Resistant and Used for Exterior applications and Regular HDPE is not.


Look what I found. Although Randy May have a different opinion now.

01/16/2010
Randy Holmes-Farley
Reef Chemist

Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Arlington, Massachusetts
Posts: 86,408

There is certainly nothing wrong with ordinary HDPE for reef aquarium use.

__________________
Randy Holmes-Farley

Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

unless you are using it for marine purposes, marine board is just fine.

 

[Reefahholic]

(SEABOARD, STARBOARD, DENSETEC, ETC.)


High Density Polyethylene Marine Board is specially formulated to withstand the rigors of harsh outdoor marine environments. It is UV-stabilized to resist damage and retain its beauty, even after years of direct sunlight. Increasingly, Marine Board is replacing wood and laminates in boating applications. It does not splinter, crack, delaminate, rot, swell or absorb water like traditional materials. Even under heavy foot traffic on yacht decks, it remains virtually maintenance-free.

In addition, there is no need to stain or paint Marine Board every few years. The color is integrated with the polymer and retains its vibrant appearance better than painted wood.

Fabrication and finishing are easy with standard woodworking tools. Marine Board forms easily for smooth curves and bends. Since there is no grain pattern, parts can be cut from any part of the sheet virtually eliminating waste for greater economy than wood.

Standard Colors: Polar White, Seafoam, Sand Shade Stone Grey, Light Grey, Dolphin Grey, and Black. Colors can also be matched to your exact requirements.

 

[Reefahholic]

both regular hdpe and tiles have been used in reef tanks for years. i’ve used both myself.

Have you heard of regular HDPE breaking down?

Aug 2, 2015

reefwiserLMASR2R Supporter Reef Squad R2R Excellence AwardArticle Contributor Partner Member 2018
I have had club members put this on the bottoms of their tanks with disastrous effect.

Aug 2, 2015

reefwiserLMASR2R Supporter Reef Squad R2R Excellence AwardArticle Contributor Partner Member 2018
Had a tank crash from star board. Club member is a long time reef keeper. I wanted to try bare bottom starboard tank. Didn't go well.

 

[cromag27]

Have you heard of regular HDPE breaking down?

Aug 2, 2015

reefwiserLMASR2R Supporter Reef Squad R2R Excellence AwardArticle Contributor Partner Member 2018
I have had club members put this on the bottoms of their tanks with disastrous effect.

Aug 2, 2015

reefwiserLMASR2R Supporter Reef Squad R2R Excellence AwardArticle Contributor Partner Member 2018
Had a tank crash from star board. Club member is a long time reef keeper. I wanted to try bare bottom starboard tank. Didn't go well.

no i haven’t. i’m surprised and would like to hear more about these situations.

 

[Reefahholic]

Aug 2, 2015

EckolancerLED GURU
↑
Had a tank crash from star board. Club member is a long time reef keeper. I wanted to try bare bottom starboard tank. Didn't go well.
I would like to know how you figure starboard crashed your tank? It is just plastic based like a lot of other equipment in the tank. If you had barebottom with minimal live rock. You can have faster fluctuations than a tank with say sand or lots of live rock.





Aug 5, 2015

reefwiserLMASR2R Supporter Reef Squad R2R Excellence AwardArticle Contributor Partner Member 2018
The club member removed the sand from his display tank. And placed all rock and corals in the rest of his system. He has a whole fish room setup with breeding clowns and coral frag system. He silicones the starboard to the bottom an put everything back into the tank. From that point on he had noting but problems with the tank till he removed the starboard. This is just a data point your mileage may vary.

 

[cromag27]

Aug 2, 2015

EckolancerLED GURU
↑
Had a tank crash from star board. Club member is a long time reef keeper. I wanted to try bare bottom starboard tank. Didn't go well.
I would like to know how you figure starboard crashed your tank? It is just plastic based like a lot of other equipment in the tank. If you had barebottom with minimal live rock. You can have faster fluctuations than a tank with say sand or lots of live rock.





Aug 5, 2015

reefwiserLMASR2R Supporter Reef Squad R2R Excellence AwardArticle Contributor Partner Member 2018
The club member removed the sand from his display tank. And placed all rock and corals in the rest of his system. He has a whole fish room setup with breeding clowns and coral frag system. He silicones the starboard to the bottom an put everything back into the tank. From that point on he had noting but problems with the tank till he removed the starboard. This is just a data point your mileage may vary.

eh. probably didn’t wait for the silicone to fully cure.

 

[Reefahholic]

eh. probably didn’t wait for the silicone to fully cure.

Lol, yep was thinking the same thing.

Check this out:

Each kind of plastic has a different chemical makeup so to make people and recycling plant aware of them the Society of the Plastics Industry (SIP) in the year 1988introduced classification system or you can say grading system.

The following plastic grades are:


Grade 1 plastics are made up of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It is commonly used in beverage bottles, water bottles, medicinal jars and bean bags.


Grade 2 plastics are made up of high-density polyethylene, or HDPE. It is extremely safe as it does not leach chemicals into foods or drinks. It is used in shampoo bottles, milk containers, motor oils, and bleaches.


Grade 3 plastics are made up of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. This plastic is used in all kinds of pipes and tiles.


Grade 4 is made up of low-density polyethylene, or LDPE. It is used to make cling wraps, sandwich bags, squeezable bottles and grocery bags.


Grade 5 plastics are made up of polypropylene, or PP. It is used to make plastic diapers, lunch boxes (Hunger Box), small containers (Munchie Box), margarine containers, syrup bottle and yogurt boxes.


Grade 6 plastics are made up of polystyrene, also known as PS. This is basically used to make disposable items like spoons, plates, coffee cups, etc.


Grade 7 plastics are designated for other kinds of plastic which don't fall under the first six classifications. Plastics like polycarbonate, ABS, and polylactide fall under this category. Polycarbonate (PC) is used to make baby bottles, compact disc, and medicinal storages.

 

[Reefahholic]

Here’s some more information:

Jul 25, 2017

cilyjrActive MemberR2R Supporter Build Thread Contributor Reef Tank 365
I did some looking into plastics a while back here's what I found (I wrote this for a thead a whike back)...
there are 3 types of food safe plastics commonly available on the market.
1. HDPE (high density polyethylene, recycle code 2) is the most common because of its rigidity. Pretty much all 5 gallon buckets are made of it. it is also what the large brute containers are made from. I use these in the restaurant to store flour sugar ect. and can be bought at any commercial food service suppliers, from home depot, and lowes with caution. it is important to note that NOT ALL HDPE is food safe however. this is because as it is molded, a release agent is sometimes used in the manufacturing to make it easier to remove from the mold. many release agents are toxic.

2. LLDPE or LDPE (linear low density polyethylene, recycle code 4) is less rigid. Most of your rubbermade containers are made from it. We use these in the restaurant to mix and hold things like coleslaw and large batches of orzo salad ect. these can be bought from commercial food service suppliers, home depot, and lowes and have little risk of not being food safe they are however less rigid (think of a bucket you use to put fall leaves into) and may not be the best for long term storage because of the possibility of becoming deformed. I find containers that use this plastic personally as its cheap and easy to find and because of its flexability it doesn't have the same mold release issues HDPE has. but I do worry about them breaking.

3. PP (polypropylene, recycle code 5) it might be hard to find a large container made of PP. it is mostly used in those little brown bottles that your prescription pills came in and the disposable ziploc containers with the blue lids that have taken over your kitchen. the issue with PP is The Environmental Working Group classifies polypropylene as a low to moderate health hazard. they state "two substances found to leach from polypropylene labware - an antimicrobial chemical known as quaternary ammonium and a plastic softening agent called oleamide" this might be only because PP is used in some makeup as an ingredient.

the other plastics i would not use though they are in many bottles one finds food in is PETE (polyethylene terephthalate recycle code 1) as it is known to leach BPA over long periods. and OTHER (other recycle code 7) this really speaks for it self. it is anything that does not fit in the other categories. it could be ok but you cannot know.

finally vinyl (PVC recycle code 3) strangely not considered food safe due to the use of phthalates to soften the plastic. many companies are using non-phthalate plasticizers since 2010 so it may be changed at some point.

thats what I found. my curiosity was piqued for both the hobby and my work (a few years ago when the #7 plastic ban happened due to bpa) anyway thats what i found i hope it helps

 

[Reefahholic]

Here’s more:

Jul 26, 2017

bblumbergActive MemberR2R Supporter
↑
I did some looking into plastics a while back here's what I found (I wrote this for a thead a whike back)...
there are 3 types of food safe plastics commonly available on the market.
1. HDPE (high density polyethylene, recycle code 2) is the most common because of its rigidity. Pretty much all 5 gallon buckets are made of it. it is also what the large brute containers are made from. I use these in the restaurant to store flour sugar ect. and can be bought at any commercial food service suppliers, from home depot, and lowes with caution. it is important to note that NOT ALL HDPE is food safe however. this is because as it is molded, a release agent is sometimes used in the manufacturing to make it easier to remove from the mold. many release agents are toxic.

2. LLDPE or LDPE (linear low density polyethylene, recycle code 4) is less rigid. Most of your rubbermade containers are made from it. We use these in the restaurant to mix and hold things like coleslaw and large batches of orzo salad ect. these can be bought from commercial food service suppliers, home depot, and lowes and have little risk of not being food safe they are however less rigid (think of a bucket you use to put fall leaves into) and may not be the best for long term storage because of the possibility of becoming deformed. I find containers that use this plastic personally as its cheap and easy to find and because of its flexability it doesn't have the same mold release issues HDPE has. but I do worry about them breaking.

3. PP (polypropylene, recycle code 5) it might be hard to find a large container made of PP. it is mostly used in those little brown bottles that your prescription pills came in and the disposable ziploc containers with the blue lids that have taken over your kitchen. the issue with PP is The Environmental Working Group classifies polypropylene as a low to moderate health hazard. they state "two substances found to leach from polypropylene labware - an antimicrobial chemical known as quaternary ammonium and a plastic softening agent called oleamide" this might be only because PP is used in some makeup as an ingredient.

the other plastics i would not use though they are in many bottles one finds food in is PETE (polyethylene terephthalate recycle code 1) as it is known to leach BPA over long periods. and OTHER (other recycle code 7) this really speaks for it self. it is anything that does not fit in the other categories. it could be ok but you cannot know.

finally vinyl (PVC recycle code 3) strangely not considered food safe due to the use of phthalates to soften the plastic. many companies are using non-phthalate plasticizers since 2010 so it may be changed at some point.

thats what I found. my curiosity was piqued for both the hobby and my work (a few years ago when the #7 plastic ban happened due to bpa) anyway thats what i found i hope it helps
Click to expand...
My laboratory works on the health effects of contaminants from plastics and other environmental sources. With respect to what you note above, I would make some additions and corrections:

PETE does not leach bisphenol A, it is an entirely different type of plastic. There ARE some clear hard plastics labeled as BPA free that, in fact, contain bisphenol S and bisphenol F, both of which are comparable in their effects to BPA. But these are not PETE. However, there are reports of plastic beverage containers leaching chemicals that interfere with estrogen and testosterone receptor action and some of these must be PETE...

PVC has both phthalates (small amount) and organotins (quite high amounts), neither of which are particularly good for you. Both leach at relatively slow rates, but the leaching of organotins is detectable and certainly not beneficial. Some of the phthalate replacements (such as tributylcitrate) are also turning out to be problematic. The main problem is that there are few requirements for materials testing before use beyond relatively simple gross toxicity tests that protect you from acute poisoning. Testing for long-term effects is almost non-existent and nearly all safety testing is performed by the manufacturers of the materials themselves.

Group 7 is a "catch-all" for various types of plastics. It includes some types that you would rather not be exposed to such as polycarbonate (which leaches bisphenol A, particularly when you heat the plastic) as well as modern, biodegradable plastics that are much better for the environment.

Personally, I would prefer polypropylene and HDPE plastics whenever possible for aquarium water storage as they leach the least amount of miscellaneous stuff. LDPE plastics leach a fair amount of stuff into liquids - for example the "plastic-y taste" which is phthalates for the most part. Having said all this, I use HDPE barrels for my RO-DI water and pump this into an old 45G hexagon aquarium for salt water mixing and storage. The best way to avoid leaching of things you don't want into your water and food is not to store food and water in plastic for extended periods of time.


Bruce

 

[Idaho-reefer]

Ordered my hdpe off Amazon and it cuts like wood. I would recommend 1/2 inch as the 1/4 seems to not want to lay completely flat at the edges.