Waterbox bare bottom question

[mmorrison55]

thanks to the beautiful setup that Parker’s reef (YouTube) has, and his glowing review of the waterbox custom, I’m thinking of using them for my tank build as well.

So far, I’ve run into one snag…

I think for sake of ease, maintenance and looks, I’d like to go bare bottom, but it seems if I were to do a 1 piece eurobrace option, the one thing waterbox does not offer is a starboard insert option. And correct me if I’m wrong, but if they preinstall/ glue the Eurobrace, I don’t think I could fit in an aftermarket starboard bottom.

Unless… is it possible to,”quarter” cut the starboard and then fit it in pieces through the eurobrace opening? Would this piecing together method pose any issue? Would you glue the quarters to the bottom and fill any gaps with black silicone?

I’m looking at a 6 or 7 ft tank, and I’m not thinking of going to high (maybe 24/25 inches or 610/635 mm for the rest of the world) so I might be able to get away without the eurobrace, but I really liked the look of the onepice design and like the idea of how they decrease the salt creep from spilling out onto the outside glass.

Anyways, just curious if anyone has had a similar conundrum and how you may have dealt with it.

More threads to come re other topics and questions before I decide I want to go down this rabbit hole and get back into the hobby.

Thanks for any feedback,

Mike

 

[exnisstech]

Bare bottom is barebottom for me with no starboard. All 3 of my tanks are bare bottom. I've considered starboard but never really saw a need. I've dropped some pretty big rocks with zero damage. My most recent in my tank thread is a waterbox LX 330.7. It's a beast and I love the one piece euro brace. No more water splashing over the side.

 

[mmorrison55]

Thanks. That makes me a feel a bit more willing to go without any protection for the bottom glass, but would still sleep easier if there was some other option to get the starboard or similar into the tank with the eurobrace in place.


Also, I see you are in Ashland. I was born in Mansfield and have family in Bellville. If I were still in the area, I’d be sure to visit tidal gardens that looks to be near you. Their YouTube videos make their facility look like a reefers paradise.

 

[exnisstech]

I've been to tidal gardens but they weren't allowing people in at the time.
I just took a look at my 330.7 and the only way I can see to do starboard would be in 2 pieces with a seam lengthwise in the center. The widest opening in the euro bracing is 27 3/4 inches.

 

[MrGisonni]

There are plenty of other options available to you other than starboard. I use the piece of beige acrylic board I found online much cheaper than starboard.

 

[MrGisonni]

Ivory Opaque Acrylic Plexiglass Sheet

This opaque ivory colored acrylic plexiglass sheet is suitable for many projects including laser cutting. Available in standard and custom sizes.

www.canalplastic.com

 

[mmorrison55]

I’ll have to look into acrylic option but don’t see it as a solution. I’m not so much worried about the cost savings over the starboard, I’m mainly concerned with fitting a full piece of some kind of bottom protection that I can squeeze through the reduced opening that would be a result of the eurobrace. Is there any kind of widely used flexible substrate like a silicone mat that I may not know about? I can only assume if I go with something rigid, be it star board or acrylic, I would have to at least 1/2 it if not quarter it in order to fit through the opening.