Bare bottom tank - Bottom glass question

[ilaizm]

Hi,

I am about to set up a bare bottom tank and read that Discus might not like the reflection coming from the bottom glass. I don't think placing the tank on a wooded unit will solve the problem. Am I right?

I don't want to paint the bottom. What other options do I have?

thanks

[fish4fun]

what about taping one of the "aquarium backgrounds" in a nice blue or black to the bottom?

[TankWatcher]

That might work, but I don't know why something similar didn't for me. I tried to avoid painting the tank bottom, so I tried a piece of sand coloured material under the tank. Next I tried painting some styrofoam & put that under the tank. Both looked okay until I filled the tank. Once filled, the glass bottom just acted like a mirror and so I didn't get the effect I wanted, but still, it might be worth a try. Eventually I did paint the bottoms.

[Disgirl]

From experience I know that if you fasten anything directly to the glass bottom, not just place the tank onto it, then you will have a dark bottom. But if you place the picture, or paper or whatever even 1/2" below the bottom of the glass then it will be as if nothing is there when the tank is full. Hope this is clear :confused: If not then I can describe it better.
Barb:)

[rich_one]

What I find confusing about all of this, is they seem to have no problem being in barebottom tanks, with nothing at all on the bottoms, and various breeders and/or fish houses I've seen... why then, suddenly so spooked at home in the same situation?

-Rich

[korbi_doc]

I just used one of those textured "sandy beige" spray paints on the outside bottom...think it was "american accents" there are sev'l available..easy to do...I love the look....JMO

Dottie

[LizStreithorst]

I have never done anything other than put a piece of blue styrofoam under my tanks. The fish bred fine and never acted spooked:confused:

[Hagisan]

I went from a gravel bottom to BB and have not noticed any of the Discus being stressed or spooked. The LFS/breeder I purchased them from kept them in BB prior.

The only thing that still spooks them every once in a while is when the lights coming on.

Good luck going BB. I love the ease of cleaning.

[Jason K.]

i don't have anything under either of my bb tanks. one stand is cherry, one american cherry. the fish don't seem to mind. also don't believe they see any reflection if you look straight down from the top you see just the wood.

[TankWatcher]

Have to say mine were never spooked by the BB. I painted them only for my own viewing pleasure :)


From experience I know that if you fasten anything directly to the glass bottom, not just place the tank onto it, then you will have a dark bottom. But if you place the picture, or paper or whatever even 1/2" below the bottom of the glass then it will be as if nothing is there when the tank is full.Hi Barb, you have me a little confused (not hard for me, i grant ). If I "place my tank onto" the painted styrofoam, meaning the tank sits directly on it, there can be no space below the bottom of the tank & the painted styrofoam. So even though it is not "fastened" to the glass bottom, it is as close as if it was - but still it is as if it wasn't there once the tank was filled.

Yet I know that others paint the styrofoam and it works (like Liz).

What annoyed me most was when I eventually did paint the tank bottom a sand colour, I discovered my tankmaker had used glass with a blue tint to it. So my yellow bottom became a blue bottom when the tank filled. Oh well.

[Darrell Ward]

I have never done anything other than put a piece of blue styrofoam under my tanks. The fish bred fine and never acted spooked:confused:

Me too. I've never found it to be a problem.

[Disgirl]

Hi Robyn, if your tank has a plastic frame like mine, then the frame sits on the stand or whatever and there is space between the glass and the stand due to the plastic strip, mine is over 1/2". But most seem to think nothing on the bottom is OK. But if the stand is just bare space under the tank, frame of stand only, like I have, then the fish look down into nothingness. Is this description any better?:D
Barb

[DerekFF]

I read somewhere on here someone tried to keep as close to BB as possible. They took a fish safe piece of plastic and somehow adhered sand to it and put it on the bottom. Solved the reflection issue and also is basicly a flat board with some texture on the bottom. Easy clean up. Sorry i have no link, dont remember where here i saw it.

[TankWatcher]

Hi Robyn, if your tank has a plastic frame like mine, then the frame sits on the stand or whatever and there is space between the glass and the stand due to the plastic strip, mine is over 1/2". But most seem to think nothing on the bottom is OK. But if the stand is just bare space under the tank, frame of stand only, like I have, then the fish look down into nothingness. Is this description any better?:D
BarbOk, I get what you mean now. No bare space under the glass bottom & no plastic edging on my tanks. My glass tanks all sit flat against a sheet of styrofoam It's a mystery then.


I read somewhere on here someone tried to keep as close to BB as possible. They took a fish safe piece of plastic and somehow adhered sand to it and put it on the bottom. Solved the reflection issue and also is basicly a flat board with some texture on the bottom. Easy clean up. Sorry i have no link, dont remember where here i saw it. I did similar. I turned my tank upside down and made a mixture with sand & wellbond glue thinned with water & and glued this mixture to the outside bottom of the tank. Sealed it with a few more coats of wellbond glue thinned down with water.

Only problem was this was on one of the tank's with the blue tinged glass and I ended up with what looks like blue sand, so I wasn't all that happy in the end. I couldn't even tell the glass had any blue in it at all, until i did this. I think in the right tank, this could work well.

I am toying with the idea of having a piece of glass made as a false bottom for the tank, making sure it has no blue tinge & then sandwiching some sand between the real tank bottom & the new false bottom. Just not sure yet if I can be bothered. i worry that the tank walls, which will still be the original blue tinged glass will still reflect blue onto the new bottom & then it will have been all for nothing !

In a few other tanks, I mixed some sand into some sand coloured paint. This was on tanks that weren't tinged with blue. It worked better, but the presence of the paint in the mixture made it evident it wasn't really sand. That was why I tried it the other way, without the paint, but the blue tinged glass colour foiled me there!

[Darrell Ward]

I read somewhere on here someone tried to keep as close to BB as possible. They took a fish safe piece of plastic and somehow adhered sand to it and put it on the bottom. Solved the reflection issue and also is basicly a flat board with some texture on the bottom. Easy clean up. Sorry i have no link, dont remember where here i saw it.

An old reef tanker's trick is to take Envirotex Lite polymer pour on finish, (it's reactive like epoxy) mix it with some sand, and pour it in the bottom of the tank, and sprinkle a little sand on top. It sets up clear. When cured, you have a bare bottomed tank with the look of a sandbed. It's a really cool trick for a bio type show tank.

[TankWatcher]

An old reef tanker's trick is to take Envirotex Lite polymer pour on finish, (it's reactive like epoxy) mix it with some sand, and pour it in the bottom of the tank, and sprinkle a little sand on top. It sets up clear. When cured, you have a bare bottomed tank with the look of a sandbed. It's a really cool trick for a bio type show tank.I really like that idea Darrell. So, Envirotex Lite polymer is fish safe, once cured? Assume it must be, or they wouldn't have it inside the tank. I know epoxy resin isfish safe.

What about it's effect on ph, if any?

[Darrell Ward]

I really like that idea Darrell. So, Envirotex Lite polymer is fish safe, once cured? Assume it must be, or they wouldn't have it inside the tank. I know epoxy resin isfish safe.

What about it's effect on ph, if any?

It's perfectly safe and won't affect PH when fully cured.

[nc0gnet0]

Cool, where do you find this stuff and how long does it take to set up and cure? Is this lik the stuff they use on those fake plants that have the gravel molded around the base for weight?

[Darrell Ward]

http://store.creative-wholesale.com/Home/tabid/118/ProductID/42/List/0/Default.aspx?SortField=Free3%20DESC,ProductName

Try that link. Stuff is pretty common at craft stores etc. It's been around for years.

[flyman767]

An old reef tanker's trick is to take Envirotex Lite polymer pour on finish, (it's reactive like epoxy) mix it with some sand, and pour it in the bottom of the tank, and sprinkle a little sand on top. It sets up clear. When cured, you have a bare bottomed tank with the look of a sandbed. It's a really cool trick for a bio type show tank.

Just curious if anyone has tried this? Results, Comments? Pics?

[FarmerD]

Here is a link to a Reef site about this. Read the entire thread, some guys destroyed their 240gal tanks in order to get it right. But it will work, and after 4 years they have had no problems with chemicals leaching into water.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=392144