starboard question

[purplesprite]

so Im doin starbord. Ive heard about both sides as far as the right way to do it.what do you think?> should I silicone the starbord down to the bottom of the glass, or just set it down there?

[LoneStar]

Silicone it to the glass. You don't want it floating up later ;) Don't forget to silicone the edges so detritus does not get trapped in there. Also trim the star board short so its not being pressed tight against the siliconed edges of the tank walls.


btw where are you ordering yours from?

[purplesprite]

I got my starbord from regalplastics on ritterman.Its 1/2 inch thich and they cut it to my specs.Yea i remembered not to have the starboard right up on the silicone of the tank.So I just fill all that in huh? Wow thats gonna be alot of silicone.I wonder if theres anything larger at homedepot that I could use with a caulking gun thats reefsafe?

[Headless_donkey]

GE 1 Silicone for windows and doors not for bathrooms

[brewercm]

Lately I've only been able to find the GE I silicon in the tubes for a caulk gun. All the others you can get in the squeeze tube but that one for some reason. I think you are looking at around $4 each and not sure of the size tank you have but one would probably be enough.

[RayAllen]

1 tube is plenty for what you are doing. On 1 side just go down in a zig zag pattern and drop it in place and press. Then do the edges.

[LoneStar]

BTW what was the thickness of the Starboard you bought?

[captexas]

from regalplastics on ritterman.Its 1/2 inch thich and they cut it to

[txstateunivreefer]

what is a starboard ?

[brewercm]

Basically it's a white cutting board that people put down instead of sand, kind of like going bare bottom without it just being the glass down there.

[purplesprite]

HDPE or high density polyetyhlene. plastic that doesnt or shouldnt rot distort or discolor.

[purplesprite]

yea brewercm ,sounds like I m gonna snatch up one tube of that GE silicone and do it up.I wanted to go all around the sides so theres no gaps where detrius can build up.

[Marlin]

I recommend rounding the edges of the starboard with a half round router bit. This will provide clearance for the silicon and not cause any stress on the seams.

[JimD]

yea brewercm ,sounds like I m gonna snatch up one tube of that GE silicone and do it up.I wanted to go all around the sides so theres no gaps where detrius can build up.

The whole idea behind going bare bottom is to be able to add maximum flow to the tank, if you do this, there will be no detritus build up anywhere. I didnt feel the need to seal the starboard in my tank because of the unreal flow.

[LoneStar]

Found some stuff called SeaBoard on usplastics.com

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=usplastic&category%5Fna me=72&product%5Fid=26636

[brewercm]

Yep, that's the same stuff as the HDPE that Regal plastics carries. I'd imagin shipping might kick you in the butt on that though. From what I remember Regal wasn't too much for it when I had them give me a quote one time. If you call them ask for the white "HDPE", that's what they know it as.

[LoneStar]

But was it the UV resistant HDPE? They sell regular non-HDPE and UV resistant. I figured the UV resistant stuff (Starboard and Seaboard) would hold up longer.


Been a little slow at work so I've been looking at a few different websites. I found a place that will sell a 27" x 96" x 3/8" sheet for $100 plus shipping.

http://www.modernplastics.com/june05/wdseaboard.html

I'm probably going to head down to Regal on Friday and see what kinda prices they got. I gotta buy some acrylic there anyways too.