How To: A Bare Bottom Without the Bare Bottom

If any of you have seen my 185g build thread you will have seen my plan to go with a bare bottom this go around. The only thing is that I'm not a fan of the look of a bare bottom. Additionally, I'm going to be using a 3/8" think 2'x4' PVC plate to mount PVC pipes to so I can support the live rock I'm putting into the new tank (see figure below).



The plate would just look dopey so I needed a way to cover it up. This is where I came up with the idea (and I'm sure others have come up with it as well, but I haven't seen it anywhere) to cover the plate with aquarium-safe mortar to give it a natural texture. The genesis of the idea came from the Marco Rocks web site where they give aquascaping ideas using Emaco 400 cement. In doing some research it also appears that Emaco GP is a suitable product. Mixing with the polymer Acryl 60 is also desirable.

To test how this would look prior to putting it in my new tank I decided to try it on a 12"x12" piece of the PVC plate first. Below is the process I used.

First I started with the blank 12"x12" piece of 3/8" thick PVC plate:




The plate in the final tank will utilize bulkheads to hold the PVC so I drilled a hole for a bulkhead. Additionally I drilled three holes for 1/4" nylon screws to help hold the mortar in place. I then scratched the plate with 60 grit sand paper for better bonding.




Add the bulkhead and screws:




On the bottom I fastened a couple of the nuts to other bulkheads to act as feet. Probably better things (less expensive) you could use for this, but it was what I had on hand.




I then laid everything I'd need out on a blanket. This included the mortar, Acryl 60, aragonite sand that I'd use to cover the mortar with and plastic sheeting.




I then mixed the mortar/Acryl 60 and laid out the PVC plate on top of plastic sheeting. The plastic sheeting is used to allow you to form the mortar off the plate and down to what would be the bottom of the tank for a flat seal. The plastic sheeting just comes right off after curing.




Now I got my hands dirty and put the mortar over the plate and off the sides.




After I got it roughly how I wanted it I poured aragonite over the top.




Then used another piece of plastic sheeting to pat down the sand.




Let it cure.




Dump off the non-attached sand and add live rock!



What this does for you is add some texture to a bare bottom tank. The sand won't keep its color since it will get covered in coralline algae, but it will have natural texture and relief that looks better than a flat, bare bottom.

 

Very good idea! My favorite part is the dog, but the bottom of the tank looks nice too Haha just kidding. That's awesome!

 

He always has to be in the middle of things

 

I also forgot to add that on the final I will be using a jigsaw to curve the front and side of the plate to make it look yet more natural.

 

very cool project, added it to my public aquascape list

 

great idea! what would be the benefit of using the plastic plate? i'd just do it to the bottom of the tank(glass)

 

great idea! it looks really good.

 

I'm using the plate to support PVC pipes that I'll be attaching live rock to. I'll be doing a lot of aquascaping this week in a tub in my garage (ahead of my tank setup day of 4/24) so stay tuned

 

That is a great idea, when I upgrade eventually, I will definitely consider it.

 

Very cool.