farkwar Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Anyone ever hear or see of marble being used to cover the bottom of a reef tank? I've given up on black sand totally, see other thread in this forum. Marble is calcium carbonate just like aragonite sand is. If I do go this way, I'm going to acid wash it, to remove impurities and polishing. I'm thinking small tiles, the size of frag tiles. They come in squares, hexagons, herringbone rectangles. Link to comment
hey Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 aren't the striations in marble often metals? like any green being copper? Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 That seems like an expensive substrate. The calcium carbonate isn't readily available to the tank and inhabitants, either (think of how long marble takes to erode). You may as well go bare bottom or just paint the bottom. You also can't be sure of what's IN the marble as hey suggested Link to comment
farkwar Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 There will be plenty of calcium carbonate in the tank. I meant by that it wasn't another material, say like ceramic tiles. The cost is $12 per square foot from a vendor, http://www.thebuilderdepot.com/ This is in lieu of bare bottom, not sand. Sand still scares me a bit. The bare bottom of Elos tanks are kinda ugly, they have silicone running all over the place. Paint really wouldn't hide that, either. Maybe I should just reef cleaner rock. Cut it down to like 3/8". Small black mosaic marble tiles just seemed kinda cool and novel. Ok, needs more research Link to comment
hypostatic Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 waaat. I use black sand. what's the dealio? Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 You don't trust sand but you're willing to risk trying something new like marble as a bottom? Fark, you so silly. Marble may be calcium carbonate, but it isn't as porous as sand, nor will it have the same surface area. It might work, though. Why not give it a shot? Link to comment
Lepomis Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I think I recall someone here using marble or travertine for the bottom of their tank and of course frag plugs. Link to comment
farkwar Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 I dont like sand because its function is to trap and collect poop. I want that poop to go into my filter, instead. I really dont want to fight with a Python sand cleaner every week. Ive received frags from a vendor in SanDiego, whose frag plugs are made out of Quikcrete. Just didnt think that marble would be any worse than that, or CaribSea black sand, which is only 1% aragonite. Link to comment
specore Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 i wonder if you could somehow seal it or clearcoat it to protect against any metal deposits in the tiles Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 What about something like a ceramic coating on the bottom? Or even the quickcrete? Link to comment
hypostatic Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I dont like sand because its function is to trap and collect poop. I want that poop to go into my filter, instead. Ah. Well any particulate (even large "particles" like marble) will trap waste. The only way to get around this is to go bare bottom. Otherwise you'll need some sort of micro-fauna system to clean up the bottom so you don't have to. Link to comment
StevieT Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I came here expecting to talk about this I leave disappointed...... Link to comment
ndrobey Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Maybe you just need a sand-sifting clean-up crew. I have used travertine on the bottom, as well as limestone. No problems. Link to comment
hypostatic Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Maybe you just need a sand-sifting clean-up crew. I have used travertine on the bottom, as well as limestone. No problems. I had a diamond goby that kept the sand SPOTLESS. Like, amazingly clean. They jump tho, I found out... Was my girlfriend's favorite fish too; she loves how it was always eating up the sand and building it's home. How much poop ya got OP? I've got 2 clowns in my 15G, and I can't see any poop on the black sand Link to comment
ndrobey Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 A lid or cover on the tank will keep the prisoners in and prevent jailbreaks. Just get another diamond goby. Link to comment
hypostatic Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 there was a lid on lol Link to comment
Weasel Baron Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 ...like polished marble? are you going to put gold pillars in the tank too? there are some cool diving spots in chili w/ marble caves, could look really cool if you could find a way to get some neat rock formations Link to comment
Weasel Baron Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I blame autocorrect, but diving in chili would be pretty awesome. Now I'm hungry Link to comment
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