# Permanent Sand/Substrate Border



## bdement (Jun 4, 2007)

I'm replacing a 5 year old 46 gallon bowfront, and I really like the look of tanks with an all sand foreground. For the next iteration of this tank, I'm creating a 2-3" band in the front of the tank to be filled with pool filter sand. My plant substrate is Flourite, and obviously those aren't going to stay separate for long, so I've created a border:










First I drew a line across the front of my tank using my phone as a guide. I placed it against the glass, then a sharpie against it, and slid them both together along the curved glass. Then I went to Home Depot and bought some clear drawer liner and cut a 3" strip in it. Getting it to stand in place was tricky, so I scotch taped the ends up and reinforced the middle to be sure. I then put a line of Gorilla Glue down the line that I drew earlier, moving the liner out of the way slightly, and immediately moved the liner back into it. Gorilla glue is so cool, I bet it was free standing within a couple hours.

The idea is that this will keep my Flourite and sand ALMOST completely separated. When I fill the tank with substrate, I expect that there won't be enough to cover up all the plastic, but that's OK, I can always trim it down! The plan is to let Glosso and H. Roraima overgrow it and hide the border, but we shall see.

I'm optimistic that in the absence of fish that root around this will stand the test of time. I'd love to hear your comments.

BTW - The cable you see glued down is a Hydor undergravel heater. It was the same basic process for getting it glued to the bottom. All the clips that came with it are in the gravel in my running tank!


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## Fishtory (Jan 21, 2009)

updates please! I'd like to see how this turns out.


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## bdement (Jun 4, 2007)

Update! OK, it's just over a month since I started this thing up, and here is where I'm at today:










I didn't trim the border until JUST before this picture was taken, and I also just put down a fresh layer of sand when this pic was taken. So up until now the border has been above the sand/Flourite levels by a good inch or so, which did a PERFECT job at keeping Flourite out of the sand and vice versa.

In this time, the Flourite which was originally sloped upward towards the back, has settled a bit which raised its level in the front slightly. So it's a good thing that I waited a while to trim the border down, because if I had done it right from the beginning, it would already be a nightmare to keep the Flourite out of the sand.

Also, that 1 inch artificial dam collected a LOT of garbage in my foreground carpet plants and fouled them up pretty badly. I was mostly unaware of this because they were blocked from my view (by the border!). This was definitely a case of "out of sight out of mind" because I know that's a common problem with carpet plants, I just couldn't see them and didn't think about that.

So now I've trimmed the border just above the line that the Flourite has settled to and added more sand to raise it to that level. My preference is for the sand to spill over into the Flourite but not vice versa, and plants to grow slightly into the sand, creating a completely natural looking effect. So far so good, more updates in time...


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

FTS??

Nice idea btw. I dig a sand foreground as well


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## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

i didnt know that gorila glue was aqua safe. do you have fish and or shrimp snails or any kind of invers in there. i was looking for something to use and if it is save for inverts that would be awsome. can we have a full tank shot i would love to see the rest of it


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## bdement (Jun 4, 2007)

Well, my career has taken me across the country to San Francisco, so unfortunately I had to tear this tank down.

Above is the final shot just before the deconstruction began. You'll notice that some Flourite has crept into the sandy area over time, so the border doesn't work 100% of the time, but all in all it does a very good job.

To summarize: This technique is effective at keeping substrates of different consistencies separated in the long term. For the casual tank, it's very low maintenance, even over the long term, and for professional or competitive use, it wouldn't be difficult to clean up that area to perfection for a photo. I'll be setting my tank up again soon and will definitely be using a border again!



wicca27 said:


> i didnt know that gorila glue was aqua safe. do you have fish and or shrimp snails or any kind of invers in there.


Once it's dry, Gorilla glue is 100% safe to all aquatic life, including the most sensitive invertebrates.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

What a beauty! Sorry it no longer exists. Great idea with the gorilla glue.


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## firefiend (Aug 17, 2009)

Great looking tank... I'm sad that you had to tear it down. I liked your idea for the substrate divider bu think I have a suggestion that is both easier and more reliable. For my Poison Dart Frog tank I separated the gravel front and the hydroton/cocofiber substrate with a wall made from the plastic grids used for needle point. The holes are tiny but allow water movement and the plastic is sturdy. You shouldn't even need to silicone it to the tank.

Again, great work. Hopefully this will make setting up the new tank just a little easier.


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