is a starfire tank

[lola]

hello guys and gals,
we are thinking of buying a 90 gal starfire tank with all the bells and whistles is it worth the money will we notice any difference.any good or bad with the starfire verse a aga.thanks for your comments

 

[jhale]

yes, you will see a difference. but be careful as the low iron glass will scratch very easy.

 

[Deanos]

To be sure, you should visit tanks with & without starphire and make sure YOU can see the difference and determine if it's worth the extra money to you.

 

[lola]

Starphire

THANKS FOR THE INPUT ,BUT i DONT KNOW OF ANY1 WITH IT

 

[Deanos]

Simply ask here....there are plenty of members willing to show of their tanks

 

[tosiek]

I'm in process of building one with starfire. I can show you if your ever in brooklyn. There is a difference in how clear things are through the glass and the amount of green that passes through. Its not groundbreaking but there is a difference. If you get a starfire tank it will be clearer/crisper and less distortion in view in depth but if you went to someone house and they didn't say if it was starfire or not you won't pick up on it right away. Alot of people say its easier to look at a starfire glass tank without your eyes bothering you than a reg one. I have a temporary tank set up and i can't look at my tank for too long without my eyes bothering me, never had a problem with my old starfire.


Anyways here is a picture of reg glass vs starfire. Starfire is a baby blue while reg glass is very green from the side. Gotto descide whether the price difference is worth it, and with the commercial tanks there is a big difference in price.

 

[PalmTree]

I don't have a starfire tank. If you want to come and see if you can tell the diffrence you are more than welcome. Non starfire tanks are a dime a dozen though and you yourself may have owned own already.

 

[scumonkey]

I built my own Starphire tank- your more than welcome to stop by and take a looksy!
As for pictures here is a better one for you to see the difference...
Can you tell which glass is the Starphire and, which is not?!

 

[chazertis]

hey thats a great pic showing the difference. is it common for people to construct tanks partially from starfire? like just the main display side?

 

[jhale]

hey thats a great pic showing the difference. is it common for people to construct tanks partially from starfire? like just the main display side?

yes that's the most cost effective way to do it. if the tank is custom built the display sides only need to be low iron glass. it makes no difference to the glass, you can mix them all you want.

 

[autoponicz]

how is the prices with starphire compared to regular glass?

 

[jhale]

the prices are not that bad, the problem is finding someone who sells it.
I think I got charged an extra $50 for a low iron front on my glass cages 120 tank.

 

[reefman]

well worth the $.

 

[tosiek]

4-5 times as much per sq ft. Price mostly depends on thickness. All depends on where you get it from and what type of starfire they get (few name brands that specialize in low iron glass w/ different names). There are different % of iron and my glass guy didn't know what i was talking about when i said starfire. They call it low iron glass and i got him caling it starfire by name.

 

[scumonkey]

Starphire is a name brand low iron glass.
It is "supposed" to be the clearest of all the low iron glass you can get (it's also the most expensive).
The price has shot up more than 3 fold since last summer. There has been some kind of shortage of product.
It also comes in a limited number of thicknesses.
Here is a link to the company that actually created and manufactures the glass, (if you want to learn more about it).
http://corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/IdeaScapes/productInfo/glass/StarGlassTOC.htm
You'll be surprised to learn it comes from a paint company:shhh: