starfireglass floor weight

[neptune]

how heavy is starfire glass compared to regular glass ? what is the weight difference between a regular 90 gallon rr tank and a starfire rr tank 1/2 thiick glass all panels euro braced?i got the 90 gal starfire tank on mreefs
and it is 1/2 complete starfire 90 gallon i want to make a switch with my 90 gal but i have a couple concernes my already tank has been sitting for 3 years no problem..this used tank i got a deal on it is chipped around the corners i guess from moving this monster...it is heavy..i am going to recilicone it....the chips are about a quarter inch in wards no chips on the inside of tank.....and it seems to be around the glass brace of the tank
whats wierd is the tank is free floating on the bottom with cilicone only???
when i got the chipped tank it was aquarter filled with water and 50 lbs of rock if i keep this i will def sapport the underneath with a foam board im on the first floor and underneath my apartment is the basement it seem to be sitting right on the bearing wall of the building and underneath the basement i cant see any beams because the entire ceiling is covered in cement .the bearing wall seems to be concrete...im nervouse about where the sapport will be and the corners of this tank also on one side ther is a
chip that i can pull with my finger and its attached to the cilicone the chip is a fraction compared to the thickness of this tank also my stand is completly covered with wood and sapported nicely..i just want it to be safe..any advice will help thanks........this tank is hot..i would love to set it up........

 

[neptune]

......lol...........

 

[rstimeout]

Thats Not Nice

 

[bigbris1]

With the thickness of the glass & the strength silicone used, you should not have a problem. My guess is that the glass got chipped because of moving it. Remember when we had to rest it on the steps when we were moving it?

Seeing as to how the tank had water in it & the stand underneath has absolutely no signs of water at all, I would be confident that it's integrity has not been compromised. Just put it in a stand designed for the tank to sit inside & you're set.

 

[neptune]

i remember setting it on the steps ...but the edges were busted to begin with..if i keep this i may be taking a big chance maybe not now but in six monthes spaloosh.......thanks ?:smash:

 

[masterswimmer]

The only thing I will say is that it couldn't have been in a worse spot. There's more stress in that chipped spot than anywhere else on the tank. Filling it in with silicone is a very very remedial 'fix'.

Like you said, it could be six months down the road.......and maybe never. Crap shoot in my opinion.

swimmer

 

[neptune]

the other end is not chipped on the edges..should i attemp to recilicone the inside or leave well enough alone ? there is no leakage at all with this tank..and ive read on
articles and even the cilicone tube you must remove old cilicone from all edges wipe clean and then recilicone and with the weight and thickness of this starfire glass
im taking a ****.thinking about doing this....

 

[neptune]

also this is a 90 gallon...the standered 90 glass is way thinner than this..so just maybe this tank will hold up since all chips are not more than a quarter into the glass..

 

[masterswimmer]

First, I will say the tube of silicone from the manufacturer says to remove all old silicone and clean thoroughly to cover their arse. I can't say whether or not it's necessary to do what the tube says, because that still won't fix the crack in the glass. Their prep work to re-silicone the tank is most likely from using a razor blade to clean algae from the glass and accidentally removing some of the original manufacturers silicone.

swimmer

 

[bigbris1]

I would say that you should be covered seeing as to how this is .5" thick glass & the fact that it doesn't have ordinary silicone holding it together. However, you might want to call someone well familiar with starphire glass & just custom glass tanks in general.

 

[tosiek]

resilicone as in just relining the inside corners with silicone? Or cut the tank apart, clean all the pieces with acetone and resilicone it all together again? If your doing #1 then any cuts into the silicone between the glass pieces is weakening the tank and your not gonna notice them. Also all your doing is putting a bandaid to prevent water leakage without adding any structural benefits to the glass. All thats needed in any glass over 1/4 inch is the silicone between the glass pieces. if #2 why not just get a new piece of glass for that side.

Either way thats a big chip and in the corner. Look at stress tests on tanks filled with water. Forgot the site that had them but it showed the stresses causing the corners to fold, if that makes sense. It creates an X on the glass side with a big bubble of stress on the middle of the tank. Not the best place to have a chip. And just because the chip is a fraction of what the glass actually is there will always be vibrations in the glass from where it fractured (read about glass cutting). 90 gallons of water would suck to clean up not to mention the loss of fish/coral due to u taking a chance with a possibility of something going bad like a fire or worse.

 

[tosiek]

Starfire is roughly the same weight as reg glass i forgot to mention if not the same. Its just glass put through the oven a few more times pretty much.

I also relooked at the pictures and reread the post. Why would u buy a tank that badly chipped? That tank is a bad gamble for alot of trouble. Putting silicone over the cracks won't add anything to it. Also there is no stronger silicone. There is 1 type unless u know some commercial silicone hybrids but they have addatives that aren't reef safe at all. Those are bad chips.

Just my 2c.

 

[neptune]

well if you looked close enough in the picture you can see a glass rim around the tank
thats where the chips are..the tank silicone between the 1/2 glass is not exposed at all not even close to the bottom frame plate thats is just floating on silicone? i bought this tank because new its around $900 and it was with water and rocks..
i appreciate your insight i think it wound be more judgable in person grazing your fingers along the chipped corners.......lol..i dont know what do i know about aquariums???

 

[Pseudo]

Bad place for a chip and that isn't a chip...that's broken off! That corner with enough pressure will either leak or split or crack worse.. All will result in catastrophic failure. Also it looks like the front pane has damage also.

All in all not a good tank to place your faith in or expensive equipment and livestock in. Unless you really like to gamble.

Kasei

 

[neptune]

should i throw it in the trash......?

 

[bad coffee]

no, you could cut the side off and re-silicone it on. Much cheaper than a new tank.

Or look at it this way:
New 90 gal starphire, ~$300.

New carpet, ruined floor, ceiling in the floor below, chance of house fire from electrical connections getting wet, extremely pissed off wife: A LOT more than you can afford. and that's not counting the $1000's the rock and livestock is worth.

either get a new tank or fix this one.

 

[jhale]

what about siliconing in a full piece of glass on the inside, make a giant patch. would that work? it would be easy to do. I know it would take out one side of viewing, but stick the tank in the corner. or use it a a fuge, qt tank, hospital tank, remote dsb, sump, top off container, water mixing place. I agree don't use as it is now.

 

[tosiek]

be better to just cut out and replace the glass Jhale. The patch won't work too well. And he has more than one corner/side like that.

 

[neptune]

nope just that side what i was thinking is cutting small 2x2 1/2 glass and placing it on the inside corner and sealing it...or cut out tha side and flipping the whole glass since i wanna do a canopy anyway.. i dont know....does anyone know anyone that works with glass that can fix my tank ? if so let me know

 

[cali_reef]

Is the chipped on the back painted pane? patching it from the inside will not lessen the stress and pressure on that corner.

Cut it out and replace it with a regular piece glass, I would not fill it with water.