Starphire - is it worth it?

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Looking for opinions on the relative value of Starphire or any other low iron content glass for the front and sides of a 120G. I'm finally starting to make some progress towards my build and am in decision making mode. After a long time out of the hobby, I've got a lot to learn and am very open to opinions. Also, what about sources for Starphire aquariums? Is this a custom build exercise? I've read some horror stories about one custom manufacturer in particular (not sure if I can mention the name here). Thanks in advance!
 
Not sure if it is or not from personal experience but it sure is nice looking. I have heard a lot of people who say they would rather have acrylic over starfire but I have no valid opinion of why or why not.

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personnaly i have not seen a tank with it full of water to see the diff. but just the glass it's clearer and the green hue is removed. Starphire is on the right.

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It makes a visible difference which is well worth it IMHO.

Acrylic is clearer than (I believe) any kind of glass you can get. BUT you can (and will) scratch acrylic.

Hybrids are where it's at... Glass front & sides, acrylic back & bottom.
 
I have the new Solana with Starphire and it is definitely clearer than my previous tank.
 
I have 4-side starfire 120gal. It is crystal clear. And yes a major benefit over acrylic is that it won't scratch as easily. There are pics in my build thread.
 
Would you guys say that starfire is more prone to corner chips and that the low iron makes it more brittle?

Not to bad mouth starfire or talk anyone out of it.

I understand any glass is capable of chipping and you want to be careful regardless but is it enough of a concern that you have to tip toe around your tank more so than usual?

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Absolutely worth it! No way I could go back to anything less. Acrylic is clearer but will also scratch easier.
 
SuperClown;813667 wrote: Would you guys say that starfire is more prone to corner chips and that the low iron makes it more brittle?

Not to bad mouth starfire or talk anyone out of it.

I understand any glass is capable of chipping and you want to be careful regardless but is it enough of a concern that you have to tip toe around your tank more so than usual?

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I think the notion that low iron glass scratches easier than plate glass is one of those myths that springs up and is now accepted as fact by many aquarists. From what I have been able to tell, Starfire glass is no more likely to scratch than any other, but it is a bit more brittle regarding bowing than leaded glass is. the iron apparently adds some tensile strength.

"Starfire" is a brand name actually, and it is used sometimes generically, but starfire is one brand of low iron glass. There are others.

It is very difficult to find any internet industry references regarding low iron vs leaded glass scratching vs not scratching other than reef website postings. So if anyone can get some glass industry facts, please post them. I could be totally wrong about the scratching thing, but I have not seen anything but anecdotal stuff about low lead glass scratching more easily than leaded.

In my own experience, I have not noticed an increased tendency to scratch. I own both low lead and regular glass tanks.
 
Thanks for all of the feedback so far!

Any recommendation on manufactures of the low Fe glass aquariums?
 
From what I have seen glasscages and marineland have the best prices on low iron glass upgrades. But I wouldnt order from glasscages after hearing all the horror stories.

I have a marineland 300g peninsula with 2 sides of low iron and I love it.
 
Acroholic;813685 wrote: I think the notion that low iron glass scratches easier than plate glass is one of those myths that springs up and is now accepted as fact by many aquarists. From what I have been able to tell, Starfire glass is no more likely to scratch than any other, but it is a bit more brittle regarding bowing than leaded glass is. the iron apparently adds some tensile strength.

"Starfire" is a brand name actually, and it is used sometimes generically, but starfire is one brand of low iron glass. There are others.

It is very difficult to find any internet industry references regarding low iron vs leaded glass scratching vs not scratching other than reef website postings. So if anyone can get some glass industry facts, please post them. I could be totally wrong about the scratching thing, but I have not seen anything but anecdotal stuff about low lead glass scratching more easily than leaded.

In my own experience, I have not noticed an increased tendency to scratch. I own both low lead and regular glass tanks.
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Judging from my starphire tank, it does scratch easier than I would've liked; and it's permanent. I haven't seen any published data from glass manufacturers regarding scratchability. It would be interesting to see that data, though.

EnderG60;813689 wrote: From what I have seen glasscages and marineland have the best prices on low iron glass upgrades. But I wouldnt order from glasscages after hearing all the horror stories.

I have a marineland 300g peninsula with 2 sides of low iron and I love it.
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Yeah, definitely stay far, far away from glass cages tanks. Far.
 
Regarding Glasscages: I have a 100 gallon Rimless Cube from Glasscages, and it has been fine for over three years so far.

But I would not recommend them, not based on quality of product, but for the fact that the owner is a complete tool.

I took delivery of the tank in Atlanta, and there was a spot where there was some air in the seam between the front and right glass piece, to the point where there was only a 1/16" wide silicone seal at that point. Tank was heavily shrink wrapped when I got it. I called the owner and he offered to increase the warranty of my tank to a year or refund a little bit of money. During the conversation he abruptly transferred me to another person becaue he didn't like the way I was talking to him (I thought I was being courteous).

Anyways, long story short, after going round and round, he agreed to make another tank, and I drove up there and exchanged it outside of Nashville where they make them.

This tank was decently made and is performing flawlessly (3 sides stafire) after some sloppy silicone cleanup, but getting it was a big PIA thanks to the jerk owner of Glasscages. Also, don't expect to get any custom work done, like a C2C overflow or similar. You take what they make or you don't get anything.
 
Acroholic;813685 wrote: It is very difficult to find any internet industry references regarding low iron vs leaded glass scratching vs not scratching other than reef website postings. So if anyone can get some glass industry facts, please post them. I could be totally wrong about the scratching thing, but I have not seen anything but anecdotal stuff about low lead glass scratching more easily than leaded.
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Skriz;813695 wrote: Judging from my starphire tank, it does scratch easier than I would've liked; and it's permanent. I haven't seen any published data from glass manufacturers regarding scratchability. It would be interesting to see that data, though.
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I am not surprised that there is not a lot of information on "scratchability". The advantage of Starphire is the increase visibility and if it scratches easier it would not be in there interest to publish that. Scratching can be modeled as a function of material hardness. I am looking at data for soda lime glass commonly used for windows has a Knoop hardness of 585 kg/mm^2. Looking at some low iron glasses I see a Knopp hardness of 456 kg/mm^2. This would lead me to say that low iron glasses do in fact scratch easier. If you are able to get hardness information of the two different glasses you should be able to determine which will scratch easier.
 
I can see the difference when they are side by side(low iron,regular), but I can't tell the difference with them in different locations without looking at the edges for the green coloration. My 156 had regular glass in the front but I would ask people who would visit how they liked the starfire front,they all loved it and said what a difference it made:doh:. Cracked me up.LOL:D
 
grouper therapy;813815 wrote: I can see the difference when they are side by side(low iron,regular), but I can't tell the difference with them in different locations without looking at the edges for the green coloration. My 156 had regular glass in the front but I would ask people who would visit how they liked the starfire front,they all loved it and said what a difference it made:doh:. Cracked me up.LOL:D
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hahaha thats mean but the power of suggestion is a wonderful thing sometimes or funny in this case :sneaky:
 
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