scratch-ability -- acrylic vs glass vs starfire glass

[jedimaster1138]

I currently have 2 tanks...

50g acrylic that scratches when I sneeze near it. Had it about a year. I'm terrified of using my magnetic cleaner on it at this point.

10g glass tank that I've had for nearly 25 years and has 0 scratches. It's a battleship. :tank:


I'm in the early stages of planning an upgrade to a big ( >100g) main tank to replace the 50g. I'm definitely going glass, but am currently wondering if I'm best off with regular glass or starfire glass (at least for the front panel). I've read in a few places that starfire is more scratch-vulnerable than regular glass. This makes sense to me given that starfire contains less iron...but that's just me being all theoretical.

What are people's actual experiences with starfire glass in terms of scratching? How does it to compare to regular glass and/or acrylic? Furthermore, is starfire "worth it" (both in terms of cost and scratch vulnerability) for the increased clarity?

Almost definitely having the tank (and stand) custom made by Coast to Coast Aquariums as I want an uncommon size (5 foot) and want something that's high quality and not covered in silicone that looks like my 5 year old nephews applied with their fingers.

 

[tomtoothdoc]

i have a 3 sided starphire 200 gal. imo, the clarity is better than the regular glass but it does scratch more easily.
i have/had 10, 15, 45, 55, 75 regular glass tanks with hardly any scratches and i did not baby them. however, my 200 has multiple scratches even though i'm much more careful with it....:irked:
i would go with a regular glass next time. that's my 2 cents.

 

[prattreef]

Yes low iron glass is considerably more scratch prone than regular glass. Acrylic--forget it. But you know that part already

 

[kenconnect]

I have a 100 rimless starphire 3 glass and love it

 

[kenconnect]

I had reg glass as well and its like day and night to me at lease..
I have 0 sctaches on it and i use a shark mag scrapper just have to b sure not to go to the sand bed with the scrapper

 

[prattreef]

I have a low iron glass front as well and I do love it, but there is no denying it is more scratch prone than regular glass. If you are careful it is fine.

 

[Lostinthedark]

I upgraded from a 120 acrylic to a 225 Starfire front tank. I'll never go back to acrylic again. Since my tank has regular glass for the sides I can tell a big difference in the colors when looking through them side by side. I don't know if I would be able to tell the difference if they weren't side by side though.

 

[pecan2phat]

The trade off you get with regular glass vs low iron glass is that the glass, if 1/2" or thicker, will have a visable green tint.
If your doing 3/8" or less, then regular glass would be the way to go.

 

[jedimaster1138]

Thank you for all the replies thus far! You folks are nice hobbits

The glass thickness thing has me thinking now...as do all these replies, but yeah. Last I spoke to CtoC they said they would be using 1/2" for my build, should I go forward with it. Given that...I wonder if regular glass is the way to go. If there is no noticeable benefit to starfire when we're talking about 1/2" and it's more scratch-prone... I think the decision is made. Then there's the $ issue...

Hmm

 

[noelskii]

i upgraded from a 120 acrylic to a 225 starfire front tank. I'll never go back to acrylic again. Since my tank has regular glass for the sides i can tell a big difference in the colors when looking through them side by side. i don't know if i would be able to tell the difference if they weren't side by side though.

+1

 

[tosiek]

If your going to be spending the money on a custom 100g+ tank I would go for starfire, especially if its 1/2" glass. Aside from clarity, another big bonus is resale value. Pecan is 110% correct, with 1/2" or larger there is a green tint thats very noticeable. 3/8" the green is less visible where you won't notice it and anything under 3/8" you don't see the green tint unless you put it on a white piece of paper, visually there is barely any noticeable green in the glass.

Yes they do scratch easier than regular glass but its no where close to how acrylic scratches where a strong breeze and some dust will scratch your tank :biggrin:. As long as you don't get any sand in your magnet you shouldn't ever have to worry about scratching the starfire, even then it has to be a good size sharp piece of sand to scratch the starfire. So, be mindful, don't dig your magnet into the sandbed when cleaning and its a non issue.

I regularly scraped my front pane on my 200 with a razor blade and only once in 2-3 years have I scratched it that way. I wouldn't use a metal scraper that you buy at fish stores though, the quality of the blade isn't there and will scratch the starfire. Razor blade or plastic scraper and your fine.

Here are some pictures of the differences in 1/2" glass vs starfire (low leaded)

http://www.greatlakesaquariums.com/aquarium/starphire-aquarium/ultraclearaqlist.aspx

http://www.salt-city.org/imagecache/2009/03/132.jpg

Its a big difference and worth the extra caution with the tank. Money well spent.