I want to order a custom made aquarium (72"x30"x24") from GlassCages.com and I'm debating getting low-iron glass for the front glass. I've seen pictures of aquariums made with Starphire glass on the internet and Ohh and Ahh by what I see. The question is though, how close to Starphire glass is Low-Iron glass. Does anyone know of anywhere on the net I could see picture? Thanks for the help!!
Starphire vs Low-Iron Glass
- Thread starter tenshi
- Start date
I rec'd my tank from glasscages.com about a month ago. I am just about ready to fill it up this week. any way, my tank is 54x30x25. It is a penisula style ( viewable from 3 sides) I had them do the viewing panels in the low iron glass and boy am I glad I did. I never saw the difference until I rec'd the tank. With the bottom glass being standard you can really see the green color in it. The tank looks really nice ( the only thing I don't like is the black trim they put around the tank) it was kinda sloppy but my stand and canopy cover it. Also my tank is 1/2" thick glass so it was heavy as all hell. In the long run I think you would be happy spending the extra $130. Also the edges of the glass were cut really well. All in all I am very pleased ( as long as it holds water 
)
Rob
)Rob
So your saying it makes that much of a difference. HMMM! The tank that I want built is a little longer than the one you had built, so that means it would at least be the same thickness. Is there any way you could take an angled shot of it, so that you could post and we could take a look?jusreefin":3tw9k43d said:
tenshi":3g4sugak said:
I'd say that's a good deal..I paid about 250 more for my 48x22" front panel in Starphire from Lee Mar.
FWIW, from what I've seen, there is a difference between Starphire and the Low iron glass used on some tanks....But, I would have rather paid for the low Iron when I had my tank built.
If the difference in price is only $110 - $130, I'd be inclined to get the low-iron glass. You can see the difference between low-iron and plate glass when you look at them next to each other, but for all practical purposes it doesn't matter unless you are using very thick glass (> 3/4"). When you fill the aquarium with water and light it, you'll never know you have low-iron versus "regular" glass. It's not going to affect the appearance or color of the corals or fish. The effect is so minimal that it can't be noticed by eye. The choice of lighting has a much more pronounced effect on apparent coloration than any slight tinting in the glass.
Greg
Greg
This has been great! Thanks for the info! GlassCages.com wrote me back and let me know that the front glass panel would be 1/2 inch thick. So, it seems that I would be better off saving the money for other equipment I'll be needing, unless someone else chimes in and changes my mind. I'll be ordering mid-October and I'll pick it up from them when they do a show in Dallas at the begining of December. I'll let you know about my experience with them when I take receipt of the tank.
Thanks!
Thanks!
I went and picked up'd the tank I ordered from glasscages last weekend. I ended up ordering a standard 180 and not getting the low-iron glass. I went with a standard 180 instead of the previous deminsions mentioned in this thread because of the size of my doors. They are only 32 inches wide and that would have made it difficult to bring in the cabinet I want to make.
If I was to rate the overall experience with Glasscages.com I would have to give them a 7.5 out of ten. If I just rated the tank I'd rate it a solid 9 out of 10. It's built very well. The silicone is clean and smooth where it counts. I might get a razor and clean a couple of areas that really don't count, but the fact is that I'm extremely picky about dumb things. The plastic trim on the top and bottom is not as nice as some would wish. It doesn't matter to me. So I would order again because I know the construction is solid and the price is damn good. Word of warning though never question how well they build these things cause they'll just tell you to go buy somewhere else.
I'm going to post a couple of pics tonight so you all can see.
If I was to rate the overall experience with Glasscages.com I would have to give them a 7.5 out of ten. If I just rated the tank I'd rate it a solid 9 out of 10. It's built very well. The silicone is clean and smooth where it counts. I might get a razor and clean a couple of areas that really don't count, but the fact is that I'm extremely picky about dumb things. The plastic trim on the top and bottom is not as nice as some would wish. It doesn't matter to me. So I would order again because I know the construction is solid and the price is damn good. Word of warning though never question how well they build these things cause they'll just tell you to go buy somewhere else.
I'm going to post a couple of pics tonight so you all can see.
I wanted a center overflow with 3 - 1" drains with no returns. That makes it a custom with Oceanic and AGA, which translates to more money than I wanted to spend. My returns will be with two one inch sea swirls and additional flow will be accomplished with Tunze Streams. Also, I wanted a perimeter bracing (I think its also called euro-bracing, right?) instead of a center brace getting in the way. Oceanic and AGA won't build tanks without center braces. Oceanic does make them but they use stainless steal to brace instead that raise the cost of the tank above what I wanted spend.
For those of you who have never seen the difference, look at these 2 pictures. The one on the left is regular glass, the one on the right is starphire. Both have been painted with white paint on the BACK of the glass and you can see how the glass distorts the true color.
Granted it does not say what thickness the glass is, but i'd be willing to bet that it is 1/4 at the VERY most. (most likely 3/16 I'd say).
End of discussion, for me anyway
mike
Granted it does not say what thickness the glass is, but i'd be willing to bet that it is 1/4 at the VERY most. (most likely 3/16 I'd say).
End of discussion, for me anyway
mike
Attachments
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
