Does Starfire scratch easily?

[JellyTheory]

Hi,

I'm looking at going with 3/4 starfire for a new tank I'm going to be setting up. I was told by someone earlier today that Starfire Glass scratches pretty easily compared to non-starfire glass.

I have a 180 gallon standard glass Leemar tank. I wanted to go with starfire glass because of the clarity and because Acrylic in my experience scratches pretty easily.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Chris

[sschoelen]

I bought a used tank and was told it "might" be starfire. how do I know if it is or not?

[urkelpurple]

if you look from the side (edge) the glass should be blue(er) rather than green, it also depends if it's true starfire or some kind of low iron glass

[nyvp]

I have 3 sides starfire a total of 276 inches and no problem here.

[hahnmeister]

The quartz end of the glass is the same, er, rather the SiO2, and that is where glass gets its hardness, or resistance to scratching from. OTOH, Starphire lacks the iron, which does add some strength/flexibility. As a result, Starphire does crack easier due to stress.

[Tigger240]

there was a thread on this board about 3-4 months ago covering this very topic, and the end result was that people had scratching issues with star fire tanks, and that there is an inside and outside, side to the star fire glass. one of the tanks had it reversed as well. hth.

[hahnmeister]

Well, Starphire is also more prone to chipping, esp at the edges... I suppose its brittle nature could lend itself to scratching of some sort, but not in the direct way.

The other problem with Starphire is that you have to have the Tin side of the glass facing out or you can end up with pinhole size pieces popping out.

[JellyTheory]

Hahnmeister - Thanks for your input!

Dan - Do you remember any non-popular key words that were used in that thread that I could use to search for it. Or do you remember what forum the thread was in? Tank, Glass, and starfire are pretty popular words.

Thanks!

-Chris

[hahnmeister]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=721379&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[Tigger240]

that was the thread.. starfire sure looks nice compared to regular glass. i thought that star fire was just a particular brand name of low iron glass, or is there differences between the two? when i got price quotes on glass panes, low iron was about 3x the price. kinda takes a huge bite out of the savings of a plywood tank...

[nyvp]

its was 25% more when I bought mine...but well worth it

[ReefDoctorMicromussas]

1 pane for the front of my tank was $430 regular 1/2" or $880 for the StarPhire 1/2" pane :) Looked at the two and dropped the $ 880 Very nice glass

Then I scratched it with a grinder LOL :( <----- STUPID

a small scratch though

[Tigger240]

i guess i got to find a new glass dealer.. its going to be a while before i have to make any major decisions tho.

[hahnmeister]

My front panel is 48x20... 1/2" starphire... costing me $126.73

But thats because Im buying direct from the company that sells Starphire to all the other glass shops. If you climb up the tree you can often find a cheaper price like I did. You just have to find a place that does plate glass mostly, and hope that they are the distributor... or call the mfg and follow the trail down...

The main thing I am wondering right now is if I should get the pieces tempered or not. Tempering seems to cost so little (the back panel... 48x20, is only costing me $16 to temper... and the bottom 48x30 panel is only costing me $25 to temper (all 1/2").

I just wonder if tempering has much positive effect on starphire. Im guessing that at the very least it would eliminate the 'tin side' and 'air side' facing needs of the glass... saving me from having to go out and buy a Short-Wave UV light.

Maybe Ill call the mfg tomorrow and see. But I really wouldnt mind paying to have the whole tank tempered...