SC Aquariums Owners Thread

[Bracka345]

I've did some research myself and it looks as if its starphire but not the high end stuff which has more of a blueish tint. Its still a lot lighter than regular glass. i can look down the entire 5' length of my glass on the edge.

[Bracka345]

This guide is helpful.

[ReeferBill88]

so far, all the info i have come across on the internet has been the same on that blue for low-iron, green for normal plate glass. and sca lists all of their tanks/systems as "Starfire" with the exception of one the "50 GALLON PNP SYSTEM EcoTech Marine Edition" kinda makes me wonder if everyone with a sca "starefire" tank possibly got a knockoff? or if every source i have checked on how to distinguish normal plate glass from low-iron glass has been 180* off...?

[ReeferBill88]

Originally Posted by Bracka345

This guide is helpful.

nice, where did you find this?

[soulpatch]

The color chart above answered your question. The starfire is not impurity free thus green hue that darkens over distance. Here is another article decribing:

http://riku-glass.com/onami-crystal-...dge-color.html

Put the tank next to regular glass and you will see no knockoffs....

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[ReeferBill88]

thanks for clearing that up for me,and sorry for the confusion.

[Bracka345]

Originally Posted by ReeferBill88

nice, where did you find this?

I found it by googling starphire vs regular glass.

[faterikcartman]

I have two SCA 150s. One has low-iron on all four sides, and one has regular glass on the back panel. But when I first opened the all low-iron tank and saw the greenish-blue tint on both front and back I panicked and thought I had been scammed.

I too scoured the net for info. Note the example pieces in the photos linked above aren’t 24” deep. Eventually I opened the other box with the tank with a regular back pane. Clearly deep green and not clear looking through it edge on.

I did then confirm with Steve that sometimes they are made with all low-iron panes.

I want to add that I have met Steve in person a few times and picked up my tanks in person. He strikes me as an honest businessman and all around decent guy. Obviously I could be mistaken. But that’s how he came across to me. If I remember correctly Steve said his brother owned the factory in China. And I got the impression Steve was the ultimate authority as far as things went here in the US. Apologies to Steve if any of this is incorrect.

Finally — and again this is just a guess not something I’m sure about — the low-iron glass they use is likely a Chinese version. Not Starphire branded glass made by PPG. Hence the incredible pricing.

[ReefCowboy]

My 150gal is clearly low iron, as the front and side pannels are significantly clearer from another rimless tank I own. I would check with Steve if you suspect the front(most important) glass is not low iron and ask for a solution.

Red sea reefers and many other “low iron”tanks are made from glass from China.

[luckyk0505]

I noticed this tiny hole in silicone between the front and side panel. Tank has been up and running for couple month and it does not leak currently. It seems like the hole is on outside and I am not sure how deep it is. Should I worry?

thanks,

[pfan151]

Has anyone actually had a SCA leak or fail? Seems to be a ton of post about silicone worries but I can’t remember ever hearing about a failure.

[luckyk0505]

Mine does not leak yet, but I am really concerned. I cannot get response from Steve either.

[soulpatch]

That dot in your silicone is obviously on the bead that they put over the structural. It is on top of your glass and thus not a real concern. Steve responds to email so you can contact him but from your picture the silicone in between the glass panes is solid.


pfan - Yes there have been a tank here or there that have had issues which is to be expected with any manufactorer. Some were from shipping issues that were overlooked whereas others were in fact from manufactoring. With ANY brand one MUST go over their tank with a fine tooth comb prior and during filling. Just too much money involved to not ensure there is no defect or damage.

[Reef Dude]

To Steve's credit, he is very responsive to emails. However, I had many concerns with the silicone on my tank and he would either contradict himself constantly to feed me answers that he thought I wanted to hear or flat out dodge specific questions I had regarding silicone, safety factors, and the tank being out square and out of plane. After 10 or so emails asking him for a new tank I just gave up.

The attached photo shows one of the bubbles in the seams, which spans almost the entire span of the structural seam. Otherwise, approx 75% of my tank does not have silicon 100% in the seams as other have recently posted about. I posted about these issues myself over a year ago in this thread if you want to see photos of what I'm talking about just look back in this thread. I'm not going to trash them or start quoting Steve in any of his messages to me, but I was not happy with the tank I received or the responses I got from Steve, as it seemed that he just wanted to say anything to avoid shipping another tank to me.

With all this said, my tank is still full of water over a year later with no leaks and no signs of the seam deficiencies expanding or growing. However, I manage risk and safety for a living, so I'm a little extra cautious of these issues than most. I do worry about water on the floor each time I come in the house or wake up in the morning, and at this point I consider this tank a temporary solution until I save up for a better one.

[Reef Dude]

Sorry here's a less crappy photo (although I still needs rotated) of what I was trying to show in my prior post. Like I said, it hasn't grown over the last year, but it doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy either.

[KJoFan]

Alright, I am finally getting to the tank filling stage. As I started to fill, I noticed the water wasn’t filling exactly evenly.

So, I got the level and this was my reading showing side to side level along the front panel:


And reading showing front to back level from one end:


I can’t get a reading on the other end with the two foot level at the moment because I can’t remove the canopy myself.

But, for a 150g tank should I shim? Or is it within tolerance? Tank is sitting on engineered wood flooring that is installed over cement floor of house foundation.


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[luckyk0505]

I would re-level the tank. It is especially important for rimless tank.

[KJoFan]

Got my tank up and running finally. I have to say, after a few years of rimless tanks, I'm quite happy for the eurobrace to keep all those drips and splashes inside the tank.

[Bpb]

Question. Posting this here on the SCA forum because I will likely buy one, but I'm curious, If I were to purchase, say, and SCA 150, but store it in the garage, dry, for a while, Do the seams degrade faster in open air rather than with the tank being filled? Possibly stored for up to a year or more.

[Thornbreaker]

Originally Posted by Thornbreaker

Update on this:

I received a 3" x 3" glass piece from Steve a couple months or so ago. We've just finally moved into our new house, and I hadn't set the tank up before now to avoid cross contaminates from paint and hardwood staining that took place.

So I'm about to finally try patching the tank, and fortunately, my wife's arm is skinny enough to get to the bottom of the overflow box.

To make sure I understand correctly, I just need to put a liberal amount of silicone on the bottom, flat side of the glass piece, then lay into position, then attach the bulkhead to add pressure while it solidifies?

No silicone around the edge of the glass piece unless it's just necessary later?


I ordered a glass cutter this week to actually trim the glass piece down some. The 3"x3" didn't account for the silicone seals on the bottom inside of the overflow box :\ (though I mentioned it to Steve).

Big update:

So I attempted to test this out this past weekend after getting my sump. I set 2 different bulkheads into the patched hole. (glass piece was sent by Sca). I loosely set in the plumbing, and then filled the overflow with a few inches of water. Long story short the bulkheads leaked each time from around the seal and the outer threads.

The other 2 holes/bulkheads sealed like they should.

I documented the attempts, sent it to Steve, and he's kindly sending me a new 150gal tank. Just wanted to leave a big thanks on the customer service I have received. It's nice to see a company follow through.



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[KJoFan]

Question for those with the 150g eurobraced w/canopy. Do you all also use a screen top to keep your fish safe or figure if they jump they'll more than likely end up back in the tank?

I do have the overflow cover so not real worried about anyone getting in there.

[soulpatch]

I only use canopy now that I got the overflow cover...

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[cincyjim]

Same as Soulpatch with my set up.

[KJoFan]

Ok, that's what I'm planning is canopy only. I suppose there is a chance that one could jump and end up on top of a light fixture or something but by in large, they have no place to go except back in the tank. I'll probably plan to run this way until a fish tells me otherwise.

[homer1475]

Out of curiosity, anyone with the overflow cover on their SCA tank. Does the cover just sit on top of the overflow?

Steve mailed me one for my tank and its simply 4 pieces of acrylic. One large piece with 3 small strips on the edges to give it bulk. I kind of thought it would have a groove in it or something so it wouldn't slide around on the overflow.

Wondering if that's how it's suppose to be, or did Steve mail me the wrong cover?