Starphire(low iron) Glass vs. Standard Glass

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
gobucks1;2768747; said:
Sweet allah! Thats craziness. How is it controlling those monsters (specifically the 900) in 4wd?
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Lets just put it this way. On pavement I can put it in 4x4 and gas it and I can do a burn out with all 4 wheels smoking.

Anyway I digressed.

I think starfire is nice and I dont think it will look worse over time like your dad said. IMO it a nice to have and not a necessity. If money was no option I'd say go for it but in reality money IS an option for like 99% of us.
 
Starphire, definately worth the money (easy for me to say when i got all my 15mm starphire for free)
My tank has been up for 2 years and still crystal clear!!

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Thats some awesome clarity :O

But from what i hear, as my dad does work for a windows company, is that they put iron in glass so that in extreme weather condition (windy) it has the ability to be flexible to some extent so that it doesn't shatter under enormous pressures. That being said I'm sure it can hold the water pressure of your 180 i just thought you might want to know lol :)

For my 75g I use double glazed glass, free of course :P. In short, one sheet of glass consists of 2 panes with some gas in between them, the gas is for insulation. Optimal for keeping temperatures constantly stable.
 
Kolossus;2768822; said:
Was just looking at one of these yesterday...Awesome clarity and a noticeable difference in my opinion. It was a 60 gallon and I saw clearly through the thickness of the glass from one front end to the other, the entire length of the tank and on to other things in the room! It was amazing...never seen anything like it. Oceanic sells tanks with starphire now.
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Yes, i saw the oceanic, but i couldn't figure out how to price them on there. Haha, plus shipping from glasscages to within an hour or two of me is only around $100.

CHOMPERS;2769409; said:
Starfire glass stays clear because it doesn't have the Fe ions in it.

I have a 360g that is 20ish years old. It is still clear.
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Wow, i figured it was a new concept.
Any pics?

Nic;2769427; said:
well thats how it sounds.... but i dont know maybe i have a few friends who have starfire tanks.... maybe i helped build a tank that has a starfire glass front... i obviously posted that for a reason
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Well, i'm sorry if it came across that way, you never know who could just be an undercover starphire glass salesman. ;)

VLDesign;2769800; said:
Pricing out windows for my tank I learned it's not worth the money.. lol

113x26 x .75 sheet in regular glass is around $800.00 average. Low Iron/Starfire glass I was quoted $1587.00
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Haha, well, i won't be going that big. ;)
For a 180 gallon its only an extra $150 for the front.

heavyhitter;2770088; said:
Lets just put it this way. On pavement I can put it in 4x4 and gas it and I can do a burn out with all 4 wheels smoking.

Anyway I digressed.

I think starfire is nice and I dont think it will look worse over time like your dad said. IMO it a nice to have and not a necessity. If money was no option I'd say go for it but in reality money IS an option for like 99% of us.
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Sounds niceee.

Ricko;2770263; said:
Starphire, definately worth the money (easy for me to say when i got all my 15mm starphire for free)
My tank has been up for 2 years and still crystal clear!!
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Looks great! :)
Is that a recent pic?

mushroomsoup;2770421; said:
Thats some awesome clarity :O

But from what i hear, as my dad does work for a windows company, is that they put iron in glass so that in extreme weather condition (windy) it has the ability to be flexible to some extent so that it doesn't shatter under enormous pressures. That being said I'm sure it can hold the water pressure of your 180 i just thought you might want to know lol :)

For my 75g I use double glazed glass, free of course :P. In short, one sheet of glass consists of 2 panes with some gas in between them, the gas is for insulation. Optimal for keeping temperatures constantly stable.
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Yes it is awesome clarity!
Haha, thanks for the information! :)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricko
Starphire, definately worth the money (easy for me to say when i got all my 15mm starphire for free)
My tank has been up for 2 years and still crystal clear!!
Looks great!
Is that a recent pic?

That pic was taken when i made the tank 2 years ago. All setup up now marine for the last year and a half. Any tank i make in future will be nothing but starphire.
 
mushroomsoup;2770421; said:
Thats some awesome clarity :O

But from what i hear, as my dad does work for a windows company, is that they put iron in glass so that in extreme weather condition (windy) it has the ability to be flexible to some extent so that it doesn't shatter under enormous pressures. That being said I'm sure it can hold the water pressure of your 180 i just thought you might want to know lol :)

For my 75g I use double glazed glass, free of course :P. In short, one sheet of glass consists of 2 panes with some gas in between them, the gas is for insulation. Optimal for keeping temperatures constantly stable.
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I hadn't heard that one before. Since the concept is quite interesting, I had to do a little digging. Unfortunately, I didn't really find anything that could support your dad's claim. In previous research, I found that the iron content was the result of impurities in the mined sand. I couldn't find the link that specified it but I found others that support iron being an impurity.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP0038076.html
... A method for removing iron impurities from glass-making sand by froth flotation in the presence of a collecting agent and, optionally, in the presence of a frothing agent...
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http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1350426
...studied the magnetic behaviour of impurity moments (localized Fe3+, impurity concentration x = (180±10) ppm) ...
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Since I couldn't find anything specifically for flexing in laymans terms, I went the engineering route. First I need to explain Young's Modulus <-link. It is how engineers measure elasticity. A low measurement means the material is more elastic and a higher measurement means it is less flexible.

The elasticity for glass varies from sample to sample but the Starfire glass had a single listing rather than a range that samples had tested at. Youngs Modulus for Starfire is 73.1 GPa (giga Pascals). The range for glass is 50-90 GPa. Starfire is within the range of regular glass and right at the center of the range (70 GPa). It is at best "just average". If you wanted to split hairs, you could say that 73 is stiffer than the average of 70, but to really make that claim, one should expect Starfire to be outside the range of regular glass or at least bordering on the upper limit.


I'd like to know more about your double paned tank. You should start a thread about it (with pictures of course ;) ). I had been thinking of doing something like that for cold water species such as Rainbow Trout and Maine Lobster.
 
Here it is. It has been in the garage and empty for a little over a year. The room it is going in has been undergoing some extensive remodeling and things are at a stand still right now.

The tank was built back in the 80's by a guy that lives near me. Samps bought it several years ago and sold it to me when he had to downgrade. It is going to be saltwater and eventually a reef.

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