Hello !
So I'm in the process of shopping for a new aquarium. It'll be 300 wide (96x30x24) dimensions, and I have decided on glass for sure because there are too many stories about puffers destroying acrylic.
I have talked to, and gotten quotes from, a bunch of glass tank manufacturers already. I knew going in to it that you can't compare companies on price alone, there are lots of quality variables that impact their cost to manufacture (rough cut of the glass vs precision machine bevel, plastic bracing vs metal bracing vs euro bracing, etc). However I was only aware of two types of glass, "regular" and Starphire, and then you can temper either of those for added strength. It's really not that simple though I am finding.
It's common knowledge Starphire glass is simply a low iron version of regular glass - it loses the green tint but the trade off is it becomes softer. It is made by Vitro Glazings (formerly PPG), and any company that calls it Starphire is using the exact same stuff. There are, however, also other companies that produce a low iron glass with similar properties.
Anyhow, I was talking to the salesman at My Reef Creations (I like the concept of a hybrid aquarium using a PVC base...), and he mentioned the glass they use is top of the line. In fact he said if you look at the cheaper tank manufacturers (he didn't name names...) he pays more for just the glass than they charge for the assembled aquarium! He said it was the same brand and type of glass that is used in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, and the only other aquarium manufacturer that he is aware of that uses it is Reef Savvy (which seems accepted to be among the very top of the line for a glass aquarium, though many months of waiting). He claimed it had the best of all worlds with strength, clarity, and it does water changes for you (ok, I made that last part up, but based on the way he talked about it I wouldn't have been surprised...).
So, that brings me to my actual question: does anyone have actual product data or information on this mythical glass in a Ferrari? He refused to tell me what it actually was. Here is the Starphire version of what I am looking for:
http://www.pgo.com/pdf/ppg_starphire.pdf
http://www.ppgideascapes.com/getmed...0/16398-Monolithic-Data-Sheet-(7083).pdf.aspx
And I'm aware there are a million opinions on brands and quality and the value of various upgrades, but for this thread I really want to focus on specifically just the raw glass itself.
Thanks for reading!
So I'm in the process of shopping for a new aquarium. It'll be 300 wide (96x30x24) dimensions, and I have decided on glass for sure because there are too many stories about puffers destroying acrylic.
I have talked to, and gotten quotes from, a bunch of glass tank manufacturers already. I knew going in to it that you can't compare companies on price alone, there are lots of quality variables that impact their cost to manufacture (rough cut of the glass vs precision machine bevel, plastic bracing vs metal bracing vs euro bracing, etc). However I was only aware of two types of glass, "regular" and Starphire, and then you can temper either of those for added strength. It's really not that simple though I am finding.
It's common knowledge Starphire glass is simply a low iron version of regular glass - it loses the green tint but the trade off is it becomes softer. It is made by Vitro Glazings (formerly PPG), and any company that calls it Starphire is using the exact same stuff. There are, however, also other companies that produce a low iron glass with similar properties.
Anyhow, I was talking to the salesman at My Reef Creations (I like the concept of a hybrid aquarium using a PVC base...), and he mentioned the glass they use is top of the line. In fact he said if you look at the cheaper tank manufacturers (he didn't name names...) he pays more for just the glass than they charge for the assembled aquarium! He said it was the same brand and type of glass that is used in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, and the only other aquarium manufacturer that he is aware of that uses it is Reef Savvy (which seems accepted to be among the very top of the line for a glass aquarium, though many months of waiting). He claimed it had the best of all worlds with strength, clarity, and it does water changes for you (ok, I made that last part up, but based on the way he talked about it I wouldn't have been surprised...).
So, that brings me to my actual question: does anyone have actual product data or information on this mythical glass in a Ferrari? He refused to tell me what it actually was. Here is the Starphire version of what I am looking for:
http://www.pgo.com/pdf/ppg_starphire.pdf
http://www.ppgideascapes.com/getmed...0/16398-Monolithic-Data-Sheet-(7083).pdf.aspx
And I'm aware there are a million opinions on brands and quality and the value of various upgrades, but for this thread I really want to focus on specifically just the raw glass itself.
Thanks for reading!
