Starfire glass drawbacks

I don't know much about acrylic really. I know its more expensive, but lighter, it scrathes more easely, other than that, no idea. You have one , how is it. Its not a jugement thread by the way you have one great lets compare notes and hope everything's ok.

 

Got an extra question does algae stick more to acrylic panels lol i may switch after all lol.;D

 

As far as presentation, acrylic is superior to glass. Acrylic is clear. I think even low iron glass has a bit of. Color, but probably not enough to be a problem. The major advantage of acrylic is that it does not refract light, which means bend it. You get less optical distortion with acrylic than with glass. Acrylic is also lighter than glass which means the aquarium weighs less. At smaller tanks this might not be a big deal but with very large aquariums, it could be a consideration. Acrylic is fused into a single piece which makes the aquarium structurally superior to glass. The big drawback to acrylic is that it scratches far more easily than glass. The scratches in acrylic can be easily removed but it is a pain. The big pain is tearing down the aquarium so you can remove the scratches.

 

There is no comparison between starphire glass and regular glass. I would recommend when you choose algae cleaners that you use acrylic safe scrappers and scrubbers. Also make sure when youre near the sand line you are careful not to pick any up while scrubbing. It will scratch the glass quite easily. I suppose this can happen to regular glass too. I guess I am more careful because of the cost difference between the two.

 

Oh i'm certainly will be mindfull of that, i'm paying through the nose for these two tanks. What do you suggest for scrapping actually. I'm not familliar with acrylic scrubbing equipment and techniques.I will also follow the manufactureres recommendation nobody knows their product better then them, plus they garanty if you follow their instruction if you don't your in the woods.

 

We've used acrylic tanks for years, in fact, I've used them for 20-something years.

To clean them, I used the white "made for acrylic" scrubbing pads for film algae, and a plastic scraper for coralline (even a scrap piece of 1/8" acrylic works if it has a good edge on it).

Acrylic can be buffed, even with the tank full (I've done it), but buffing acrylic in general is hard work, so I'd try not to scratch it. To that end, this is how we keep our tanks scratch-free:

1. Never use "mag floats" or other magnet-style scrubbers, esp. near the substrate. They can pick up grains of substrate and can REALLY scratch up your tank. If you must use one, keep it at least 2" from the substrate so it doesn't pick up "rocks".

2. When you "hand-scrub", keep one finger about 1" below the pad to warn you that you're near the substrate so you don't pick up any debris.

3. Don't keep any of the blue "glass" pads near the tank...someone may forget and use one to clean the acrylic, which will really scratch it up (that's how I ended up polishing a full tank).

Acrylic is really great stuff as long as you take care of it.

 

I've had nothing but problems with Starfire glass. My reef tank is a 80gal NUVO. I won't say who the folks are that I bought it from YET, until I send them a video of all the problems.
First, when it was set up by the stores owners, I didn't notice a chip in the front glass. It's real hard to see, so it was probably a couple of months before I noticed it. It was probably caused by the manufacturer in China. It came to me with all of the packing material on it. Then over the months of cleaning the algae off of the glass, I noticed it was scratching the tank. I use the same green pad at the end of the algae scrapper from the fish store that I have always used on my aquariums. The sump is attached to the back of the tank, where you put heaters, pumps, etc. Well after a few months I noticed the sump was breaking away from the main tank, about a 1/4 inch on the top, at both ends.

I called them, and they asked for pictures. I did so, and they came back with; "the chip looks stable, and there should be no problem".
Then he said " The sump separation looks like it has come apart as far as it will, so if I were you I wouldn't' worry about any of the problems". Now, yesterday I noticed the tank is out of level. After checking everything out, I found that the tank stand is now separating and collapsing. Now I'm getting scared to say the least!!

During the phone call with Paul from the company, offered me a bribe of a Skim Mate Ghost Protein skimmer, because the one that came with it was under performing for the size of the tank. Of course I took it, but that doesn't get them off the hook by any means. After I get done with the video, I'm going to demand a new tank and stand. I have over 30 corals,7reef fish, 1 anemone, and 2 large hermit crabs. I have over $6K in this tank, if it collapses they are going to have a problem, trust me.

Happy Reefing....Mark

 

It scratches easily if it's made in China, if it's made in America, it doesn't scratch so easily.

 

Take my word for it. I don't care what anyone says it scratches very easy. Of course mine was made in China.
Make sure it's made in the good ole' U.S.A.!!

As soon as I figure out how to post pics, I'll show you my tank.