starphire or not?

ok attempted to reseal tank couple times and it leaked in one of the exact same spots that was the original leak. Made me believe that the two pieces of the glass actually seperated in that one spot and now there is no way to fix it. I did scrape all the old silicone off etc, so it has to have blown the seam at that spot as the chances of it leaking in the same spot would be slim.

So I started looking at new tanks. Curt runs a LFS store and i have been working some hours to work off sand and supplies.....so I can get a tank at cost plus shipping. I have the stand from my 135g, and would like to use that (modded of course so this doesnt happen again) 135g are only custom made now, so the other option is 125g or 150g

Two things surprised me during this time.
1. the wholesale cost of tanks. I personally thought that there was just a large markup on tanks but there IS NOT! It is going to cost about 2-3x more then I thought it was going to which kind of caught me off guard. I looked at all the different brands of tanks and the prices were just about equal. Undrilled tanks of course is cheaper and I know where/who can drill it for me for free;D but the way I want to do it would cost a lot more!
2. Starphire: wholesale for the front only costs 100 more, but it only comes on the 150g and above (at least where they get them from!)

So now deciding if I want to spend (work) that much for a new tank, which I really do want a new tank. Second is the size....I really think if I cant get the 135 (no longer made) then I would rather go up to 150g. If I do that I think I would splurge that extra 100 for starphire front

anybody have experience with the starphire? The old LFS store I worked at had a 300g all starphire tank and was awesome. I know it scratches easier, but looking for other owners

On side note, it is funny how people not in the hobby dont understand. Everybody in my family and all my non-reef frients, keeps telling me to just take the tank down, and give up on it......believe me i have thought about it, however the more I go into Curts store, the more I want to get it back up.

 

Starfire is good but i would just get a normal 150 and use the extra 100 for other goodies.

 

I wouldnt waste my money on starfire....I mean really...when you clean your glass, the tank looks awesome!

Buy coral with the money saved!!!

 

You would really have to completely remove the panel which is leaking from the tank and re-seat it on a bead of silicone to stop that kind of leak, which honestly isn't really that hard to do.

It does require allot of work I agree, but to me its a matter of whether I wanted to spend time and energy on the old tank or a whole lot of money on a new one, and to be completely honest with you time and energy wins me over every time. But I have done it so many times that it is really easy to me.

And as far as the Starphire on the front goes, I do not have a tank with it but I have seen a few of them, so I can safely say that my next tank will be a custom built, 3 side Starphire tank. I think that the difference in colors that you see with Starphire and regular glass is well worth it. The Starphire allows the actual colors to be seen, very similar to a Plexiglas tank.

I actually have a 50 gallon column tank that some Idiot tried to drill a few months ago. The idiot (me) and the people that were with him that evening had all been sharing a case of Hiney's so they did not see the rather large orange tag that said "Do not Drill Tempered glass all sides". Since this tank is now in my possession, I am going to get a piece of starphire to replace it.

As for your scratching statement, from what I understand its not that easy to scratch one, I mean glass is glass. Starphire glass is just made from higher quality grades of silica sand that are almost totally free of iron oxides. Its not like they take anything away from it to make it softer or easier to scratch.

 

My 180 is starphire on 3 sides. it is all 1/2" glass and from what I can tell, it is not any easier to scratch than my old tank. as for the clarity, IDK if I can truly tell the difference yet. I dont have a ton of corals.

Im a DIY guy and actually replaced a cracked panel on a 225. I would jump at the chance to reseal the 135 you have.

 

Starfire looks like it's not even there... But if you know what your looking for you can tell a difference between the two.
There is a slight green tint to non starfire

 

well we have finally ordered a tank.....YEAH!
I went ahead with a 125g, no starphire. There was a sale going on in one brand and I got it for 36% off due to a show. I could not see spending about 500 more for only 25g more space, then another 100 for starphire!

It is being delivered Tuesday and we will probably not get it up for a couple weeks due to our schedule, but I am so happy!

We lost a lot of stuff with this incident! Not only the carpet, but I just lost both my fish this weekend, my large male mystery wrasse and my beautiful bellus female angel. Corals are looking a little worse for the wear also but I think with a little TLC some of them might make it. I did have Curt take in my lava chalice, my dendro (which did amazing), a couple acans and my sea apple and psychedelic cucumber to be safe. I lost almost all my sps at the begining and I might have starved out the lps due to the tank size. I was very worried about feeding everything a lot due to a 135 tank being placed in a 40g breeder (rocks were moved to other tanks) so no rocks or sand in there! But I think i starved them too much!

 

the tank come in next week but I am thinking........which is very bad for me. Eventually down the road (way down the road) I want to finish my basement and build a large predator tank inwall down there to move Goldie into!

The LFS that Curt works in has a large 300g rubbermade sump that they are not using....not sure how much they want for it. All my equipment is designed for a much larger tank (have 1/3 hp chiller, large 400g skimmer, etc.) What I am thinking about doing is getting that sump, putting in my basement and plumb the 125g into that. The only thing other then the sump I would need is the plumbing parts and a big ole pump (which is going to cost more then the tank itself!)! Then when I hit the lottery i can finish the basement and put my predator tank down there and everything would be ready to go.

This way I can have a much larger water amount, I can move all my equipment downstairs and seperate the circuit, the house will stay cooler, and I can hook my frag tanks right up to the sump downstairs.

The only bad thing.....is it will be longer before I get the tank back up as it will require more stuff and more planning! However in the long run will be best all around! My goal for this is by thanksgiving now!

 

Sounds like a great plan and setup. Can't wait to see it up a going.