Does starphire glass scratch as easily as acrylic?

[Reefkeeper14]

Recently ive beem wanting to buy or make a large aquarium hopefully around 400 gallons and i"ve been trying to decide what i want it made from... So e biggest advantage acylic would have is its light but it scracthes easily. So the advantage of starphire glass is its clear but its also heavy. Ive also heard at starphire glass scratches has easily has acrlic but the scratches cant be buffed out and i was womdering if this is true because it doesnt make much sense to me.
Thanks

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

No it does not scratch as easy as acrylic but it will scratch easier than regular glass.

 

[Degener8]

:clap2: Umm yeah Whut he said..LOL

its glass not plastic so its much more durable than acrylic. It uses the same algae magnets etc as any standard glass aquarium. Just be more cautious around the sand and such.

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Can you buff the scratches be buffed out like in acylic

 

[SteezySPS]

starphire is weaker than than regular glass.

 

[purple30]

yes starphire scratch easy because my dad bought one and in 2 week.and urchine we had drag rock on it back and scratch the glass easy

 

[Mstansbery]

You can buff w/ Cerium Oxide. -Empty of course!!

 

[Reefkeeper14]

Hmm ok so if you gus were to buy a 400g+ would you go acrlic or starfire or just regular glass

 

[kuyatwo]

I would do acrylic or starphire over reg glass on a tank that big. Having had a starphire tank I can tell the difference starphire makes the fish look like they are swimming in air.


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[purple30]

yah it does but u need to make sure if you have a urchine keep it of the glass
.

 

[DOI]

I would go with regular glass if you plan on having a reef tank. Urchins wrecked one of my acrylic tanks which I need to do a ton of buffing on. Starfire is a softer glass and in my opinion isn't worth the extra cost. You really don't notice the difference between regular and starfire unless they are side by side. You can repair glass its just a riskier fix compared to acrylic and the tank needs to be drained to do it unlike acrylic that can be fixed with water in it. There are pros and cons to both.

 

[Cherub]

wow I'm glad I read this thread

 

[Reefkeeper14]

I not planning on having any urchins does that change your guys opinion in glass or acrylic or starfire. It will be in a dedicated fish room so i don't expect it to see much were or tear

 

[swimmingswammi]

I heard someone watched a snail scratch their glass tank.

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

I've had my Starphire tank for about 2 years I have two small scratches. Both were my fault and not noticeable unless you really look for them. I had an acrylic tank before this and it was a mess in no time. Anything scratched it. I clean the Starphire tank with a Magfloat cleaner with a razor blade attachment. I can get the whole things from covered in algae to spotless in less than 10 minutes. I wouldn't hesitate for one second to pick Starphire over any other material. I've seen one RC Tank of the Month in person. It's Starphire and although the owner is upset about a couple of small scratches, it looks perfect to me.

 

[Steelerfan747]

I have had all types. I currently own a starphire tank and you could tell the difference between regular glass. However if I was to go that big, I would probably go acrylic as it is the clearest, strongest material you could get but yes easy to scratch. Just have to be a little more careful.

 

[jeffreyg]

I had a custom built tank made from starphire glass. I have so many scratches that I can't count them. I have tried to be very careful. It's awful.

 

[Salty Pickle]

You can buff w/ Cerium Oxide. -Empty of course!!

is all Cerium Oxide created equal? is there grades or anything specific to look for when purchasing?

 

[D311]

Glass starphire all the way.

 

[iTread]

I find my starfire scratches easily too....I have to clean the magfloats twice during cleaning and I go slowly. It's a bit of a pain to be honest, but they are beautiful.