View Full Version : starphire tank build questions!
Sizzlersonthebrain
11-12-2007, 11:19 AM
hey I'm gonna be helping a freind bond the tank togather and need to know how to tell the inside nad outside of both tempered and starphire glass?
basically the back is 1/2 inch that was drilled and then tempered fro strength and the front is the low iron starphire stuff and we want to get it right.
also any other tips.. we are going to mask the joints for neetness
oh its basiacally a 37 gallon tank 36 in wide you get it.
You will need a UV light. Hold the light up to the glass and then look at the edge of the glass, if the edge "glows" the side you have the light on is the tin side. If it doesn't glow then obviously you are on the air side of the glass. It is tough to tell on low iron glass so you might have to actually look at the light thru the edge of the glass. On regular float glass it really sticks out. Good luck.
Sizzlersonthebrain
11-12-2007, 01:23 PM
ok so wich side goes out? is tinted the outside or the water side?
morty
11-12-2007, 01:41 PM
Not to hijack, but how important is it to know which side is which, and then which side should be the glued side?
You will want to build it with the "air" side in / "tin" side out. When glass is produced it floats on a molten bath of tin, thus tin and air side. Sometimes if you build a tank with the tin side in you will develop small imperfections in the glass (looks like small pits). When I built my starphire tank I did not take the time to figure out which was which and I did end up with some pits. I was probably the only one that new they were there.
I wouldn't worry about it myself but that's me. I found out when we built Casey's and my tank, the only people that noticed anything wrong were Casey and myself.
Chris Goetz
11-12-2007, 05:06 PM
Not to hijack,
...who has priced this out lately(locally)? I called one place a few weeks ago and 1/2" was 22.68/sqft
I have not yet contacted the local distributor for PPG/Strarphire or found sources for Optiwhite(the other leading low iron glass brand).
I'm seriously thinking of building my own 120g if I can find some decent prices and round up some help. :)
Chris
morty
11-12-2007, 05:24 PM
Interesting to know about the surfaces. Not that there's anything I can do about it at this point! :)
As far as gluing the tank together, it was recommended I use this glue:
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AM-81000&Category_Code=
I cleaned the surfaces with acetone before applying the bead. And to get clean fillets along the corner seams, I ran a piece of 3/4" Scotch tape on both sides of the seam that could be peeled off after I used my finger to make the rounded fillet. (Remember to make a courtesy tab in the tape. :)) If you use a finger cot it will make a smoother fillet than the rough surface of your fingerprint.
Also I wouldn't clamp too tightly, you want at least *some* thickness of silicone in there so the joint has a little flexibility. (Sort of like clamping wood, you don't want to starve the joint of glue.) Some mfgrs actually use little plastic spacers about half the thickness of a credit card to insure this thickness. That said, I did not use spacers and clamped fairly tightly. But if I did it over again I would clamp just tight enough to hold everything together. There are some stress bubbles where the clamp was that appeared after the clamps were removed and the tank was filled. I guess this is common and isn't too huge of a concern, but cosmetically it could be better.
Oh, and dry fit everything together to insure all parts line up and are square, before doing the glue-up for real!
morty
11-12-2007, 05:46 PM
...who has priced this out lately(locally)? I called one place a few weeks ago and 1/2" was 22.68/sqft
I have not yet contacted the local distributor for PPG/Strarphire or found sources for Optiwhite(the other leading low iron glass brand).
I'm seriously thinking of building my own 120g if I can find some decent prices and round up some help. :)
Chris
That's probably a pretty fair price for starphire. I'd be happy to help if/when you decide to build.
If I did it again I would just use tape to hold it together and forget the clamps all together.
ksarauer
11-12-2007, 09:13 PM
...who has priced this out lately(locally)? I called one place a few weeks ago and 1/2" was 22.68/sqft
I have not yet contacted the local distributor for PPG/Strarphire or found sources for Optiwhite(the other leading low iron glass brand).
I'm seriously thinking of building my own 120g if I can find some decent prices and round up some help. :)
Chris
Chris, I'd also be willing and interested in helping. My next tank will be a low iron tank. After seeing the clarity of Morty's tank, I'm sold!
(I am not sold on the weight of glass vs acrylic though! :) )
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