Where to buy a tank?

[gregorsamsa]

actually i was thinking if the closest alternative to braceless tank is "Euro" bracing, how would one fit in the lily pipes and and other hang on stuff? Does one have to custom make "holes" to fit the tubings?

Overall i think rupert's input is highly insightful (together with the "amano style tank delivered thread"), cause after after growing plants well and scaping, comes "how to match interior design". +2 points ranger

[Star-flog]

[quote:bec607a83f="anzai"]Ultimately it is still whatever you put in the tank that counts ...
and that is something money cannot buy.

or at least if u have enough money to invite mr amano over to help u scape ur tank that is ........[/quote:bec607a83f]


Hi, I'm totally agree.

Nevertheless, my wife just complained that my tank full of wires, so many things on top of the tank and here and there etc..

While is this true that what in the tank is important but one has to look into other aspects around the tank to make it NICE!

The fun part is to grow to love this hobby while it's perfect....

[mozesyap]

Although I agree that ultimately it is what is in the tanks that counts, I would have to insist that the overall design of the tank itself is very important, if not, I would say as important as what we put in the tank itself.

How the tank fit into your home will make a big difference in the overall feel. Not to mention a nice tank will at least gain the acceptance of the female bosses at home

[Rupert]

Starphire glass seems to be the best glass available; I couldn’t find anyone locally [Singapore] that would even suggest it. A quick email [[email protected]] or two to www.AquariumObsessed.com and in the middle of the night got virtually instant responses…

48L x 24W x 30H 12mm glass with euro bracing $US 1150.00
48L x 24W x 30H without braces 19mm glass $US 1500.-1700

Putting shipping, insurance etc on the top of that put a stop to those ideas, dreams are free, but reality is required. So I stuck to Japanese float glass [Asahi] 15 mm for all sides including bottom.

[benny]

Starphire glass are available in Singapore. Loupgarou has one made recently. Some of the local marine tanks are also made of these type of glass. Basically, there color tint is very minimal and the colors are less greenish.

There are quite a lot of tanks without brace. Currently, I do have a 48" X 18" X 18" without any brace. More due to space constraint than anything else. Otherwise, I would have done a 60" X 24" X 24"

Cheers,

[gregorsamsa]

[quote:c1f0b22a13="Rupert"]Starphire glass seems to be the best glass available; I couldn’t find anyone locally [Singapore] that would even suggest it. A quick email [[email protected]] or two to www.AquariumObsessed.com and in the middle of the night got virtually instant responses…

48L x 24W x 30H 12mm glass with euro bracing $US 1150.00
48L x 24W x 30H without braces 19mm glass $US 1500.-1700

Putting shipping, insurance etc on the top of that put a stop to those ideas, dreams are free, but reality is required. So I stuck to Japanese float glass [Asahi] 15 mm for all sides including bottom.[/quote:c1f0b22a13]

Pardon for my ignorance, How is the quality of Asahi Glass like? Is it "clearer" than normal glass?

I asked for such a spec earlier, and i was told that Asahi is a brand name, and that "Grade 1" glass would suffice. You going to get your tank shipped over?

Lastly, im just curious, but why 15mm thivk for the glass? preference or a spec required to necessitate the construction of what i suppose would be a "braceless tank".

Regards

[Rupert]

I wanted a braceless tank and with the height of 30 inches this has necessitated in getting 15mm glass, with euro bracing 12mm glass would have been enough. My understanding of class is relatively limited to my experience in buying a tank, which I have categorized in to 3 broad types:

• Starphire, which is a brand name of very low iron [Fe] content class and comes in 12mm & 19mm thickness. There is a supplier here in SG, but response was nil, it was easier to deal with the US.

• Japanese float glass – Asahi is one brand [there are probably others], comes in many sizes, and different Grades, although I am not familiar with the grade scales. The Japanese glass that I am using is supposed to be a grade 1 and a high uniform quality. Many tank makers use Asahi glass. Grade 1 has no defects. Grade 2 is grade 1 glass with defects eg bubbles. Grade 4 glass is window glass. Asahi Glass can come from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore [although I am not sure if SG manufactures it] plus Japan. Generally all the same quality except that Indonesian Asahi glass might have some more iron in it.

• Chinese glass- which is supposed to have the same grade as the Japanese but quality is unfortunately variable and you might get good or not so good quality for your tank.

I stand to be corrected on the above. Other considerations with thicker glass is view distortion plus the weight goes up quite a bit, then you have to think of the cabinet and how many pillar/posts is it sitting on?

Normal glass [windows] is large topic by itself as the manufactures do all sorts of stuff like tempering, shatter proofing, laminating, coating etc

[mozesyap]

Thanks Rupert, that was a pretty informative summary of the glass type, just what I need to know

On with my search for my tank

[Star-flog]

Starphire glass are available in Singapore. Loupgarou has one made recently. Some of the local marine tanks are also made of these type of glass. Basically, there color tint is very minimal and the colors are less greenish.

There are quite a lot of tanks without brace. Currently, I do have a 48" X 18" X 18" without any brace. More due to space constraint than anything else. Otherwise, I would have done a 60" X 24" X 24"

Cheers,

Hi Benny, you mentioned that Starphire glass is available in Singapore, who is the supplier? Just for info, you made one tank 48"x18"x18" using this Starphire glass, where and how much you paid for it? I plan to make a similar tank.