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low iron fish tanks?


sankaz
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Does anyone have an educated view about regular glass fish tanks (eg Aqueon tanks) compared to low iron tanks? I wonder if the difference in price is worth it. Does low iron glass have an advantage over regular fish tank glass? Is it due to the physics of light through the difference in the types of glass? Or not effective in a water/fish/plant/poop filled tank?

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@sankaz For clarity, I don't have any low iron tanks.

That being said, I absolutely understand the difference and logic behind having one.
 

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Low iron glass, on the other hand, is completely clear. This is achieved by reducing the amount of iron in the molten glass formula, providing optimal, unobstructed views. In addition to unobstructed views, the edge work on low iron glass is much less green than standard clear glass.

Low iron glass has a visible light transmittance (VLT) of 91 percent in a standard quarter inch thick glass, while standard clear glass has an 83 percent VLT, making it the clear choice.

When it comes to iron in the glass you sort of have to think of it as aesthetics at it's finest detail.  How "white" do you want the white paint on the wall or how "clear" do you want the windows to be.  If the plan is to have something like a peninsula tank, an artist style aquascaped tank, or to have something that you will personally enjoy more (i.e. rimless, etc.) and that is worth the price to you, then I would recommend it.  If something like bowfront tanks, small amounts of distortion, rims, algae on the glass, etc. do not bother you, then it's something where I would not recommend it. 

The other consideration here is the strength of the glass itself.  What is the tensile strength of the glass with or without the iron present?  What is the iron actually doing?

One also tends to have a green hue to it.  I am certain this picture is exaggerated, but it's similar to what you'll see.  If you're looking at the tank perfectly straight on, it's like very subtle if at all even noticeable.  When you're off angle a little bit it will be more clear to you.

Pure Clear Comparison Geolux NEW 2020 4

The final factor in terms of glass quality is overall construction quality.  How clean are the seams? Does that matter to you?  That's the ultimate question.... do this aesthetics matter to you?  It might make more sense to just find a higher quality aquarium in lieu of one specifically just for a certain type of glass.  There's a lot of options out there. Which is nice!

Edited by nabokovfan87
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as far as i know there's there is no real difference other than it's less green and more expensive there's some people who say it scratches easier but i haven't been able to find any number to prove that

as for if its worth it that depends for example my last tank was a old braceless 120 gallon so the glass was quite thick and the green was much more noticeable than on a small 10 gallon that said nobody in my family noticed but i did and it annoyed me endlessly lol there's also acrylic that's also very clear if thats important to you

you can see the green in this picture 20161117_103247.jpg.a93094b7692be8079ece75174e9e74f4.jpg

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On 8/20/2022 at 9:51 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

@sankaz For clarity, I don't have any low iron tanks.

That being said, I absolutely understand the difference and logic behind having one.
 

When it comes to iron in the glass you sort of have to think of it as aesthetics at it's finest detail.  How "white" do you want the white paint on the wall or how "clear" do you want the windows to be.  If the plan is to have something like a peninsula tank, an artist style aquascaped tank, or to have something that you will personally enjoy more (i.e. rimless, etc.) and that is worth the price to you, then I would recommend it.  If something like bowfront tanks, small amounts of distortion, rims, algae on the glass, etc. do not bother you, then it's something where I would not recommend it. 

The other consideration here is the strength of the glass itself.  What is the tensile strength of the glass with or without the iron present?  What is the iron actually doing?

One also tends to have a green hue to it.  I am certain this picture is exaggerated, but it's similar to what you'll see.  If you're looking at the tank perfectly straight on, it's like very subtle if at all even noticeable.  When you're off angle a little bit it will be more clear to you.

Pure Clear Comparison Geolux NEW 2020 4

The final factor in terms of glass quality is overall construction quality.  How clean are the seams? Does that matter to you?  That's the ultimate question.... do this aesthetics matter to you?  It might make more sense to just find a higher quality aquarium in lieu of one specifically just for a certain type of glass.  There's a lot of options out there. Which is nice!

Thanks for the information. I was sure someone in the forum could explain the science behind the difference. All the added thoughts about construction of the tank are very helpful especially as I wasn't even thinking of anything but the glass.

Thanks to all who responded! I appreciate your thoughts.

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Here are snapshots of two regular glass tanks and a rimless-seamless-low-iron tank. A bit unfair comparison due to the black background, but the greenish-bluish tint in the regular glass is very noticeable compared to the low-iron, in real life and especially in photos. low-iron-tank.jpg.2813f73fbc4af4691a2154be9cfe5d29.jpg

regular-glass-tank-01.jpg.9d5efff4ed761f72788a8f5b19944362.jpg

regular-glass-tank-02.jpg.a821814f600db140502c24a1f3b31610.jpg

 

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