Starfire glassis the brand name for a type of low-iron, a high-clarity glass used for one or more viewing panels on an aquarium. The term may be a bit confusing as people often use the term Starfire in a generic way, similar to Kleenex for facial tissues, to describe any aquarium made with low-iron glass.
低铁玻璃是用二氧化硅制成的，该二氧化硅具有低铁含量，可消除您在常规玻璃应用中看到的绿色蓝色色调。用于低铁玻璃的沙子只有0.01％的氧化铁，常规板玻璃将增加十倍。
您可能不会注意到带有较薄玻璃杯的小水族馆中的色彩，但玻璃杯较厚，它有很大的不同，尤其是通过14,000k至20,000k光谱中的清脆的白礁灯。
您会注意到，当购买水族馆，星火和其他低铁玻璃品牌时，便会更加昂贵。高端水族馆将在所有观看窗格上使用低铁玻璃，即公共水族馆的前三个侧面。为了降低成本，许多制造商只会在前视图面板上使用低铁玻璃，有助于使水族馆更加负担得起。
Is low-iron glass worth the cost?
The best way to see the benefits oflow-iron glassis to see it in person. When I bought my first reef aquarium over 10 years ago, I was on a limited budget and just looking for the biggest glass box I could afford. After a few years in the hobby, you began to see more and more low iron tanks, and there was a huge difference in clarity particularly asrimless aquariumsgained in popularity. They also cost a lot more than traditional aquariums.
Over the years the price has come down and it is more common to see low-iron glass aquariums of all sizes and budgets. Now, you are more likely to find a low-iron glass aquarium in or around your price range, making it a much easier decision.
However, you also need to weigh in what you are going to use the aquarium for. If you are looking for a quarantine tank or a frag grow out tank that won’t be front and center, you can save yourself a few dollars and go with a traditional plate-glass aquarium.
Is Starfire glass the best?
就像其他任何东西一样，您还为获得的东西付费 - 但您也为品牌名称付费。While Starfire may be the most recognizable brand name of low-iron glass manufactured by Vitro, there are others on the market as well including Guardian Industries UltraClear or Ultrawhite glass, Pilkington’s Optiwhite and others you may see like Starlite, Krystal Klear, Diamant and Eurowhite.
You’ll also see generic terms like “low-iron” or “high-clarity” as general descriptions used by some manufacturers. This doesn’t mean the quality is any less as they might be sourcing the glass from several suppliers or getting a generic version that can provide the same clarity and performance at a lower cost. However, if you want peace of mind, then you’ll probably want to know the brand name of the glass.
The bottom line
Low-iron or ultra-clear glass is often worth the investment But just remember, if you hear the term “Starfire” just be cautious that you may not be getting the brand-name of low-iron glass.
业余爱好者和一些零售商可能会为市场上的整个低铁玻璃而抛弃“星火”一词。他们并没有像在我们的克莱内克斯（Kleenex）示例中那样欺骗你，人们立即将星际火与超清晰的玻璃等同起来，更容易说一个字与三个字。
When in doubt, ask the manufacturer what brand of glass the aquarium is made from to see if it truly is Starfire or some other form of low-iron glass.
