# AI Tanks for Saltwater?



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Specifically, I have a 79-gallon starfire rimless tank from Aqua Inspiration. Would it be safe to use for a saltwater setup? I do not plan on drilling the tank.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Don't see why not.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

ameekplec. said:


> Don't see why not.


I was just wondering if there are any concerns about silicone strength -- SW being denser than FW.

Or if there's anything else I haven't thought of.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Does AI use silicone on their joints? I thought they used an epoxy? (my smaller 12g had epoxy)

Give it a try and tell us what happens!


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## Greg_o (Mar 4, 2010)

Solarz I just started a thread very similar thread to yours.

I have a 20 gal starfire tank from AI that I converted to SW about 14 months ago, so far no issues, but I'm concerned with how much weight I can HOB of it. It's had an HOB skimmer on it from day one.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Greg_o said:


> Solarz I just started a thread very similar thread to yours.
> 
> I have a 20 gal starfire tank from AI that I converted to SW about 14 months ago, so far no issues, but I'm concerned with how much weight I can HOB of it. It's had an HOB skimmer on it from day one.


That's great to hear, Greg! I guess I'm just being overly cautious.


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

solarz said:


> I do not plan on drilling the tank.


Is it not safe to drill their tanks? I was thinking of drilling mine (I have a starfire 50ish rimless)


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

XbrandonX said:


> Is it not safe to drill their tanks? I was thinking of drilling mine (I have a starfire 50ish rimless)


I have no idea, it's just something that I'm not planning to do.


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

Greg_o said:


> Solarz I just started a thread very similar thread to yours.
> 
> I have a 20 gal starfire tank from AI that I converted to SW about 14 months ago, so far no issues, but I'm concerned with how much weight I can HOB of it. It's had an HOB skimmer on it from day one.


Dont want to scare anyone but my AI tank has chipped significantly on the top edges from HOBs. I would recommend adding some foam/padding where the glass meets HOB unit.

No issues besides small 2-3mm deep chips chunked out of the glass rim

edit: 60cm tank


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Symplicity said:


> Dont want to scare anyone but my AI tank has chipped significantly on the top edges from HOBs. I would recommend adding some foam/padding where the glass meets HOB unit.
> 
> No issues besides small 1mm chips chunked out of the glass rim
> 
> edit: 60cm tank


That is because the glass is low iron, thus softer.

Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Did you just use the word "Thus"


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> Did you just use the word "Thus"


It appears I did just that!

Doth that bother you.

Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


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## jd81 (Dec 16, 2011)

The tanks from AI seem to use thinner glass, which is probably fine for FW, but the extra flow from powerheads/wavemakers in SW will result in additional stress on the glass.

I do not know a lot about recommended thickness for each tank dimension, but I recommend you try to find out the recommended glass thickness for your tank dimensions using SW, and then measure your glass thickness of your tank and see if it is enough.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

My tank is 120cm x 50cm x 50cm with 12mm thick glass.

According to this chart, the thickness should be okay:

http://0.tqn.com/d/saltaquarium/1/0/0/a/1/glassthickness_chartenh_600.jpg


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