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View Full Version : Acrylic vs. Glass Poll


hatfielj
02/26/2008, 03:18 PM
I'm trying to decide on whether to go with acrylic or glass on my next tank. I've had a glass tank before and the things I did not like about them were the messy looking seams, the extreme weight, and the color distortion.
Acrylic kind of fixes all of those things except it adds the problem of scratches.
I want to know from people who have had acrylic tanks before:
Would you be willing to go with acrylic again?
Please share your experiences.
How easy is it to scratch it?
The planned tank will be an SPS cube with only a few wrasses and maybe 1 tang for inhabitants. I'd like to keep all four sides of the tank clean from coraline.
How practical would this be?

I know it would be a lot cheaper to go with acrylic, plus it would weigh less which would ease my mind.
Help me decide!!!

hatfielj
02/26/2008, 03:25 PM
Please everyone explain your reasons for choosing yes or no!!!!

hatfielj
02/26/2008, 06:35 PM
Come on everyone, I need some feedback! Help me decide and tell me why!!

MrSandman
02/26/2008, 06:47 PM
Ok, i'll bite. I've had both and i would never go back to acrylic again. Acrylic scratches way too easily and to repair it requires alot of elbow grease and can become quite tiring if the scratch is long or out of reach. Then after you buff it, you may find that the area that you buffed is slightly distorted depending on how deep that scratch was. You say you'll be extra careful but no matter what precautions you may take, accidents do happen.

With the recent advances in glass tanks you can find some with really nice looking seams with black silicone and polished edges and with starphire glass you won't find any color distortion you're talking about. The glass tanks are heavy, but fill them with water and the weight due to the tank becomes negligible.

My 1st tank was acrylic, and my last 2 are glass. I'm sure my 4th tank will also be glass unless they come up with some scratch resistant acrylic.

hatfielj
02/26/2008, 06:50 PM
Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I'd like to hear.
Am I going to find anyone in favor of acrylic?

mdefo25
02/26/2008, 06:51 PM
I agree with MrSandman glass is the why to go it weights a ton but once its in place your good to go. What size where you thinking about buying?

hatfielj
02/26/2008, 06:53 PM
Probably a 30X30X24 cube. If I can fit bigger I'll go with 34X34X24

dragon174
02/26/2008, 06:55 PM
for me, anything bigger than 120 gallon (48" long) i prefer acrylic. i like glass because it doesn't scratch as easy, but i agree with you about the seams and color distortion.

don't know that that is much help, but that is what i use when looking for a tank. i've had both glass 125 gallon glass & acrylic(6') and 180 gallon acrylic (6') tanks. based on owning both kinds of tanks, that is how i came up with my logic (anything over 48" long i go acrylic).

Untamed12
02/26/2008, 07:00 PM
My current tank is 1" acrylic. I can't imagine it even being possible to do the tank I did in glass, so I never even considered glass as an option. I think that as tanks get very large, the benefits of acrylic outweight the drawbacks. At some point, glass just becomes scary or impossible.

My reasons for choosing acrylic..
1) I can crawl around on the top of the tank
2) I sleep easier knowing that the tank is very strong. (I'm not about to try it, but I bet you could hit it with a hammer and only cause a scuff mark)
3) I don't have to be concerned with seams (they are stronger than the panels)
4) Optically clearer
5) Lighter, so I didn't need to build it on site.

The downside....scratches. I thought that if I was careful, I could avoid scratching the tank. After 1 year, there is not a single scratch on the outer surface of the tank. HOWEVER, no one ever told me that the fish were the cause of tank scratches in acrylic. From my experience, if you want to keep Tangs and Triggers...use glass.

prugs
02/26/2008, 07:03 PM
Use starfire glass.

hatfielj
02/26/2008, 07:21 PM
Interesting point about the tangs causing scratches. I'm only planning on maybe one tang since the tank is going to be small. Would a yellow tang or similar be able to cause scratches? Other than the tang I plan on having a few different fairy wrasses and thats it. Its going to mainly be a tank for high end sps.
The biggest attraction I have to acrylic right now is the price. I think it will be about 1/2 the cost of a starphire glass tank.

lloydkeller
02/26/2008, 07:35 PM
acrylic looks great at first but that first scratch is a killer just like the first sratch on a new car after awhile it tends to haze from the many small scratches, glass is great cleans up easy try scrapeing coraline off of a acrylic tank .and glass is cheaper

aninjaatemyshoe
02/26/2008, 10:23 PM
This is a question that I continue to go back and forth on. I started with a glass tank, but really liked the look of acrylic tanks and the fact that they are easy to drill for things like closed-loops and overflows. My second and third tanks were acrylic. I quickly realized that there is no way I could be able to keep an acrylic tank scratch free. The scratches I made were eyesores to me; not really all that bad but I couldn't get past it. Now I am back on glass, this time with a starphire front panel. I really like my current tank, but now I really want to go with a closed loop. No way am I going to risk drilling my current tank... So, I'm back wondering if my next tank, whenever I decide to upgrade, will be acrylic.

Some conclusions I did reach: First, I would only buy reef-ready glass tanks. I just do not feel comfortable drilling glass tanks; not that people aren't successful with it, but it's not for me. Second, acrylic is the way to go with really large tanks. Large tanks need thicker panels, meaning distortion for glass. Starphire is rather expensive and IMO still not as clear as acrylic. Also, acrylic is much more forgiving and stronger than glass. For large tanks, this is a peace of mind issue. Finally, there is a vast difference among the qualities of acrylic tanks. If I were to go with another acrylic tank, I would not skimp. I would buy from a quality builder and use thick paneling. Acrylic will bow and this can cause distortion. Using thicker acrylic cuts down on this effect a lot.

chem-e
02/26/2008, 10:34 PM
I've had both and now I have low iron glass. The only reason I had acrylic was because I didn't have sand. If I had to chose between glass and acrylic, I'd probably go with glass because the scratches drive me nuts.

hatfielj
02/26/2008, 10:51 PM
Thanks everyone for your input! Keep the suggestions and comments coming!

kdblove_99
02/26/2008, 11:00 PM
I have acrylic and hate it like said before scrathes so easy. My next tank will be a Starphire glass tank

Marcelostank
02/26/2008, 11:58 PM
Ditto on numerous statements...

Acrylic seems better for larger tanks....however scratches can drive you nuts... I have a 40g acrylic and one day my nephews came over and wanted play with the magfloat.... needless to say he found a tiny grain of sand and scraped it all over the front panel... this would have never happened with glass... grrrrr... I just wanted to kill the kid... but now I have these crazy scratches that run the length of the tank...

oh well.... kids...

agree with others... next one will be glass...

Tang Salad
02/27/2008, 12:07 AM
My last tank was acrylic. Contrary to what everyone here says, they do not scratch easily. Just remember these rules:

1. Before you even get it, your new acrylic tank is already scratched.

2. Thinking about scratches has been shown to scratch acrylic tanks.

3. Putting water in acrylic tanks is a well-known cause of scratching.

4. If you don't look at your acrylic tank, you will not see the scratches. If you do look at it, you will cause it to get even more scratched.

miwoodar
02/27/2008, 12:15 AM
I went acrylic primarily for the impact resistance. My son is just old enough to throw things...having an acrylic tank helps me get over the idea of him throwing something at the tank (I lost a tank to my little brother when I was a kid).

Tang Salad
02/27/2008, 12:20 AM
Yes, acrylic certainly has a higher safety factor. I got my acrylic because I was worried about earthquakes where I lived. It is also much lighter, so easier to move.

And I should mention that the scratches are generally less noticeable in acrylic than in glass.

nathanielporter
02/27/2008, 12:40 AM
I agree with most everyone. Having to clean both types at work, I am VERY partial to glass. You can just take a straight-edge razor to glass and be done in a few minutes. Some of the acrylic tanks have deep gashes from any and everything and are extremely difficult to remove algae from. Having to use a soft pad takes FOREVER and I wouldn't trust a magnet on them (sand). Sure acrylic is much stronger and if it's a huge tank, the weight issue is considerable. I'd say anything over 300 gallons would be easier in acrylic. If glass, just like the previous poster, do a front panel in Starphire. Honestly, with the lights on, the difference in Regular and Starphire glass is negligible.