of going acrylic for my next setup

[hugabone]

I currently have a 48x18x28 Starphire tank. I had it for 18 months but havent really gotten into the hoppy as deep as I hoped. I just have about 125lb of liverock and three damsels. I am now looking to upgrade to a 180 to 240 tank 71x24x....but I havent decided on glass or acrylic. A 240 Starphire tank would could almost as much as a acrylic tank of the same. The acrylic would weigh much less than glass but scratch easier. Convince me one way or the other.

[pitbull250r]

I am a new at this but think any thing over 150 should be acrylic
IMO. But i have never owned anything over a 75 gallon or
never seen a Starphire tank in person ether:lol:

[flyyyguy]

go starphire if you can. My current tanks are the last acrylic tanks I will ever own. One of which 225 fwiw.

The next ones will be custom made starphire with thick back glass so I can riddle it with holes like my acrylic tanks as well as external coast to coast overflows...like my acrylic.

If you do the full custom job like i described it will cost more than the acrylic.......but worth it IMO.

[jtarmitage]

I think the acrylic vs. glass decision is tough and is better based on a few more facts. Personally, I wanted my new tank to be starfire, but went with acrylic for several reasons.
1- I've got a 2yr old and a 5 yr old, and the odds of them breaking an acrylic tank are much less than them breaking a glass tank. Safer for the kids, the house, and the corals. My tank is going right next to the kitchen table, so the odds of a chair being tipped back is really where this worry came into play. I've seen a glass tank explode.
2- The odds of moving were fairly high(and turned out to be true sooner than expected). Moving a glass tank vs. acrylic, no contest.
3- I live in Nor Cal, and firmly believe the structural integrity of an acrylic tank is higher.

I've had both, and do dislike the ease of scratching an acrylic tank. Scraping coraline is a MAJOR pain in an acrylic tank, and was easily the #1 reason for wanting glass.

I think if you factor in your situation, as I listed mine above, you can come to a decision. You WILL 2nd guess yourself, but if you've though it through, you should be happy with either. HTH.

[saveafish]

I had acrylic befor and I need to be honest with myself I am too clumsy to have a nother acrylic. They scratch too easy for me.

[hugabone]

Seems as expected, the biggest problem I see with acrylic is the scratches. I love my Starphire tank, If I going glass, I would definitely go with Starphire again. From what I read, the scratches can easily be buffed out of acrylic. It is still a tough decision.