Large Acrylic Tanks

[2wheelsonly]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

Good morning RC. I am contemplating a larger tank; moving to something in the 400 gallon range from my 265. This means custom, and the weight of an empty glass aquarium in that size (pushing 1,000 lbs) is putting me off a bit. Seriously evaluating an acrylic. Never had one before, so interested in insights from current owners, specifically:

1. How to best avoid scratches
2. The extend to which the long panels bow
4. Yellowing/discoloring over time

Please explain your comments if you can. 'I'll never buy an acrylic tank' is not useful without some context. Thanks in advance.

PS - I may post this in the large tank forum as well.

I bought a 96x30x24 acrylic due to the weight issues with glass. I had alot of stairs, curves and odd corners to navigate and didn't want to deal with glass or worry that I was too violent moving it that I hurt the seams only to have it burst over time.

I went with truvu aquariums and have not regretted going acrylic. At first I used a tunze care magnet. One day a snail was under the fin and I didn't know it. I heard a huge scrape as I went across the front pane. There was a 20+ inch scratch dead center in the middle.

I bought one of those sanding kits from might magnets and also invested in their magnet setup. This was the best purchase I have ever made! The scratch was gone in less than 20 mins and my tank looks better than new...so clear. If I get scratches I just sand them up. I could never do this with glass.

For the first year I let coralline grow all over my back wall. I decided I wanted the pure clean black look so I used a hand scraper and scraped away thick purple crust, not a single scratch.

I honestly dont know what the fuss is all about with acrylic. If I had display tanks in an LFS that needed to be touched/cleaned every single day I could understand but I doubt i'll ever go glass again.

The ONLY thing with acrylic is you have to spend more attention scraping the bottom coralline algae where the sandbed meets the front being careful I dont get sand in front of my scraper blade. Other than that my tank looks amazing.

Do invest in a mighty magnet with mesh bags over them (sold by them) as well as the sanding kit. Never worry about scratches again.

On the bowing issue, I believe if it's properly made and braced you wont have a problem. Mine is an in wall build with a wood frame around it. If it bowed i'd notice. I don't see this happening with my tank nor am I worried about it.

[WLachnit]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

Don't disagree, however, my current tank is 30" tall and I have come to appreciate the extra height and accept the difficulties in access.

I also agree that the 30" height. I really like the look of the taller tank and it is worth the trade off in maintenance.

[Vio]

Wide is better, i think 28 " High will be the MAX.

[chuckbuc]

I also just went acrylic on my new 396 gallon 84x35x31..1 inch acrylic....this is also going to be my first acrylic tank.i have decided to go with acrylic for a few reasons
#1 reason is my 5 year old 300 gallon glass had decided to leak a few months ago...
#2 I figured when I go to any aquarium,or see a big tank in a restaurant ,mall or restaurant there almost always acrylic ....
#3 I thought to myself right after my leak that I would have much rather had a scratch than leak

[o2manyfish]

I've had acrylic tanks for over 30 years. My current 400 is pushing 14 years.

Two tanks ago I had a 14+ year old 125 that was barebottom. When I sold it and drained it, the tank still looked brand new.

I replaced it with a 360 which went bad in a year. But when i setup the 360 i put sand in it. At the end of the year the tank looked horrible. It's my fault - I am lazy and careless and the sand was always getting inbetween the magnets (and I use the mesh pads).

I had the 360 replaced with a 400g 96x33x28.5 --- Yes I had a 30" tall tank and was never going that tall again. But I had the 400g built with a stainless steel frame around the top and ZERO bracing. An entirely open top.... And I love it.

I went back to barebottom. And after 14 years Slief came over a few months ago and showed me how to polish out the scratches I had acquired. I have polished 50% of the front panel at this point, but nobody can tell walking up to the tank.

My 400g was built from bad acrylic and i am now looking at replacing it. The wife and i want to go bigger.

The only reason I have been getting quotes for glass - I miss the pretty look of clean sand. I am too old, too lazy, too cranky and been a reefer for too many decades. The years of my life spent cleaning algae off viewing panes is too many- I cannot be careful, cautious or prudent.

But chances are - New tank will be acrylic. I love the idea the when I come up with my stupid ideas I can pull out a drill and put another hole in the tank where I want.

Dave B


PS - I have never had an acrylic tank change color. For my outdoor frag tanks I use glass - Just because I like to use a razor to quick algae wipe them and the coraline grows at a crazy rate in the sunlight. But my glass frag tanks after 5-6 years or razor cleaning were just as nasty looking as the acrylic tank with sand in the magnet. Except it couldnt be fixed.

And Sliefs method of polishing the tank is great for a tank filled with corals. However many times I have drained a tank down to 50% or 75% and gone inside with an electric polisher, and buffed out a front panel with livestock in the tank. All the compounds are natural and the fish don't care if some ends up in the tank. Sleif's method takes patience and fortitude and time. With an electric buffer the process can be done much faster.


Dave B

[ca1ore]

Old thread ..... but it was mine so ok to bump it ....

I ended up going with an acrylic tank - 96x36x30. It's been setup now for almost four months and I have been extremely happy with it. Took 4 guys to move it in (plus a couple of lift carts), so that was good; but I really like how it looks, particularly the corners. Tank builder did a very nice job and the corners are all perfectly welded and bubble free. I can also get the mag cleaner right into the corner without worrying about tearing into the silicone seals. So, even 4 months in, the corners remain clean and clear. I did buy one of the big Mighty Magnet cleaners, and it has been good. Not a single scratch that I can see yet.

I did do something different with my lighting though. Since the tank is 36 inches front-to-back, I decided that I was going to leave the front 12 inches or so just as open sand. No need to light that so my lighting is setup as if the tank were only 24 inches deep and I use blanking panels on the top to prevent most of the light from falling onto the front panel. This has almost completely eliminated algae growth an makes cleaning less frequent and much easier.

No regrets on the acrylic tank so far.

[R1ant04]

Any pics?

[Mike de Leon]

Bump for pics. Contemplating on acrylic as well.

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by Mike de Leon

Bump for pics. Contemplating on acrylic as well.

Under large reef tanks, he has lots of pics

[ca1ore]

Yup, simon’s 450 has some pics. Tank’s been up over a year and I continue to be very happy with it. No scratches on the front at all; a few on one end courtesy of my magnetic nori feeder. I anticipated it might which is why I use it on an end rather than the front. Get a good magnet cleaner, and don’t leave it on the tank.