Acrylic Owners?

[kjr_trig]

Wasn't really sure where to post this...I would not consider myself a beginner, but I have never had an acrylic tank. After moving cross country and leaving my 130 aggressive behind, I am getting set to start a new tank. I was all set to go with acrylic, but a lot of people trying to talk me out of it. The good things about acrylic are great...Lighter, stronger, clearer, ect. Four negative things I am hearing regarding my potential tank.
Scratches easily, I know this, how easy are the scratches to repair.
"Yellowing"???
One person said you should not put triggers in acrylic, as they scratch the acrylic.
Also have heard no puffers in acrylic...same reason (planning on Porky...not Dogface which I know would be iffy)
Would be Aggressive set-up, 240 gallon 8x2x2 most likely....would love to hear good and bad feelings on acrylic from people that have actually had it.
Thanks

 

[lexluethar]

I have not personally owned an acrylic tank - but i've seen them. If you purchase one be EXTREMELY carefule when placing your rockwork in the tank. From what i've seen tehy scratch EXTREMELY easily, so placing rock and moving rock around becomes more of a chore than it already is for glass.
Aside from that con - i honestly don't see the positive of it being lighter. How does this matter? You are going to fill the tank up with hundreds of pounds of rock and water anyways, which would negate any positives you get from having a lighter tank. And once you are talking about a tank larger than say 55 gallons, you will need someone to help you move it anyways b/c of the size - not weight. So i don't see it being lighter as an advantage unless you want to tell your friends "ya if this thing didn't have 800 pounds of stuff in it, i could carry it"

And unless you buy a bowfront glass, i don't see the huge benefit with being more clear either. I personally couldn't see much of a different between a friends acrylic tank and the sides of mine (the front of mine is bowed and you can definately tell the diff).
Weigh your options, but my vote would be glass.

 

[kjr_trig]

Thanks Lex...I guess one other thing worth mentioning is price. Phoenix is home to one of the larger acrylic manufacturers, and they offer locals a great deal of 20% off the total purchase if you pick the system up, plus I went to the plant, and I have yet to see nicer wooden stands than what these guys make....It's Tenecor BTW.

 

[fishpoor]

I have an acrylic tank,
positives...
1. They are easy to drill if you want to add new equipment.
2. It is great if you want an odd shaped tank!
3. You don't have to worry about it breaking or cracking. (you know if it gets hit with a toy or a bat, I have 5 kids, I have to think about this stuff
4. It was very easy to transport and install when it was empty! (like twice!)
Negatives...
1. I can't clean the outside with Windex I have to use a special cleaner
2. Yes they scratch! Mostly on the outside (which can be easily removed or filled) I have a few scratches on the inside (from my rocks), that will be there forever, I don't want to use the scratch remover in the inside.
3. It NEVER looks clean! Although my hasn't yellowed the outside has a constant film on it that is hard to get off.
4. Heaters can melt your tank! The one in my sump fell over and burned a hole in the bottom of the sump! I am so glad it was just the sump!
Honestly, I like mt acrylic because it is a weird size and I love interesting tanks plus I have kids and when I am not home I KINOW they play baseball in the house!

 

[t316]

Agree with Lex on the weight (who cares??? unless you are planning on moving every other month)
I have seen a lot of acrylic tanks. It's not the scratches on the outside that look so bad IMO. Those can be buffed out. It's the ones on the inside, down near the sand or cc. Once a scratch appears, green algea seems to find it like a magnet and starts growing in the scratch, making it very difficult to clean.
I vote glass

 

[nigerbang]

They do scratch super easy! I have no yellowing in mine. I have seen the results of the scratch removers, they work pretty good unless its a real deep scratch. I would never clean a tank with windex, glass or not. Windex=Ammonia
I love my acrylic tank!

 

[saltn00b]

only old acrylic tanks "yellow" new ones do not. my next tank will be glass because i am sick of the scratches. the algae forming in the scratches can get buffed out with magnets. my scratches are from rocks (one or two landslides) and mostly from my cleaner magnet (meant for acrylic) getting sand or something trapped in it.

 

[dischirm]

I have acrylic. I have no problems with anything. I love acrylic! I bought it due to the fact that I am a woman and needed something that I could manage to lift half the weight to get it to my house. (100 gallon tank - no way I could manage half if it was glass)

 

[stdreb27]

I have a 180 acrylic tank, I'm happy with it, there are some smaller scratches at the bottom, where I got sand in my algea scraper. And a couple small nicks where I dropped a rock and it bumped the side. But I have a 7 inch dog face and he hasn't nicked my tank. Cleaning the outside is not a problem, the "special" cleaner is the kind in an arosol can, look in a car parts store for window cleaner that is safe for tinted windows.

 

[fishpoor]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
I have a 180 acrylic tank, I'm happy with it, there are some smaller scratches at the bottom, where I got sand in my algea scraper. And a couple small nicks where I dropped a rock and it bumped the side. But I have a 7 inch dog face and he hasn't nicked my tank. Cleaning the outside is not a problem, the "special" cleaner is the kind in an arosol can, look in a car parts store for window cleaner that is safe for tinted windows.
Ohh, I will try that! I only have the stuff in the small squirt bottle. that cost me like $10 and it leaves a film!

 

[jtrzerocool]

i have a 55g acrylic RR tank and i will say that is scraches really easy. on the other hand you dont need to worry wether or not your silicone will hold. also acrylic is VERY light compared to glass...i can pick up my 55g tank with about 3 fingers...

 

[kjr_trig]

Thanks to everybody whom has posted thus far...I don't think anyone has scared me too bad so far....I do have a 2 1/2 year old munchkin, not sure if I would be more worried about kids scratching acrylic, or worse with glass...With acrylic I will likely turn into the crazy dad every kid is scared of after the routine "DON'T TOUCH THE TANK!!!!!"

Anybody else?...With acrylic tank comments, not yelling at kids stories.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
Thanks to everybody whom has posted thus far...I don't think anyone has scared me too bad so far....I do have a 2 1/2 year old munchkin, not sure if I would be more worried about kids scratching acrylic, or worse with glass...With acrylic I will likely turn into the crazy dad every kid is scared of after the routine "DON'T TOUCH THE TANK!!!!!"

Anybody else?...With acrylic tank comments, not yelling at kids stories.
I'd be more scared of stop throwing the balls in the house or don't swing a bat, golfclub ect. And glass.

 

[scsinet]

Glass isn't particularly easy to break as far as kids are concerned. They can bang on it pretty good (especially in the larger tanks) with little issues. An errant baseball might cause a problem... but not most things.
Glass is certainly heavier... but I can tell you that I'm in the process of replacing an acrylic tank with a glass one. I'm just tired of babying it. Every time a hunk of substrate gets under my mag float I get another scratch.
Every time I have to scrub coraline off I have to work on it for 15 minutes whereas with glass I can just open up a can of whoopazz on it.
I personally find the "clearer" aspect to be pretty BS. I can't see a difference unless I'm looking at the cut edge of a pane, but nobody looks into their tank that way.
I do like being able to drill and manipulate acrylic, but I'm still a diehard glass fan.
Oh... and as for the forum title... it's kinda like the right of Parlay. More of a guideline than a rule.

 

[calvertbill]

Originally Posted by LexLuethar
I have not personally owned an acrylic tank - but i've seen them. - i honestly don't see the positive of it being lighter. How does this matter? You are going to fill the tank up with hundreds of pounds of rock and water anyways, which would negate any positives you get from having a lighter tank. And once you are talking about a tank larger than say 55 gallons, you will need someone to help you move it anyways b/c of the size - not weight.

It matters once for sure!!! When we carried my 10'x2'x3' into my den we planned for four hefty guys doing the carrying and one helmsman/director. Great plan except for doorways! The two guys on the sides had to drop out and when the other two almost dropped it the helmsman and I dove under the tank and got on all fours so the guys could rest it on our backs. Six mashed fingers and some ULTRA sore biceps and lats later we got it in place (http://www.millcovefarm.com/Marine525/) but either I die in this house or if I ever move...the tank conveys.
Oh, and by the way...it's acrylic...I couldn't conceive of it in glass!

 

[fishpoor]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
Thanks to everybody whom has posted thus far...I don't think anyone has scared me too bad so far....I do have a 2 1/2 year old munchkin, not sure if I would be more worried about kids scratching acrylic, or worse with glass...With acrylic I will likely turn into the crazy dad every kid is scared of after the routine "DON'T TOUCH THE TANK!!!!!"

Anybody else?...With acrylic tank comments, not yelling at kids stories.
My kids love the fish! My older ones are great with the tank. We tell my 2 year old that the fishies are scared of us and if we can't stand close to, or tap on the tank. He has a little chair that we sit about 2-3

feet from the tank and several times a day he will sit in the chair and talk to the fishies. He claps in the morning when I turn the lights on. At night he "tucks them in" he says their prayers and we turn of the lights. Then he tells everyone in the house "shhh the fishies are sleeping" The tank is the focal point of his entire day!

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by Fishpoor
My kids love the fish! My older ones are great with the tank. We tell my 2 year old that the fishies are scared of us and if we can't stand close to, or tap on the tank. He has a little chair that we sit about 2-3

feet from the tank and several times a day he will sit in the chair and talk to the fishies. He claps in the morning when I turn the lights on. At night he "tucks them in" he says their prayers and we turn of the lights. Then he tells everyone in the house "shhh the fishies are sleeping" The tank is the focal point of his entire day!
yeah, teach your kids to be addicts!