Acrylic vs. Glass?
- Thread starter maurice
- Start date
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nluchau
Guest
Originally Posted by F1shMan
All I know is that glass is cheaper
and it easier to scrape with magnets and blades etc.. Acrylic suppovly is clearer and lighter but more expensive, and you have to be careful what you use to clean it (can scratch easily)
What he said
All I know is that glass is cheaper
What he said
dogstar
Active Member
Acrylic pluses
Much lighter and for a 200g that a lot
Much clearer, no green tent
Nearly unbreakable, do you have kids or get drunk, haha
Better insulated to keep temps more stable, if you think you heater or chiller will run alot this matters
Dont see sylicon in the corners
Acrylic minuses
Scratches easy, can be polished out but have to drain tank to do it
Needs full across the bottom support
A bit more expensive but the larger you go the more that equals out
I have acrylic and will never go back to glass.
Much lighter and for a 200g that a lot
Much clearer, no green tent
Nearly unbreakable, do you have kids or get drunk, haha
Better insulated to keep temps more stable, if you think you heater or chiller will run alot this matters
Dont see sylicon in the corners
Acrylic minuses
Scratches easy, can be polished out but have to drain tank to do it
Needs full across the bottom support
A bit more expensive but the larger you go the more that equals out
I have acrylic and will never go back to glass.
jer4916
Active Member
i have an acrylic 125 gallon tank, yes they do scratch, but not that easy, you have to do something stupid like get a rock caught in your magnet. if you have a brain you can avoid scratching it. glass in every way is less quality than acrylic. its heavy, it has a nasty color to it when acrylic is perfectly clear, also acrylic tanks such as mine have rounded corners..looks MUCH better then glass.
also if your so worried about scratchs...remember
NOVIUS polish kits.
they're cheap and they fix almost any scratch.
i've had both, and acrylic is way better.
~chris
:jumping:
the picture enclosed is a picture of my tank when i first started it...notice how much more clear it looks then a glass, and also notice the rounded corners....
also moving is easy...i can move my 125 alone without help. HUGE bonus. plus its more resistant to cracking/and random breaks...which glass are VERY supseptable to.
also if your so worried about scratchs...remember
NOVIUS polish kits.
they're cheap and they fix almost any scratch.
i've had both, and acrylic is way better.
~chris
:jumping:
the picture enclosed is a picture of my tank when i first started it...notice how much more clear it looks then a glass, and also notice the rounded corners....
also moving is easy...i can move my 125 alone without help. HUGE bonus. plus its more resistant to cracking/and random breaks...which glass are VERY supseptable to.
acrylic51
Active Member
Originally Posted by Dogstar
Acrylic pluses
Much lighter and for a 200g that a lot
Much clearer, no green tent
Nearly unbreakable, do you have kids or get drunk, haha
Better insulated to keep temps more stable, if you think you heater or chiller will run alot this matters
Dont see sylicon in the corners
Acrylic minuses
Scratches easy, can be polished out but have to drain tank to do it
Needs full across the bottom support
A bit more expensive but the larger you go the more that equals out
I have acrylic and will never go back to glass.
Your right about the weight factor, but have to disagree with you on glass being tinted green.... If you use regular float glass yes, but if you spend a little extra on starphire you don't get a green tint.
Acrylic pluses
Much lighter and for a 200g that a lot
Much clearer, no green tent
Nearly unbreakable, do you have kids or get drunk, haha
Better insulated to keep temps more stable, if you think you heater or chiller will run alot this matters
Dont see sylicon in the corners
Acrylic minuses
Scratches easy, can be polished out but have to drain tank to do it
Needs full across the bottom support
A bit more expensive but the larger you go the more that equals out
I have acrylic and will never go back to glass.
Your right about the weight factor, but have to disagree with you on glass being tinted green.... If you use regular float glass yes, but if you spend a little extra on starphire you don't get a green tint.
jer4916
Active Member
not all glass has a green tint, but the colors arn't as clear as they are in acrylic...there is some color distortion, blue/green...etc ...acrylic is better if you have the money...if you can only afford glass get glass....but its all user choice. its the saltwaterfish that are important 
but reminder : acrylic is better/sexier
but reminder : acrylic is better/sexier
dogstar
Active Member
I agree that starfire glass is clear but it is expensive and has to be custom made with it and then you loose the glass is cheaper debate. I dont know of any brands that make off the shelf tanks useing starfire. Does anyone?
Then again I could add that you can have an arylic made with scratch resistant acrylic and that will even out the scratch debate as well but I didnt mention that because thats very expencive as well and has to be custom made.
Then again I could add that you can have an arylic made with scratch resistant acrylic and that will even out the scratch debate as well but I didnt mention that because thats very expencive as well and has to be custom made.
pyro
Active Member
I've never used acrylic, I've always been a glass man myself due to cost and fear of scratches. I do think, however, when I get my 125 I'll put some money forth and go acrylic.
Just a funny note on the scratch arguement. I'm using my dads 30g from when he was in high school (he is about 50 now) - Theres scratches all over the bottom half of the tank from who knows what. I didn't really notice them until the tank was filled and the 192W of PC light turned on. You don't really notice them unless you are attempting to clean my massive algae bloom off of the tank sides.
Other than that, the tank is in great shape and has held up being in constant use for probably about 35 years.
My $.02
Just a funny note on the scratch arguement. I'm using my dads 30g from when he was in high school (he is about 50 now) - Theres scratches all over the bottom half of the tank from who knows what. I didn't really notice them until the tank was filled and the 192W of PC light turned on. You don't really notice them unless you are attempting to clean my massive algae bloom off of the tank sides.
Other than that, the tank is in great shape and has held up being in constant use for probably about 35 years.
My $.02
felix15
Member
Acrylic is better but what about the distortion? What about the Glare? You pretty much have to have the lights off to see ur fishes. No one seemed to mention that. The distortion is horrible too. Ive seen peoples tank turn from RECTANGLE to a custom BOWFRONT just by adding water.
IMO glass before acrylic.
IMO glass before acrylic.
jer4916
Active Member
Originally Posted by felix15
Acrylic is better but what about the distortion? What about the Glare? You pretty much have to have the lights off to see ur fishes. No one seemed to mention that. The distortion is horrible too. Ive seen peoples tank turn from RECTANGLE to a custom BOWFRONT just by adding water.
IMO glass before acrylic.
all things you have listed happen if you have a crappy person make you a crappy tank, and you'd be a fool for buying it, my acrylic tank does nothing of what you just said, its crystal clear when the lights are on, and it appeats as though the fish are floating in air.
~chris
Acrylic is better but what about the distortion? What about the Glare? You pretty much have to have the lights off to see ur fishes. No one seemed to mention that. The distortion is horrible too. Ive seen peoples tank turn from RECTANGLE to a custom BOWFRONT just by adding water.
IMO glass before acrylic.
all things you have listed happen if you have a crappy person make you a crappy tank, and you'd be a fool for buying it, my acrylic tank does nothing of what you just said, its crystal clear when the lights are on, and it appeats as though the fish are floating in air.
~chris
msd2
Active Member
lol this arguement is beaten to death.
I prefer acrylic, scratches can be removed w/the tank full of water, its not that easy to scratch and if the tank is built correctly there is no distortion w/o bowing. Ultimately comes down to personal choice. I have had both but enjoy the clarity and strength.
I prefer acrylic, scratches can be removed w/the tank full of water, its not that easy to scratch and if the tank is built correctly there is no distortion w/o bowing. Ultimately comes down to personal choice. I have had both but enjoy the clarity and strength.
acrylic51
Active Member
Originally Posted by Dogstar
I agree that starfire glass is clear but it is expensive and has to be custom made with it and then you loose the glass is cheaper debate. I dont know of any brands that make off the shelf tanks useing starfire. Does anyone?
Then again I could add that you can have an arylic made with scratch resistant acrylic and that will even out the scratch debate as well but I didnt mention that because thats very expencive as well and has to be custom made.
The material your talking about acrylic which is scratch resistant is MR10 and trust me it's expensive, and it's very hard to get the material to bond.....So I honestly don't think it would be any cheaper to use this material over starphire glass custom done......And by the way Starphire is only the product name Dupont calls it. You can't get it but from them, so it's exclusive with Dupont.....All other "starphire" known glass I believe is Low Iron
I agree that starfire glass is clear but it is expensive and has to be custom made with it and then you loose the glass is cheaper debate. I dont know of any brands that make off the shelf tanks useing starfire. Does anyone?
Then again I could add that you can have an arylic made with scratch resistant acrylic and that will even out the scratch debate as well but I didnt mention that because thats very expencive as well and has to be custom made.
The material your talking about acrylic which is scratch resistant is MR10 and trust me it's expensive, and it's very hard to get the material to bond.....So I honestly don't think it would be any cheaper to use this material over starphire glass custom done......And by the way Starphire is only the product name Dupont calls it. You can't get it but from them, so it's exclusive with Dupont.....All other "starphire" known glass I believe is Low Iron
snailheave
Active Member
having had both, i would probably never get another acrylic tank because it scratches way too easily. i always thought i was a careful person until i had an acrylic tank
cmack
Member
I kinda like my acrylic set-up better than my glass, for clarity, weight and durability.
Most LFS that i've been to also use acrylic, mainly because the fish and coral look better in acrylic than in glass, it is just that much clearer.
I believe the clarity is because the light diffusion of the acrylic is ALMOST equal to the light diffusion of water. Stand at one end of a 6 or 8 foot acrylic tank, and you can see clearly through to the other end, try that with glass tank, and you MIGHT be able to see half way through before it distorts.
Most LFS that i've been to also use acrylic, mainly because the fish and coral look better in acrylic than in glass, it is just that much clearer.
I believe the clarity is because the light diffusion of the acrylic is ALMOST equal to the light diffusion of water. Stand at one end of a 6 or 8 foot acrylic tank, and you can see clearly through to the other end, try that with glass tank, and you MIGHT be able to see half way through before it distorts.