Glass or Acrylic

[cmack]

I am going to build my next tank into a wall in my house, I am thinking of a tank size around 150 to 200 Gal.
What are the Pros and Cons of Glass and acrylic for this type of setup?
I was thinking acrylic would be better because it is lighter, and I wouldn't have to worry about seams leaking over time, But Glass is definately cheaper and doesn't scratch as easily...

 

[bona42na]

I have a 110G Plexi tank and would never do it again. no matter how careful I am I get scratches from the sand all the time and scraping algae from the side is often more difficult because of the fear of scratching. All the benefits of plexi get thrown out the window as far as Im concerned. Im going glass on my next tank. HTH Peter

 

[robchuck]

I would never buy an acrylic tank for the display. I had an acrylic sump once that seemed to scratch even when I just opened the stand to check on equipment.

 

[golfish]

look in to getting the front panel in Starphire glass. Its much clearer then reg glass (if you decide to get glass)
FWIW, I have a starphire panel on the front of my in wall tank.
I've had acylic tanks and I've had glass tanks. I doubt I would ever buy another acylic main tank unless I was going to go real big (over 500 gals) or do fish only. The scratches just happen too easy and too fast.

 

[cmack]

Waht is the expected LifeSpan on Glass seams? Do you ever need to re-seal them?

 

[badkharma]

I also have both an acrylic and glass tank and love the acrylic much more. It is much clearer (although starphire glass, albeit much more expensive, will solve that to a degree), lighter, and stronger. I live in southern california and have a greater peace of mind with acrylic's resistance compared to glass when it comes to earthquakes. As long as you used acrylic approved cleaning/scrubbing pads, it doesn't scratch. You do have to be careful not to get sand in the pad though. Acrylic tanks are also much more scratch resistant than they used to be several years ago, but you still have to be careful. But as long as you are careful, you won't have a problem with scratching. Plus, if you do get a nasty scratch, you can take it out. Once glass is scratched it will be there permanently. My vote is for acrylic.

 

[jlem]

If you have problems seeing clearly through glass then there is something seriously wrong with your tank or the glass it was made out of.

 

[cmack]

This is obviously fro an acrylic tank manufacturer's site, Listing the "Advantages" over glass, are they acurate???
Why Acrylic
Acrylic is half the weight of glass.
It's easier to ship, move, and set up your aquarium.
Acrylic is several times stronger than glass.
It will not shatter, crack, or leak like glass can.
Acrylic distorts much less and is clearer than glass.
If a transparent object is surrounded by another material that has the same index of refraction, then the speed of light will not change as it enters the object. No reflection and no refraction will take place, and the object will appear invisible and without distortion, even at increased viewing angles. In addition to having a slight green tint, glass has an index of refraction that is considerably different from water. Incidentally, clear acrylic plastics have almost the same refractive index as seawater so there is no bending of light as it passes from the plastic into seawater, providing better and brighter color and sharper shapes in acrylic aquariums. The huge viewing windows in large public aquariums and oceanariums can be more than 12 inches thick, but because they are made of acrylic, they afford a very clear view of the water and ocean life they enclose. Acrylic also allows better penetration of your system lighting, which is especially important for reef systems.
Acrylic insulates better than glass.
Acrylic controls water temperature fluctuations, one of the primary reasons for fish stress, disease, and death. Glass conducts heat and cold causing more fluctuations.
Acrylic seams are stronger than glass.
Acrylic seams are molecular bonds and actually stronger than the acrylic itself. Silicone seams used on glass aquariums can dry out and weaken over time.
Acrylic seams are visually superior to glass.
Acrylic seams are polished and nearly invisible. Silicone seams are clearly visible and have been known to discolor when exposed to certain fish medications.
Acrylic is easily refinished.
If glass scratches it can not be repaired. Acrylic can be repaired with a variety of scratch removal kits. Even internal scratches can be repaired without removing the fish or water.
Custom formed designs are possible with acrlylic.
Acrylic can be formed to create interesting aquarium designs which you won't find with glass aquariums.

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by cmack
Waht is the expected LifeSpan on Glass seams? Do you ever need to re-seal them?
I had a 70 gal tank for 10+ years, it never needed any re-sealing.
mo0nshine,Badkharma,
How long have you had your acrylic main tanks up? I used all acrylic safe pads on my tank but it still managed to get scratched up. All it took was a weeks worth of coralline build up.

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by cmack
Acrylic is easily refinished.
If glass scratches it can not be repaired. Acrylic can be repaired with a variety of scratch removal kits. Even internal scratches can be repaired without removing the fish or water.

I like this one the best :notsure:

 

[texasranchers]

FWIW, we have all glass except for the nursery, birthing and sumps. We really like them.

 

[cincyreefer]

Glass if its less than 180 gallons. Acrylic if it is larger than 180 gallons or needs to be a custom shape/design.

 

[cmack]

Now I gotta ask, Why Acrylic over 180?

 

[tony detroit]

I've owned a lot of tanks, and I pretty much have the philosophy that cincyreefer uses. Only on the really big tanks to go with acrylic.

 

[cincyreefer]

Originally posted by cmack
Now I gotta ask, Why Acrylic over 180?
Mainly because you can get 180 gallon glass tanks for relatively cheap, and they still don't weigh too much... Not many manufacturers make many tanks with a larger footprint than that of a 180, so if you want larger it is normally "custom" which makes the price skyrocket. That added to how much lighter acrylic is compared to glass are the main reasons as to which i prefer. Glass is easier to maintain, but acrylic tanks do look much nicer.

 

[badkharma]

Originally posted by jlem
If you have problems seeing clearly through glass then there is something seriously wrong with your tank or the glass it was made out of.
Glass distorts because it is not in the same optical range as water - acrylic is almost exactly the same. It also has the greenish hue to it - which Starphire or other low-iron glass will solve - but then the price skyrockets as well. Starphire glass tanks are really nice, really expensive - and still glass.
Golfish - I've had this acrylic tank for over 2 years now. I do have a few minor scratches that you can see if you crouch down and view the tank from below. My tank also has a lot of coralline but I don't use a pad or anything to clean anything that is coarse - I only use it for soft algae - I use a Kent acrylic scraper - the end is pretty much like the plastic on a credit card. Scrapes the coralline off perfect without scratching the tank. BTW, have you set up your starphire tank yet? I wanna see it!!

I do love starphire tanks - I just prefer acrylic. If starphire was as cheap as normal glass - I *might* reconsider...

 

[jlem]

Originally posted by Badkharma
It also has the greenish hue to it
You would have to have some really thick glass to notice a green hue while viewing your tank. I have owned probably ten glass tanks and acrylics up to 125 gallons and you cannot tell that one is clearer. Acrylic tanks bow more than glass and distort your viewing more than glass if you want to knit pick on unnoticable differences. Know matter how hard you try you will never keep an Acrylic tank looking as clean as a glass tank. Even if you buff it out monthly eventually you won't be able to buff anymore. I do agree that large acrylic tanks make more sense than glass tanks because of weight but for the average hobbiest that has 125 gallon tank or less glass is much easier to maintain, noticable just as clear and a whole lot cheaper. Glass tanks also disipate heat better which is what you want wiht the majority of reef lighting.
Of coure Acrylic manufactures are gonna make all these great points, but at the average tank size they just aren't applicable to any significant degree

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by Badkharma
BTW, have you set up your starphire tank yet? I wanna see it!!

I do love starphire tanks - I just prefer acrylic. If starphire was as cheap as normal glass - I *might* reconsider...
Its been up for almost 6 months. Why talk about the cost of a tank. My new tank cost 1200.00, the equipment probably cost 6000.00-7000.00, what's inside will be priceless. I'd kind of like to see it clear rather then through a bunch of scratches. The cost of the tank is really a drop in the bucket when you look at the WHOLE picture.

 

[jeepboy]

My opinions on glass versus acrylic after owning both:
Glass:
Less expensive if not custom
worry free cleaning, difficult to scratch
heavy, not to bad on tanks under 200g
image distortion, won't notice if you have nothing to compare to
cannot drill tempered glass
Acrylic:
more expensive for smaller tanks
superior visual appearance (no ugly frame)
great for non-rectangular shapes (not as many seams)
light weight compared to glass
greater strength
must be careful while cleaning, scratches easily
scratches can be repaired
easy to drill
can get blue or black backpanel
As you can tell I prefer acrylic. Since neither of my tanks are inwall, I just prefer the appearance of an acrylic tank's structure over a glass tank structure.

 

[cincyreefer]

Originally posted by jlem
You would have to have some really thick glass to notice a green hue while viewing your tank. I have owned probably ten glass tanks and acrylics up to 125 gallons and you cannot tell that one is clear.
Try looking through an acrylic tank when it has two open sides to look straight through... Acrylic will be much clearer then, and if you have been around enough tanks then you will notice how much clearer it is on almost any tank. Deciding factor to me still comes to tank size. I prefer glass if its a 180 gallon or less simply because there is a little less hassle, and acrylic if its larger than 180 gallons because of cost and weight.