Glass or Acrylic?

jpardi

jpardi

Member
I'm looking at buying a new tank, but can't decide what size or material I should get. What are the pro's and con's on glass and acrylic? also this tank will be on a second story whats a good size without getting to crazy? I'm currently running a 29 gal. that is a big mistake because I'm so limited on what I can add.
Thanks
Jason
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
acrylic pros light weight , easly moved by one person, usually a clearer look, can easily be buffed to remove scratches. more options on custom tanks
cons sctrathes very easly, usually is more expensive,
Glass cons heavy weight, harder to move, can get scracthes which can not be buffed out easly
Pros cheaper, easier to clean, not as many speacialty stuff to get to clean,
justa few I can think of now LOL
Mike
 
emm0909

emm0909

Member
Get Glass. You'll scratch the crap out of acrylic.
The Strong National Museum Of Play (Rochester, NY) just put a 600 Gallon reef tank in that has two inch thick acrylic on it and it looks like they let someone hang out in there with a weedwacker before they filled it up with water. You may be able to buff scratched wou but you wont do it. You'll just get mad at the scratches.
 
tokey

tokey

Member
I personally like glass as Acrylic is so easy to scratch a friend of mine had a custom 250gl acrylic tank made for big $$$ and now he is mad that he didn't go with glass. His tank is about 6mths old and no matter how careful he is he has already put scratches in his tank. Now he gets algae growing in the scratches and it makes the scratches stand out.
As for size I have a 150 Gal 60"x24"x24" glass aquarium. With this size I have room for most of the fish I like. The one thing I wanted was to have my aquarium a minimum of 24" wide to make aquascaping easier anything less and you will have your rock touching the glass which makes it hard to clean.
 
A

awakened2life

Guest
GLASS!!!
I'd give you pro's and cons but I'd just be saying what everyone's said already. Obey the large letters with exclamation marks!
 
gnorman

gnorman

Active Member
i went with glass and am very pleased with it. also, glass does have a green tint to it but on our tank we got a starfire crystal which keeps it clear as can be. cant even tell there is glass there
 
grumpygils

grumpygils

Active Member
100% glass. Upgrade it to a starfire front. I would like to see any acryilic tank after 3 years still look good. I know atleast 5 people that could just kill themselves for going acrylic. Also, very rare that they can truley be buffed out.
IMO, glass!
Mc
 
jkcrumb

jkcrumb

Member
glass............i love my 125 glass but my buddy had a few of his friends kids over and they got a hold of his magnetic cleaner and a tiny little stone got stuck in it while they were "helping" to clean the tank............needless to say his ACRYLIC tank in now trashed....scraches everywhere.......he's currently lookin for a new glass tank
 
jonthefishguy

jonthefishguy

Active Member
I understand that acrylic scratches easily, but there are ways to remove them while the tank is stocked. I have done it more than 2 dozen times and have removed scratches out that people thought were the end of the tank. Yes, it takes time, yes it takes elbow grease, but at 55 dollars an hour, I make them love their tank again and they end up loving me too.. Until they get the bill, that is. lol Oh well, better than having to buy a whole new tank and transfer it all over again. I had a client that I had to charge twice in 3 months.
 
brettd

brettd

Member
Acrylic!!! Much clearer than glass, NEVER will leak as ALL glass tanks will around the seams with age. Any scratches can be buffed out, but I've only purchased acrylic tanks (one glass as my fuge and it leaked after two weeks) and never had a problem with scratches - you wouldn't rub the side of your car with a rag with sand in it.
 
ccampbell57

ccampbell57

Active Member
GLASS!!! The only downside to glass is the weight. Acrylic scratches easily (which can be buffed out). On the other hand, if you are meticulous about maintiance, you cant beat acrylic.
 
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