Should I go with Glass or Acrylic
- Thread starter jpawson
- Start date
fishman622
Member
acrylic is light weight but it scraches to easily.
dbgt
Member
www.aquartaquariums.com/html/faqsGo to the faqs area
jpawson
Member
I know what you mean about the greenish tint. SO, with acrylic, if you do not move your rocks around much, your risks for scratches are low? what about cleaning algae....do you have to be really careful? Sorry for all the questions but I want to be happy with my decision. I have only had glass in the past. I like the "weight" factor. What about the access holes on the top of acrylic, are these a pain to deal with? Halide lights- are they a consideration?
Kip- I have been reading a lot about starfire glass. I like what I read. It does not appear the aquarium manufacturers are carrying tanks with starfire fronts. Does this mean these are only custom jobs? I think the clarity is night and day, but I dont think I can afford to have one made. If you do know where I can get one for decent prices, please drop me an email. jpawson@nc.rr.com.
Kip- I have been reading a lot about starfire glass. I like what I read. It does not appear the aquarium manufacturers are carrying tanks with starfire fronts. Does this mean these are only custom jobs? I think the clarity is night and day, but I dont think I can afford to have one made. If you do know where I can get one for decent prices, please drop me an email. jpawson@nc.rr.com.
fishman830
Active Member
i agree w/ pretty much everyone, they both have their ups and downs
urchin
Member
I built myself an acrylic just to see how difficult it was to maintain a small tank (about 20gal)..I have already scratched it in a couple of places by inadvertantly picking up a particle of sand in the pad.. other than that, assuming you don't use an ammonia based cleaner on the outside (makes it yellow), acrylic is pretty good..also if you do it yourself, make sure you put a support piece across the top or all around for support. They always seem to get a slight bow apparently... the drilling and weight are definitely the pluses...
fishman830
Active Member
would it be possible to make a hybrid, so the front is glass, and then the rest is acrylic
urchin
Member
I would not know for sure, but based upon the fact that you use a special glue for the acrylic, i would doubt it could be made to look really great..you would need to use some sealer where the acrlylic meets the glass (just like an all glass aquarium)..That's one other thing about acrylic, the seams are transparent...
bigmac
Member
Originally posted by Kipass4130
Inter-American Pet supplies
Hey Kip, there might be a new "big dog" in town....before you order let em know.
jpawson, its a tough one. My first true reef was acrylic. Its was scratched so bad that after two years you could hardly see in. I'd never have another one. For some reason its seems that coralline grows faster or maybe sticks faster to acrylic.
jpawson
Member
ok, cool, and thank you all for your input. Here is my delema. I am moving in a few months. I have a 120 glass reef now that is doing excellent. Only problem is when I bought the tank my LFS told me I was crazy for wanting 2 drains. So I listened and have one 1' drain(internal overflow). I want more circulation/turnover in my sump than the 1 drain will alow me. Also, I recently added a closed loop system with a SCWD but my tank was not drilled for it. It works great but to tell you the truth- I hate the PVC in the tank.
What I want is another drain added- which will probably force me to remove the internal overflow and install a larger one.
Also I want 3 holes drilled on the back of the aquarium for the closed loop.
This is the delema....Do I try to have this work done on move day which would have to be percise and on time, or should I just purchase a new tank and have all this work done? I would sell my current tank and use the stand and canopy for the new.
What do you think? Is this overboard/crazy?
What I want is another drain added- which will probably force me to remove the internal overflow and install a larger one.
Also I want 3 holes drilled on the back of the aquarium for the closed loop.
This is the delema....Do I try to have this work done on move day which would have to be percise and on time, or should I just purchase a new tank and have all this work done? I would sell my current tank and use the stand and canopy for the new.
What do you think? Is this overboard/crazy?
