Acrylic Regrets?

[spikehs]

I was just curious if anyone who switched from glass to acrylic tanks has had any regrets, or things they would have done differently? I will probably be moving soonish (well summer time) and wanted to start planning for the movie with regards to what I was going to do with my fish tank. I was contemplating going with acrylic for a few reasons

1. Increased strength.. this is probably the biggest reason, i've always been somewhat paranoid about my tanks breaking (had one bust one me)

2. Clarity

3. Weight.

Thanks!

[untamed]

I decided to go with acrylic on my 400 for exactly the three reasons that you mention.

I would do it again...especially because of points #1 and #2. Brute force or build on site can overcome point #3.

While everyone always said "scratches..scratches..". I thought I could overcome this by being careful. What no one told me was that it is the FISH that cause ALL the scratching I have. In fact, I've had to remove my Triggerfish from the system because their skin was too abrasive. Tangs leave the occasional nick from their spines. I have polishing pads on the way, but it remains to be seen if I can remove the damage.

I have also found it especially useful to be able to crawl over the top of my tank while doing maintenance (the tank is 1" acyrlic all around). The builder (Envision, Oregon) demonstrated the strength of his build by jumping up and down on the cross braces across the top of the tank. Try that with a glass tank!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I used to have an 125G acrylic tank with a puffer...big, big mistake. He dragged his teeth all over that thing and really made it ugly. So I would be careful about what fish you keep in an acrylic tank as untamed said. But you really notice the clarity difference once you back to glass.

Before I sold my acrylic tank, I buffed out most of the scratches no problem. The tank was empty though and it was very easy.

Oh and I was able to pick up the tank very easily with my fiance...Neither of us are very big people. We even carried it up a bunch of stairs no problem. Try that with a 125G 3/4" thick glass tank :)

[fkshiu]

One other downside to acrylic nowadays is price. While they've never been cheap, I've noticed that their prices have been steadily increasing with the price of oil since it is a petroleum-based product.

[Reefer Rob]

Before I sold my acrylic tank, I buffed out most of the scratches no problem. The tank was empty though and it was very easy.

Is there a way to buff out the scratches with the tank full?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Yes but I don't remember the name of the product or how its used. I have seen a few threads on ReefCentral about buffing out acrylic scratches.

[fishoholic]

The only thing I didn't like about our acrylic tank was that it was a PITA to clean. I had to lean on the tank and scrub with an acrylic pad soaking my arm in the process. I much prefer my magnet and attached razor scraper.

[Chin_Lee]

My first SW tank was acrylic and I'll never ever get one again. Every mistake, every grain of sand in your magnet cleaner, and every rock that tumble that hits the side of the tank is "engraved" into your tank. Biggest PITA tank i've ever owned. In the end, that 180g SW tank became my sump for my current system.

[dsaundry]

I had a 100g acrylic and I won't ever get one again. Just like Chin says, every little pebble or anything that touch's it leaves a mark..Glass is heavy but I like it better. Way better!:biggrin: :biggrin:

[spikehs]

hmmm, interesting... i never knew that the fish would cause scratches, although it does make sense!

[justinl]

I have a 60g acrylic tank. While building it was fun and something i dont regret at all, after a single year of use, I am already looking into getting a new glass tank because acrylic scratches too easily. I haven't had any kinds of fish that could scratch it, it was mostly just my own clumsiness. Glass is just more forgiving. I also like using the razors to scrape the crustose algae off the glass which i just cant do in an acrylic tank.

I also think the acrylic i used was a bit too thin as it is bowing (about 1 cm in every direction). Im pretty sure it would have blown by now if it weren't for the brace i put in it.

[untamed]

Yes but I don't remember the name of the product or how its used. I have seen a few threads on ReefCentral about buffing out acrylic scratches.

One company is called Everclear.

http://etr-inc.com/index.php

I have some of their product on the way so I suppose I'll be able to report how well it works.

I use a magnetic scraper on my tank all the time. I'm careful, but I think it is more about good habits than being super careful all the time.

[Pansy-Paws]

We also went with acrylic for our 375 gallon due to clarity and strength (impact strength in particular, as a pool table was 5 feet away - we've since sold the table due to lack of use). This is a fish only tank without metal halide, and the algae build-up on the acrylic is easy to remove with a magnetic cleaner. Also, sea urchins are not allowed in the tank.:razz:

After 3 years, we have only one 4" scratch from cleaning (sand dragged up during cleaning), and three 1/8" scratches from falling rocks. We know we can remove them with a product like Micro-Mesh, and as a result, they don't bother us. :smile:

Our previous tank was a 72 gallon bowfront, and once it got scratched from sand in a pad cleaner, there was no repair possible. The distortion from the bowfront also affected close study of the tank.

We're still happy with the acrylic tank.

[spikehs]

hmmm, seems pretty evenly split.. anyone have any experiance with truvu? I really like the look of the bent courners (no seams)..this is the one I was thinking of...
http://www.truvuaquariums.com/marr0150t.html

[Telford]

hmmm, seems pretty evenly split.. anyone have any experiance with truvu? I really like the look of the bent courners (no seams)..this is the one I was thinking of...
http://www.truvuaquariums.com/marr0150t.html

Nice tank. I recently bought my tank from a manufacturer called Tenecor. I'm very happy with it and I have to say i've received the best customer service you could ever expect from a company, especially since it's located in Arizona.

[untamed]

hmmm, seems pretty evenly split.. anyone have any experiance with truvu? I really like the look of the bent courners (no seams)..this is the one I was thinking of...
http://www.truvuaquariums.com/marr0150t.html

I wanted bent 90 degree corners, but ran into build difficulties. It would have required a 14 foot long piece of acrylic (mucho bucks!), and a large bend radius due the 1" thickness. While the bend is nice and easy to keep clean it makes for an optically distorted area you can't look through. So...this tends to work only to tanks of a certain size, or hex/octagonals where the bend radius is smaller.

[untamed]

One company is called Everclear.

http://etr-inc.com/index.php

I have some of their product on the way so I suppose I'll be able to report how well it works.


I've begun to work on polishing out the trigger-marks in my tank. I can attest that the above products do work, although they require a lot of time and effort. "Triggerfish skid marks" seem to need the 6000-8000 grit to remove. After using the 8000 grit, the panel seems clear, even though I have a 12000 grit that I'm supposed to use after the 8000.

Note that a "Triggerfish skid mark" is a scratch that cannot be felt with your fingernail...so it is not very deep at all. Repairing a deeper scratch (like that caused by falling rockwork), might leave an optically distorted area.

Unfortunately, the process is not so easy that I would consider keeping my Triggerfish.