LF - Acrylic tank builder

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Thanks, that is great info.

For me it's all about being able to go larger but be careful with weight. Both for my floor and also to get the thing inside my place.

The builder said that it should be about half the weight of a glass tank depending on what thickness the glass is.

I had a smaller acrylic tank years ago and only scratched it once. It was easy to buff out. I always loved how the fish looked in that tank, there was no distortion and clarity was incredible. I upgraded to a starfire tank but it was not nearly as clear.

I am also a little paranoid about tanks failing because I have had a seam burst once...so acrylic puts my mind at ease.

[Ritteri]

Please take special consideration to the side pane thickness. Once you make the decision, your stuck with it.

I would recommend 3/4" sides.

Best of luck.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Ritteri

Please take special consideration to the side pane thickness. Once you make the decision, your stuck with it.

I would recommend 3/4" sides.

Best of luck.

The tank builder says that 1/2" Acrylite GP (12mm so actually 0.47") will only deflect 0.09 mm on the front pane and 0.03 mm on the sides. Not totally sure how they get the deflection numbers.

I might just ask them to build it with 3/4" acrylic. I like the look too.

[lastlight]

I once really considered Acrylic myself. I seem to recall in all my reading about tanks in that size range, people said to go with quality material (your builder is using it) and to go 3/4" when dealing with panels that long. There will be some bowing no matter what but minimizing that is key plus the tanks end up looking way nicer with the thicker material in my opinion. The beauty of Acrylic is you don't really need to worry about your back too much when weighing 1/2" vs 3/4" options.

[Ritteri]

What makes for a quality acrylic?

[lastlight]

Based only on what I've read, certain brands have better strength. I can't say whether that's actually true mind you.

Second paragraph: http://www.associatedplastics.com/acrylic.php

I've always read good things about Acrylite GP.

Edit:

A ton of my reading was regarding Envision Acrylics. I was close to ordering a tank from James a really long time ago.

http://www.envisionacrylics.com/aquariums.html

This guy seemed to know the material VERY well. And he always used GP.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Yeah I want 3/4 even just for a look but the price increased 40% from 1/2 to 3/4!

Is 3/4 acrylic really that much more expensive than 1/2?