Honest opinions of Glass vs Acrylic

BCOrchidGuy · #1 01-09-2004, 12:29 AM

If you have had both, I'd like to hear your thoughts on why one is better. I'm giving some thought to a 180 gallon the acrylic is $200 more but much lighter. I know I've heard that acyrlic scratches but so does glass, I seriously would like to hear opinions of people who have both or have had both.

Doug

#2 01-09-2004, 12:39 AM

My opinion, if your building a reef, go with a glass tank with starfire front, if its a fish only or has a bit of live rock go with acrylic. Any big tanks(over 400 gallons) I would go with acrylic. Acrylic in a small reef is fine but does scratct much easier than glass, unless you get scratch resistent acrylic which will add about $500 to the tank price, scraping off coraline scratches acrylic easily, glass you can scrape with a razor blade and get way less scratching, the tank isnt big enough for the weight to make a huge difference, unless you insist on carrying the tank by yourself...lol. If your carefull when cleaning the acrylic tank it has its long term benifits, saves power by better insulating the water, and it wont shatter if something hits it hard...

BCOrchidGuy · #3 01-09-2004, 02:38 AM

I know it's not a huge tank in the grand scheme of things but, it's double the size I've currently got. I can get the glass one for $650 and the acrylic for $850, I like acrylic because I can drill it myself and it's light enough to move with a single helper. Bad, yes the scratching would be my worry. I'd probably still keep a ton of snails in there so that may help...

Doug

smokinreefer · #4 01-09-2004, 05:12 AM

me and my buddy moved my 180...but if you decide on glass, just get a few guys to help you move it.

i've never had an acrylic tank myself... but i lean towards glass, simply for the durability factor.(less scratching)

dont use the fact that you can drill the acrylic yourself to help you choose, cuz the way i see it, the money you save by buying the glass tank, you can use towards having the tank manufacturer drill the tank for you.

Jack · #5 01-09-2004, 05:39 AM

We have the glass bits too.

Van down by the river · #6 01-09-2004, 07:54 AM

For previous discussions on acrylic, see this link:

http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewto...hlight=acrylic

Chin_Lee · #7 01-09-2004, 04:27 PM

from my experience, glass is definitely the way to go with coralline algae growing and fine sand substrate in your tank. eventually they start growing on your tank and I have a 180 acrylic now which is viewed from four sides. Trying to keep coralline off acrylic from all four sides and weekly magnet cleaning with a hammerhead for the past 3 years I've ended up with many scratches. They were fine at first but that green algae eventually gets into the scratches and there is no way in hell I can get them out without doing more damage. I'm going with a 180 glass replacement and using my 180 acrylic for a sump. When I dismantle, I will sand it down and repolish my acrylic tank but that is something I'm not looking forward to as well.

BCOrchidGuy · #8 01-09-2004, 07:15 PM

I had an acrylic 100 gallon that I got for free, it was scratched up, it took me a good week + to sand and polish all the scratches out, in the end, it wasn't very nice.

If I'm going to do it I think I will go with the glass and just get a couple of overflows.

Doug

Son Of Skyline · #9 01-09-2004, 07:25 PM

I'm a big believer in glass after all my experiences with scratching acrylic. You have to use less abrasive pads to scrub algae on acrylic and it just makes it a real chore.

robbyville · #10 01-09-2004, 08:13 PM

I have an acrylic tank which I have been using for over a year now. Since I used to be moved every 6 months, the acrylic was great. I also like the smooth look and corners that acrylic has to offer (even though harder to clean). For some reason I find myself trusting the welding of acrylic over the silicone of glass, I worry about leaks less since there seems to be less space available for a leak. I'm sure that I have no scientific back up to this, it's just something I think about. I love the clarity and lightness of it as well.

Once I realised that I had to be careful, I had no problems with scratching. I am however very careful when cleaning the tank up to the sand bed. I have yet to have had any algae problems building in finer scratches.

Honestly, if I knew that the place where I was living was going to be for long term I would go with glass, starfire, and drilled by the manufacturer for warranty reasons. In the meantime, I have a glass qt tank and an acrylic main, I love the acrylic, but more caution needs to be had.

Good luck!

Rob