Acrylic or Glass?

[My Vette N My Reef Tank]

Sorry, I'm sure that you all have been asked this like 50 million times, but please help the noob out :laugh: Am in the process of getting quotes on an entire system setup 180g tank and some places/shops have told me to go with glass while others acrylic. It will be a reef tank with about 300lbs LR. Suggestions please. Thanks. :tee:

 

[afelder]

I love acrylic tanks but many love glass. It really depends on what you find you like best. Look at tanks that are set up each way and decide what you think you would prefer

 

[Wannareef]

IMO, I prefer glass, acrylic looks good, but scratches real easy, If your real carefull then go acrylic, I'm not, I tried acrylic and had a lot of scratches with moving rocks, no matter how slow I moved, I'm sticking with glass, you'll hear different, and it basicly depends on you. glass is heavier than acrylic. good luck

 

[temec_lover]

my sump is acrylic HOLY CRAP i was trying to be super careful and i scratched it really easy... IMO GO GLASS

 

[orangefish]

I would agree on looking at getting a glass tank, really who is that worried about the extra couple pounds when you are going to fill it with hundreds of pounds of sand, rock and water. Let me tell you how happy you will be with your livestock when they scratch you tank right in the middle for you.

 

[dc_909]

Glass.

I couldn't keep scratches off acrylic.

 

[My Vette N My Reef Tank]

THanks everyone for your input, I think I will go check out both at local fish shops. :tee:

 

[Bruce]

Yeah, I'd go glass, too. It's MUCH heavier, however it's far more durable than acrylic (scratches).

The advantages of acrylic are lighter weight and (generally) better visibility. You can also drill holes without any difficulty. Also, they can take an uneven surface a lot better than glass.

The main DISadvantages of acrylic is that it scratches pretty easily and (it used to be, at least; not sure how much better things are now) that the acrylic would "craze" over time (I was somewhere the other day and the acrylic was totally clean but I could barely see through all the little "slivers" in the acrylic panels).

Glass is heavy as sin, but is durable as anything. Advantages: durable. Commonly less expensive.

DISadvantages: Heavy as sin. Not as clear (the jury is out on this; I have something called "starphire" which is a low iron glass that has less of the green tint to it that one would normally see in glass tanks. I will note, however, that it scratches easier than normal glass). You also don't have any real tolerance when it comes to uneven surfaces; cracks and splitting seams can result from a tank that isn't on a proper stand. Seams can also "wear" over time and leak (although, I've had "crappy" tanks for 10 years or so and I have yet to have a problem with leaks from the seams (or elsewhere for that matter)). It is also possible to re-seal tanks, sometimes by using a bit of the proper silicone on the inside of the seam, or - the best way - by removing the pane, stripping the old silicone and re-sealing/attaching the pane.

Long story short, I'd go with glass....

 

[Bruce]

Oh, I forgot to mention. SUMPS are another story; acrylic gives you a lot more flexibility, and seeing as how people are always changing or adding things in their sumps, it makes a lot of sense to use acrylic for your sump.

On that note, however, there are plenty of us that use rubbermaid for their sumps... I mean, hey, if it holds water... My current sump is rubbermaid, however I'm also having an acrylic one built...

:top:

Hope this is of some help.

 

[reef_doug]

my vote is Acrylic.

Acrylic is stronger & lighter, seams and overflow boxes are bonded vs. siliconed. It also last longer especially if you have a bunch of Tunzes & waveboxes. Yes acrylic scratches easier however it can be buffed out. Many people who had acrylic have never used the Micro-surface acrylic restore kit to remove scratches. Glass scratches can not be removed.

Regular float glass is not very clear. It has a green tint to it because of the iron content which makes it stronger (but not near as strong as acrylic).

Starphire brand or Low Iron glass is clearer than regualr float glass but not as strong. It is also softer and more prone to scratches than regular glass. This is why some tanks only have Starphire on the front pane.

Scratches will happen on which ever you choose, I personally like the acrylic which I can fix. A credit card is best and safest for removing coraline algae on all of them.

 

[My Vette N My Reef Tank]

my vote is Acrylic.

Acrylic is stronger & lighter, seams and overflow boxes are bonded vs. siliconed. It also last longer especially if you have a bunch of Tunzes & waveboxes. Yes acrylic scratches easier however it can be buffed out. Many people who had acrylic have never used the Micro-surface acrylic restore kit to remove scratches. Glass scratches can not be removed.

Regular float glass is not very clear. It has a green tint to it because of the iron content which makes it stronger (but not near as strong as acrylic).

Starphire brand or Low Iron glass is clearer than regualr float glass but not as strong. It is also softer and more prone to scratches than regular glass. This is why some tanks only have Starphire on the front pane.

Scratches will happen on which ever you choose, I personally like the acrylic which I can fix. A credit card is best and safest for removing coraline algae on all of them.

Better than Magnafloat?

 

[reef_doug]

Magnafloat? Are you refering to a Mag Float algae remover magnet?

Never use one on acrlic. I would be cautious with Starphire also.

Do you have a bare bottom or substrate?

 

[DaveMorris]

I say glass. It is incorrect to say that glass is not very clear. My glass tank looks beautiful and it is regular glass. I agree that acrylic will look better, but that is only until it gets scratched. And it WILL get scratched. I am anxiously awaiting my new 300g tank and it will have a Starphire front. I could have ordered the entire tank in Starphire and still not paid what an acrylic tank would cost. Weight to me is irrelevant. It is only a problem on the first day. Once it is in place, who cares if it weighs 600 lbs. empty. You have to be just as careful placing an acrylic tank because you don't want to scratch it.

 

[kmax74]

its all a matter of opinion i have had both the things that i like about acrylic is that it looks alot more finished than glass with the rounded corners and it weighs allot less than glass but the downside is that it scratches very very very easily

 

[My Vette N My Reef Tank]

Magnafloat? Are you refering to a Mag Float algae remover magnet?

Never use one on acrlic. I would be cautious with Starphire also.

Do you have a bare bottom or substrate?

:laugh::rofl:

I combined a MAGNAson Supercharger for my car and a Mag Float remover and made my own word...sorry about that. Yes, I meant the Mag Float. Glad you mentioned that about acrylic, so what other algae remover can I use just in case I decide on going acrylic for the tank? I have Live Sand on my reef tank right now and plan on using LS on my 180g as well.

 

[therapy]

glass for me next go round. Acrylic scratches to easy !

 

[therapy]

I say glass. It is incorrect to say that glass is not very clear. My glass tank looks beautiful and it is regular glass. I agree that acrylic will look better, but that is only until it gets scratched. And it WILL get scratched. I am anxiously awaiting my new 300g tank and it will have a Starphire front. I could have ordered the entire tank in Starphire and still not paid what an acrylic tank would cost. Weight to me is irrelevant. It is only a problem on the first day. Once it is in place, who cares if it weighs 600 lbs. empty. You have to be just as careful placing an acrylic tank because you don't want to scratch it.

where did you order it from?

 

[DaveMorris]

I bought it from Harold at FragCity. Leemar is actually building it. I will be picking it up January 11th. My current tank is a Leemar 135g and it looks great. Very good workmanship on it.

 

[Nanoreefbro]

I really like acrylic.. If your careful you won't have any problems..

 

[pookstreet]

Lifelong acrylic fan. Yes, you do have to be careful when cleaning it but you just can't beat the clarity. I use an Algae Free Tiger Shark magnet cleaner for the portion that's a couple of inches above the sand. Then I use a plastic scraper or old credit card for the corners and down to the sandbed.