For those that own or have owned an acrylic tank for awhile what are your long term thoughts? Do you still have one? Did you end up going to glass? Ive always stuck with glass mainly because its easier to clean but reconsidering for my downsize project. Im intrigued by the additional clarity but NOT looking forward to the delicate process (compared to glass) of cleaning to prevent scratches.
Acrylic tank owers
- Thread starter Discotu
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DanK.Reefer
Member
I have 3 acrylic tanks running and one glass one. The acrylic tank is no more work than the glass as long as you stay on top of it. If you let it go for a month and have aggressive coraline growth, it can be a bitch. I clean my tanks every Saturday unless for some reason their is a need in the middle of the week. I clean all of the viewing panes with a melamine sponge(magic eraser) and if their are any coraline spots I scrape them off with an old credit card or the flipper acrylic cleaner/scraper. I don't trust magnetic scrapers with my acrylic.
IMO when I look at an acrylic tank and a glass tank side by side there is no comparison in clarity. The Acrylic just looks like the water is just there. The glass tank(even starfire) just always has a slight tint to it. I will be switching out my last glass tank soon so they will all be acrylic.
IMO when I look at an acrylic tank and a glass tank side by side there is no comparison in clarity. The Acrylic just looks like the water is just there. The glass tank(even starfire) just always has a slight tint to it. I will be switching out my last glass tank soon so they will all be acrylic.
DanK.Reefer
Member
Forgot to mention for the outside of the tank. I like to wax it using car wax like turtle wax every few months, it makes the water roll off easier and helps to protect from minor scratches. Then my final step when cleaning, I use a spray bottle filled with RODI spray the outside of the tank and wipe it dry with a water blade automotive type squeegee.
This is my 80g AA that I bought used afew years ago and had polished out by AA. The clarity is awesome. The only thing I would do differently is have it built with a Eurobrace. I bought the tank used though.
DETANE
GOD is good all the time.
First tank was glass in the early 90’s. Once I tried acrylic I never went back to glass, even when I worked and operated a wholesale business, I used acrylic for the display tanks
DanK.Reefer
Member
Yes urchins are a no-go.
T-tank
Location: Lake Forest / Trabuco Canyon
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Besides being scratch prone…..another Con for acrylic tanks ……. Crazy glue.
Crazy glue will ‘melt’ acrylic. So be careful not to get any on the outside of the tank surface. Then there are Crazy glue ‘bubble’ floating inside your tank after you mounted a frag (fresh Crazy glue that got blown off by the wavemakers). My acrylic tank experienced both scenarios…. The results were not good. Big deep gashes.
However, I still go with acrylic for weight, clarity, and no splitting seams. (For my next tank).
Crazy glue will ‘melt’ acrylic. So be careful not to get any on the outside of the tank surface. Then there are Crazy glue ‘bubble’ floating inside your tank after you mounted a frag (fresh Crazy glue that got blown off by the wavemakers). My acrylic tank experienced both scenarios…. The results were not good. Big deep gashes.
However, I still go with acrylic for weight, clarity, and no splitting seams. (For my next tank).
DanK.Reefer
Member
Wow good to know. I have not experienced this but I also turn my pumps off when I am gluing things in place. I also don't use crazy glue. I use the 2 little fishes coral affix super glue. The bottle is expensive but it lasts a very long time and the glue holds very well.
Advanced Acrylics?
Not sure yet but nothing less than 30" front to back.
Had no idea about this. Good to know.
I have a large acrylic tank (250 gallons) and I have really liked it. Like it was said above, just try and not go too long without scrubbing the algae and you'll be solid. I do run bare bottom on it though. Definitely less of a chance of sand causing a scratch.
DETANE
GOD is good all the time.
Contact PFI for a custom tank. Ask for Doug.
Avoid AA at all costs.
Avoid AA at all costs.
Has anyone in here ever thought about siliconing a sheet of glass to the inner sides of their acrylic tank? I saw some tanks on marketplace it was like a combination of glass and acrylic. I feel like if you did that sure it would make cleaning alot easier while obv costing a bit more.
DETANE
GOD is good all the time.
Acrylic flexes, glass does not, might lead to a problem imo
having been in the hobby for a minute or two these are my thoughts.
Acrylic is lighter to move, Clear compared to green glass. it does scratch easy compared to glass. normally seams will not separate
Glass. available in green and low iron. low iron is softer but a great look. options of silicone black or clear. If one is growing corals and Coraline Algae. I would go this route as they are much easy to maintain and less likely to scratch as well.
now some tank manufactures has knowingly made defective designs on things in the last 10 years. Companys like RedSea give glass tanks a bad name. I would not recommend any aquariums with floating front panels.
Hybrid Tanks are truly the best. These have PVC bottoms and can be build with steel frames on the top and bottoms. The walls are glass and the steel frame versions may have acrylic splash guards underneath the steel frame. I have not seen one of these fail as of yet. These are a little more expensive up front due to the steel frame option. These are the true route to go for on custom builds.
Acrylic is lighter to move, Clear compared to green glass. it does scratch easy compared to glass. normally seams will not separate
Glass. available in green and low iron. low iron is softer but a great look. options of silicone black or clear. If one is growing corals and Coraline Algae. I would go this route as they are much easy to maintain and less likely to scratch as well.
now some tank manufactures has knowingly made defective designs on things in the last 10 years. Companys like RedSea give glass tanks a bad name. I would not recommend any aquariums with floating front panels.
Hybrid Tanks are truly the best. These have PVC bottoms and can be build with steel frames on the top and bottoms. The walls are glass and the steel frame versions may have acrylic splash guards underneath the steel frame. I have not seen one of these fail as of yet. These are a little more expensive up front due to the steel frame option. These are the true route to go for on custom builds.
