Acrylic or glass for a 7ft tank

[chuckbuc]

What to get glass or acrylic ....after my last disaster ...I'm thinking about 84x36x30. I'm debating after my last 300 gallon glass tank leaking of going with acrylic instead of glass ..what would u go with ? What's the downfalls to acrylic ?they seam like they would be stronger than glass .besides the scratching part

 

[Editour2]

I have a 125 gal acrylic tank that I picked up cheap for my sump. They are easy to drill but like you already stated...they scratch easy (but can be polished). Do they make large acrylic tanks with euro-bracing? I dislike the acrylic pieces on the top of the tank...it prohibits easy access and also blocks the light. Then again I have a 215 gal Oceanic tank and it has a large piece of glass as the center brace.......that needs to be cleaned every couple of days from the algae build up so I guess we are back to the same question I posed above....
Interested in what others have to say.

 

[James983]

Chuck, like Frank said the biggest drawbacks of acrylic are the fact that they scratch easily and the limited access. I have an acrylic 180 for about 10 years and dealing with coraline is difficult with an acrylic tank. Then the issue of light loss is another drawback, MH lights are out. That being said, a 7 ft glass tank is going to be tough to move. That was my main concern when I went acrylic. I decided on acrylic after my glass 150 blew a seam. I felt the move into my basement comprised the seam which led to my leak. That being said, I would still go acrylic with a tank that size as a leak was my main concern.

 

[qy7400]

My tank has 3 2x2 openings on the top, so getting in and out isn't to bad. They can make the tank with euro-bracing but you'll want to go with thicker acrylic to make sure it won't bow on you. Scratches are a way of life with acrylic, you can buff them out but minor ones you wont notice unless you look for them... I can find scratches in my glass tanks as well. As long as you keep on top of cleaning the display panels coranline shouldn't be an issue and if you do slack an old credit card and a magic eraser makes for a quick removal.

 

[chuckbuc]

Seams like acrylic is not that bad ...I've never had one .I just want something that will last me a long time

 

[jarrett shark]

Go glass
cleaning large actylic sucks if you let it go ....trust me
i would love to sell you my tank lol

 

[fishome25]

I do maintenance for home and businesses. I no longer accept accounts with acrylic tanks. Maintenance is way to labor intensive and scratches are inevitable. coralline and acrylic do mix.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2622643

If you do Acrylic

 

[chuckbuc]

Thanks guys but I wanna get a new tank ...