Acrylic or Glass?

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WatDatThing

New member
If you are buying a new 125gal tank. Would you buy acrylic or Glass tank? Assuming they are the same price. Why?

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Glass, for me.
Limited choices with acrylic when it comes down to cleaning algae. I actually had both at one point but would not go back to acrylic anymore.



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I've been using acrylic tanks since 1991...I have a couple of 120-130g acrylic tanks that are over 20 yrs old and can be buffed out to like new condition... can't do that with glass... just ordered a new 500g 6'x5' acrylic tank, should be here in June... Seriously, you couldn't give me a large glass tank!

Avoiding scratches and cleaning algae are not that hard to do
 
GLASS for me. Just too easy to scratch acrylic especially when your doing soo much maintenance every week in the tank and on the surfaces. Doesn't take much to ruin your DT view after a scratch here and a scratch there. Sure, glass can scratch as well but no where near the level of acrylic. IMO
 
Acrylic is not that bad so long as you are diligent in your tank cleaning duties. If you have the habit of being lazy from time to time such as myself then glass is the better option.
 
Another thing to consider is the risk of failure at the seams. Acrylic is basically welded together at the seams, and is stronger and much less likely to every leak.
 
I've always been a fan of glass. I can go to town on the thing with a razor blade and not worry if I get lazy with scrubbing the algae off with my magfloat. I think the benefits of glass outweigh the benefits of acrylic.
 
IMO, never buy acrylic unless you have a real reason to do so, which is typically an extraordinarily huge tank or oddball shape. For a tank like a 125 there's no reason to even consider it. Glass holds up much better over time (read: essentially doesn't scratch) and the clarity on the newer low iron glass is excellent.
 
albano said:
Can't even remember seeing a used glass tank that wasn't scratched...permanently!
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It's funny, I've never gotten a used glass tank that wasn't scratched, yet somehow the glass tanks I've gotten new have no scratches years later. I guess I'm just more careful than others. My acrylic tanks have picked up a few scratches, mostly on top and on the outside. I do buff out the outside once once every year or two, but I don't do the inside ones. I even have all the equipment to do the inside ones without draining the tank, I just don't want to take the time and it's a bit of a pain working around the eurobrace.
 
jccaclimber said:
It's funny, I've never gotten a used glass tank that wasn't scratched, yet somehow the glass tanks I've gotten new have no scratches years later. I guess I'm just more careful than others. My acrylic tanks have picked up a few scratches, mostly on top and on the outside. I do buff out the outside once once every year or two, but I don't do the inside ones. I even have all the equipment to do the inside ones without draining the tank, I just don't want to take the time and it's a bit of a pain working around the eurobrace.
Click to expand...

I'd like to hear more about how you buff the acrylic on the outside (process and products), and even more so related to how you buff the inside without draining (assuming you still need to take out the livestock).
 
Tooboot said:
I'd like to hear more about how you buff the acrylic on the outside (process and products), and even more so related to how you buff the inside without draining (assuming you still need to take out the livestock).
Click to expand...

An air powered rotary buffer designed for wet use. It vents remotely, and I modified it to remove all the copper components and seal it up a bit better. I run mineral oil for lubricant. It takes a LONG time to get through a decade of coraline, and it's very easy to make a tank full of swirl marks.
 
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