Acrylic Question

[dschieff36]

Hello,

I am considering upgrading my 125 gallon glass tank for a similarly sized acrylic tank. My current tank is not pre-drilled and I would like to get a pre-drilled tank with a built in overflow and holes drilled in the back wall of the tank for a closed loop system. I have been looking around at both glass and acrylic tanks and I have found a manufacturer on Ebay that has what appears to be very nice acrylic tanks for about $300 less than I have found any other tank anywhere regardless of glass or acrylic. He apparently has been in business since 1987 and has over 390 positive responses with not a single negative feedback.

Many aquarium dealers I have found that deal with AGA and Oceanic have huge mark-ups because some of these manufacturers do not sell directly to the public. They sell to distributors who then sell to retailers, who then sell to the public. With that said, I can see how this guy could sell for much cheaper being as he manufactures the tanks himself.

My question is two-fold. Are there different types of acrylic where purity or visibility comes into play, such as with regular glass and starphire glass? And is there anything else that I should ask this gentleman? He seems to be very reputable as well as knowledgable about marine systems.

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on acrylic,
Eric

 

[OnTheReef]

Acrylic is lighter, stronger and more transparent than glass. It also scratches very easily and will bow and warp over time, especially if the tank is not properly reinforced. I want to emphasize this point -- you will scratch the outside of an acrylic tank if you wipe it with paper towels or many types of synthetic cloth. Only soft cotton should be used on the outside. The handy magnetic cleaners are abrasive enough to scratch the inner surface of an acrylic aquarium as well. There are a lot of poorly designed tanks out there, so shop carefully.

 

[Airman]

I agree with OTR. I am afraid of the scratchability of acrylic. I have a glass tank I still scratch it. I would really have problems if I had an acrylic tank.

 

[MCary]

Tanks should be made from cast acrylic and preferably with a mar resistant finish. There is no way for a layman to tell if the acrylic is cast or extruded. Extruded is much cheaper in price and quality. Acrylic is made from natural gas or petroleum.

The point finally is, if it is so much cheaper than competitors it may be a "too good to be true" situation.

Mike