dgasmd
New member
You could go on for years arguing about the same issues here. I had a 360g in acrylic before and now have a 750g in glass.
Acrylic:
-very light weight and easy to move. It took 2 people to move my 3/4" 360g tank before and took me and another pretty strong guy to move my current sump: 460g in 3/4" acrylic.
-material is extremely strong
-material is extremely flexible taking shaking (earthquakes) well.
-extremely easy to drill
-joints are virtually indestructible if built correctly
-it is by far the most clear material a tank can be made out of. Nothing compares to it in clarity.
-very good to ship as it will take tons of pounding and poor care by the shiper with poor crating and still make it just fine.
-just like any plastic, it attracts coraline like there is no tomorrow. It may not grow anywhere else in your tank, but the acrylic will grow it extremely well and fast.
-if you look at it the wrong way, it scratches. No matter how carefull you are, one is bound to scratch it pretty often and in too many places if you do try to keep it clean. Magnet or not, acrylic only pads or not, acrylic only blades or not, it will scratch almost the same. I scratched my previous acrylic tank before it made it even into the house. Then some more even without getting water into it yet. That was trying to be carefull.
-extremely easy to take scratches out, but it will take work. Just because it is simple it doesn't mean it is not annoying, tiring, tedious, repetitive, and a PITA for some of us.
-Plenty of extremely good manufacturers around the country.
-tends to get built and shipped quicker than glass.
-in larger sizes, price is pretty comparable to glass depending on the manufacturer of course.
-in larger sizes will almost always require a eurobrace in addition to cross braces.
-fairly easy to put into any location in a home, including a basement.
Glass:
-Extremely heavy. It would have taken 16+ people to lift mine (1,800 Lb dry). I am sure we would have dropped it too if we had tried. A little ingenuity and planning got it from a trailer into the stand inside the house in less than 25 min. with 5 people. Never lifted it once either.
-If you move frequently (>1 per year), you might want to re-think going this material.
-when going with thicker gass than 1/2", there will be a very noticeable green tint to the glass that may change the colors you see a little.
-One can use low iron glass in 1/2" and 3/4" for a clearer view. Hoever, even the low iron glass is nowhere near as clear as acrylic.
-not that many manufacturers of glass tanks as there are acrylic.
-they tend to take much longer to build than acrylic for some reason. I think it mostly has to do with the glass manufacturers being smaller outfits and are always running way behind in construction. That is not true to all of the manufacturers, but for the most part it is true for the majority.
-requires more delicate shipping with much better crating and care required.
-surprisingly, prices for shipping larger tanks are almost the same as for acrylic.
-would be a real chore to get into a basement if not having a walk out basement.
-very very easy to clean.
-most strong magnets will take off even coraline if used repeatedly without scratching the glass.
-Extremely forgiving on maintenance. I left my 360g go without cleaning the panes for about 8 weeks and took me 16+ hours to scrape the coralline off with allt he care in the world not to scratch it. I still got it scratched. I did the same to my glass tank a few months back and it looked almost the same as the acrylic. However, it took me an hour to get the it cleaned. No scratches.
-it does scratch too if one is extremely careless, but it takes a lot. HOwever, unlike acrylic, the scratches are permanent!
Personal conclusion:
I get out of the hobby before having another acrylic tank!!!!
Acrylic:
-very light weight and easy to move. It took 2 people to move my 3/4" 360g tank before and took me and another pretty strong guy to move my current sump: 460g in 3/4" acrylic.
-material is extremely strong
-material is extremely flexible taking shaking (earthquakes) well.
-extremely easy to drill
-joints are virtually indestructible if built correctly
-it is by far the most clear material a tank can be made out of. Nothing compares to it in clarity.
-very good to ship as it will take tons of pounding and poor care by the shiper with poor crating and still make it just fine.
-just like any plastic, it attracts coraline like there is no tomorrow. It may not grow anywhere else in your tank, but the acrylic will grow it extremely well and fast.
-if you look at it the wrong way, it scratches. No matter how carefull you are, one is bound to scratch it pretty often and in too many places if you do try to keep it clean. Magnet or not, acrylic only pads or not, acrylic only blades or not, it will scratch almost the same. I scratched my previous acrylic tank before it made it even into the house. Then some more even without getting water into it yet. That was trying to be carefull.
-extremely easy to take scratches out, but it will take work. Just because it is simple it doesn't mean it is not annoying, tiring, tedious, repetitive, and a PITA for some of us.
-Plenty of extremely good manufacturers around the country.
-tends to get built and shipped quicker than glass.
-in larger sizes, price is pretty comparable to glass depending on the manufacturer of course.
-in larger sizes will almost always require a eurobrace in addition to cross braces.
-fairly easy to put into any location in a home, including a basement.
Glass:
-Extremely heavy. It would have taken 16+ people to lift mine (1,800 Lb dry). I am sure we would have dropped it too if we had tried. A little ingenuity and planning got it from a trailer into the stand inside the house in less than 25 min. with 5 people. Never lifted it once either.
-If you move frequently (>1 per year), you might want to re-think going this material.
-when going with thicker gass than 1/2", there will be a very noticeable green tint to the glass that may change the colors you see a little.
-One can use low iron glass in 1/2" and 3/4" for a clearer view. Hoever, even the low iron glass is nowhere near as clear as acrylic.
-not that many manufacturers of glass tanks as there are acrylic.
-they tend to take much longer to build than acrylic for some reason. I think it mostly has to do with the glass manufacturers being smaller outfits and are always running way behind in construction. That is not true to all of the manufacturers, but for the most part it is true for the majority.
-requires more delicate shipping with much better crating and care required.
-surprisingly, prices for shipping larger tanks are almost the same as for acrylic.
-would be a real chore to get into a basement if not having a walk out basement.
-very very easy to clean.
-most strong magnets will take off even coraline if used repeatedly without scratching the glass.
-Extremely forgiving on maintenance. I left my 360g go without cleaning the panes for about 8 weeks and took me 16+ hours to scrape the coralline off with allt he care in the world not to scratch it. I still got it scratched. I did the same to my glass tank a few months back and it looked almost the same as the acrylic. However, it took me an hour to get the it cleaned. No scratches.
-it does scratch too if one is extremely careless, but it takes a lot. HOwever, unlike acrylic, the scratches are permanent!
Personal conclusion:
I get out of the hobby before having another acrylic tank!!!!
