Acrylic vs Glass Aquarium

[Dyngoe]

Hey All,

I know the topic has been covered WAY too many times, but I'm still on the fence. I'm buying a new tank soon and I can't make a firm commitment either way. I know many of you out there have acrylic tanks, so I was wondering if you all could help me decide on which I should choose for a 90G (36x24x24) tank.

My main concern is scratches. There seems to be no way to avoid them with an acrylic tank. On the flip side I know acrylic is clearer and can have nice rounded edges.

Your thoughts?

 

[BenR7132]

My humble opinion: rounded edges look crap anyway. I'm a "glass man." Once tanks start getting scratches, I let them bother me way too much. Maybe I'm anal, but the acrylic tanks I've had have not lasted long.

 

[Natterjak]

We went with acrylic on our 180 mostly for safety due to the size, as well as ease for drilling holes for our closed loop.

Even though I've tried to be careful, I managed to put a big scratch in the front that I still haven't completely buffed out (granted, I have been a bit lazy about it ). Also, my yellow coris wrasse has managed to put a ton of little scratches from hunting the front pane (he "bites" the acrylic).

If I were getting a 90g, I'd probably consider getting a starphire tank. I do like acrylic, but it is a bit of a hassle.

 

[Patio]

I have had both and will never buy acrylic again. The reason I say this is for cleaning reasons only. I only clean once a week. After a while harder algea grows on the tank. With a glass tank I can use a razor blade and clean in 2 minutes. With acrylic, that harder algea can only be removed with some sort of dull scraper, I use a credit card. It's a huge pain.

 

[tbone28]

I had an acrylic 240g as my last tank. After we moved, I went with glass simply because of the scratches! As careful as I was with the acrylic, scratches are inevitable. And whenever my wife's nieces came over, they wanted to "help" drag my Magnavore 6 across the acrylic...you get the picture!

I really wanted to stay with acrylic due to clarity and strength, but couldn't see myself spending all that money on a new tank, only to see it get scratched.

I ended up with an A.G.E starphire tank, a compromise between glass and acrylic.

Starphire - clarity
1" PVC bottom and 3/4" 1-piece acrylic Eurobrace = strength

The PVC bottom allows you to drill as many holes as you'd like for a closed loop. Also don't have to worry about rock tumbling over and cracking a glass bottom.

I like the 1-piece Eurobrace over a 4-piece glass Eurobrace that's siliconed together cuz I've seen pics of those seams splitting.

 

[vapormd]

For a tank of the dimensions you're looking at, I'd definitely go Starfire/glass as well. I've had both, and as everyone has said, scratches on acrylic are inevitable. Starfire, because it's a little bit softer, can scratch as well, so you can't go too crazy.

Only other things to consider, glass tanks can crack and silicone seams can fail, where as acrylic tanks are pretty indestructable. With larger tanks, the lighter weight of an acrylic tank can become a factor too.

 

[Dyngoe]

Allright TBONE......

What the heck is an A.G.E. Starfire tank with PVC and Acrylic? It sounds like the frankestein monster of fish tanks. That said, it sounds near perfect! Tell me more.

 

[nanoguy]

I've owned both and I don't see myself ever purchasing an acrylic tank again. Like vapormd said, scratches on an acrylic tank is inevitable. Another downside to an acrylic tank is the distortion. Unless you go with really thick acrylic (at least 1/2" for your mentioned tank size), you will get some type distortion from the acrylic bowing. If you want clarity without any distortion, go get a tank made with starphire glass.

 

[stubbsz]

I have acrylic and often think, I'd rather a Glass. However, my tank is super clear. If I started from scratch (pun intended), I would go glass but it isn't as though I'm kicking myself about having acrylic.

Question, how easy is it to get a scratch out of glass?

Also, designing rock work so that you can get leverage for cleaning, and using micro-mesh to clean up once in a blue moon are key to acrylic love.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11778700#post11778700 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BenR7132
My humble opinion: rounded edges look crap anyway. I'm a "glass man." Once tanks start getting scratches, I let them bother me way too much. Maybe I'm anal, but the acrylic tanks I've had have not lasted long.

Hardly a humble opinion. IMHO, curved edges look fine... nothing wrong with a hard edge though. I've had my acrylic since i started reefing (13 years) .... maybe you are ham-fisted or something.

 

[nanoguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11779549#post11779549 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dyngoe
Allright TBONE......

What the heck is an A.G.E. Starfire tank with PVC and Acrylic? It sounds like the frankestein monster of fish tanks. That said, it sounds near perfect! Tell me more.

I believe A.G.E. is the US company that manufacturers the "starfire" glass. There's low iron glass which is not the same as starfire. The clarity on the A.G.E. starfire is second to none. As far as I know, only one company produces tanks with a PVC bottom and they are located in Texas..........can't remember the name. I called them for a quote on a 30"x30"x22" frameless tank and the price completely blew me out of the water. It was well over 2k with shipping to Cali.

 

[tbone28]

Dynogoe, LOL!

Before I tell you about A.G.E, Let me say that I agree with vapormd in that starphire is softer than regular glass, and so can still scratch. In fact, I put a scratch on my front panel a month after I got the tank. I was so mad. Luckily, it was on the exterior of my tank, and I buffed it out with a Dremel and toothpaste.

Somehow, something got caught in between my Magnavore and the glass. Needless to say, I manually wipe down my glass now.

With manual scraping of the glass using a Kent scraper, no scratches. I think the scratch due to the magnavore was unavoidable due to the strength and pressure that magnet provides.

OK, about A.G.E

Their niche in the custom tank market is as I described. PVC + acrylic bonded to glass. Yes! Tom Hudson is the contact person, and he used to head custom tank builds for Oceanic.

They build other things besides tanks. They built my steel stand as well, for example.

Tom says he's never had a tank leak on him before.

He's very knowledgable and great to work with, but he *can* be tough to get a hold of sometimes. They have a small business, and he is sometimes offsite doing custom installs, etc.

They don't sell direct to the public. You have to go through an LFS - because of this, shop around, as different LFS will mark it up differently. I ordered mine through Ken at Aquarium Concepts. He only did a 10% markup.

I'm still very happy with my purchase, and would order a tank through him again. If you'd like to see other A.G.E tanks:

Invincible569 - 300g rimless
CaReefer - 264g
Naka - 188g rimless

Hope that helps.
www.acrylicandglassexhibits.com

 

[tbone28]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11779633#post11779633 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nanoguy
I believe A.G.E. is the US company that manufacturers the "starfire" glass. There's low iron glass which is not the same as starfire. The clarity on the A.G.E. starfire is second to none. As far as I know, only one company produces tanks with a PVC bottom and they are located in Texas..........can't remember the name. I called them for a quote on a 30"x30"x22" frameless tank and the price completely blew me out of the water. It was well over 2k with shipping to Cali.

A.G.E doesn't manufacture the starphire. They purchase it for their builds. The company you're referring to that builds the tanks with PVC bottoms is A.G.E, and yes, they're in Texas.

Who did you call in Texas for your quote? That sounds a bit high. My 180g, before shipping, was $1900. A.G.E doesn't sell direct to the public. Perhaps you called an LFS in Texas for your quote?

 

[Nuuze]

Glass=razor blade=easy clean, no scratches. I had acrylic reef before too and too easy to scratch. Especially cleaning the algae that creeps near the sand...

 

[andyman]

I dunno about the rest of you but Acrylic still has its appeals with me. If you do setup a tank don't expect it will live in its location forever. I've moved my tank around atleast 4 times in the last 5 years. I too thought I'd never move it. I can only imagine how hard and heavy it would be to relocate a glass tank.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Acrylic is nice because you can chop/drill the hell out of it to get what you want way easier than glass.

That being said, acrylic is a pain in the ass the clean, with glass, you get a razor blade and scrape scrape scrape, done. Sure they make plastic scrapers for acrylic but they don't work for spit.

 

[tbone28]

I had my tank in our last home in the same spot for 6 years, and had not thoughts of moving it. I also have no plans to move the tank in our current house either.

But, if there was a need to move it, that's where friends come in. Just gotta have a lot of beer and pizza handy.

 

[tbone28]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11782130#post11782130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sfsuphysics
Acrylic is nice because you can chop/drill the hell out of it to get what you want way easier than glass.

That being said, acrylic is a pain in the ass the clean, with glass, you get a razor blade and scrape scrape scrape, done. Sure they make plastic scrapers for acrylic but they don't work for spit.

1" PVC bottom = drill the hell out of it Just go A.G.E Dyngoe. You won't regret it. Join the club! :rollface:

Edit: just saw your other thread. Congrats on the new tank!

 

[Matt_Wandell]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11782130#post11782130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sfsuphysics
Acrylic is nice because you can chop/drill the hell out of it to get what you want way easier than glass.

That being said, acrylic is a pain in the ass the clean, with glass, you get a razor blade and scrape scrape scrape, done. Sure they make plastic scrapers for acrylic but they don't work for spit.

I actually find glass easier to cut (with a diamond bit on a dremel) than acrylic. This goes for holes and slots both. Acrylic can't get too hot or it crazes. You are not supposed to get metal halides too close to it. It bows. It scratches. About the only things going for it are strength and clarity, which are nearly irrelevant in small tanks anyhow IMHO. Something as small as a 90g tank would be a very easy decision for me.

 

[thebest3]

if scratch is a issue then stick with glass,i pick acylic mainly because the seal problem i have with glass tank and the weight..also acylic is way easyer to move..beleive it or not i setup my 180 all by myself.....

 

[sfsuphysics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11784294#post11784294 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Matt_Wandell
I actually find glass easier to cut (with a diamond bit on a dremel) than acrylic. This goes for holes and slots both. Acrylic can't get too hot or it crazes. You are not supposed to get metal halides too close to it. It bows. It scratches. About the only things going for it are strength and clarity, which are nearly irrelevant in small tanks anyhow IMHO. Something as small as a 90g tank would be a very easy decision for me.

Oh yeah? You had a much better experience than I did on my 120 cutting a slot maybe 10 inches long for an external overflow.. of course the glass was about half an inch thick but I went through almost a whole 5 back of diamond discs on it. But I agree about the clarity issue... also even with larger tanks, a tank you're afraid to clean very often is not going to look as clear as a glass one that you can easily scrape the crap out of it to clean it