Acrylic vs glass lighting?

[willewonka]

I just upgraded from a glass 45g tall to an acrylic 85g flat hex back. I'm using the same lights as before, a 36in coralife retrofit kit with 2 96W bulbs (10,000K and Actinic). The acrylic tank seems twice as bright as the glass. Both have a canopy, but the glass was an open water, and the acrylic has cutouts.

Anyone else notice something similar?

 

[bureau13]

You definitely get better clarity through acrylic than through standard glass, but I'm surprised the difference seems that great. Are the lights the same height above water?

jds

 

[kar93]

Acrylic is definitely clearer but from arcylic tanks ive had ive noticed that sometimes they can get a sort of yellow tinge to them.

 

[mcrist]

I have never noticed a yellow tinge from an acrylic tank. My best guess is either they are not cleaning the acyclic properly or you are seeing the true color of the water and then need to add carbon or ozone.

 

[willewonka]

5in above glass and 10in above acrylic

 

[kar93]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11997273#post11997273 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcrist
you are seeing the true color of the water and then need to add carbon or ozone.

maybe that ive never added carbon or ozone. i never saw a need to.

 

[mcrist]

I made a similar observation when I moved to acrylic from standard glass. My halides seem seemed twice as bright on my new 450 acrylic compared to my old 215 standard glass aquarium.

 

[mcrist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11997314#post11997314 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kar93
maybe that ive never added carbon or ozone. i never saw a need to.

Then kudos to your great husbandry if you never need to use carbon or ozone. :beer:

 

[kar93]

well, ive used carbon on my glass tank but it didnt do anything. and as for ozone i did use it once but didnt see any affect at all so i just sold it.

 

[mcrist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11997579#post11997579 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kar93
well, ive used carbon on my glass tank but it didnt do anything. and as for ozone i did use it once but didnt see any affect at all so i just sold it.

Really, I am surprised you didn’t notice any difference with ozone. I used it for one week and it honestly didn’t look like any water was in my tank. The tank water became so clear that it looked empty except for the floating fish. My tank is setup as a room divider / peninsula so clear water is very noticeable.