Acrylic vs Glass

[LiquidCache]

Okay, so I've heard a lot of horror stories about acrylic, but I know some people who swear by it. I'd like some opinions.

 

[CrazyEyes]

Done properly an acrylic tank will last a very long time. That being said, I personally like the look of glass tanks.

 

[anbosu]

I invested in my first acrylic tank when I bought my 360. So far, so good - no scratches yet, although you definitely have to be careful.

 

[Easttuth]

The main downfall of glass is the weight, correct? You only pick up the weight of the tank once or twice ever, so I don't see the benefits of acrylic. Maybe you have to build the stand slightly better with glass, but probably not due to most of the weight being the water/rocks.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I've had both.

The benefits of acrylic are structural integrity, leaking, overall the tank is lighter. If you scratch them, it's possible to buff out. You can have the front corners curved with no seam.

The benefits of glass are less likely to scratch, can be open top and even rimless.

My current tank I went with a Starfire Glass rimless. I do not have any regrets. It looks like a beautiful piece of furniture and I don't think I could have achieved the same look with acrylic.

 

[rogergolf66]

I currently have both. The acrylic tank is very old built like a tank. Then again I have have 20 year old glass tanks too. Personally my next tank will be glass. I'm staying away from acrylic. To hard to clean the coriline algea off the tank

 

[Sonicboom]

some safety as well since the bigger you get the thicker, i'm talking over 300 gallons, if a rock falls against the glass there is more chance it will explode vs 3/4" thick acrylic.

 

[LiquidCache]

All good points. What about the clarity factor? I've heard claims that acrylic can achieve up to something like 97% clarity versus glass which is something like 60? Can anyone confirm that?

 

[anbosu]

All good points. What about the clarity factor? I've heard claims that acrylic can achieve up to something like 97% clarity versus glass which is something like 60? Can anyone confirm that?

I don't know the exact numbers, but acrylic has significantly less color. The gap is smaller when comparing starfire vs. regular glass, though.

I would have not been able to get my tank into the house if it was made from glass. Since it was lighter we could move it around at awkward angles and it wasn't a huge deal.

Both are good options though - what ultimately swung me is that acrylic was about half the cost of glass for the same size aquarium.

 

[Reefpilot11]

I prefer glass. I think the applications where the tank or viewing window is massive then yes, acrylic.

 

[Paul B]

I have a 100 gallon glass tank that has been up for about 40 years, it has quite a few scratches in it and it is tempered glass. If it were acrylic, there would be no way I would even be able to see through it by now. It scratches badly and easily so unless you want to replace it in 10 years, go with glass. Or cast iron, unless of course you want to see your fish

 

[CuzzA]

If my current tank (11 mo. olds) was acrylic my son would have completely ruined the outside and I likely would have ruined the inside. Glass for me.

Paul, even if you had an acrylic tank and never scratched it once I'm sure it would have a nice funky yellow haze after forty years, much like the water where you collect your pods from. :lmao:

 

[Easttuth]

Acrylic also gets that spiderweb effect after a certain amount of years, glass doesn't

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Acrylic also gets that spiderweb effect after a certain amount of years, glass doesn't

Yep, my last tank (TruVu Acrylic) had both the spiderweb as well as yellowing. I had it for about 10-12 years. While you can definitely buff scratches out of acrylic, it's a lot of work and almost everything scratches it. Even "acrylic safe" cleaning pads will eventually cause a foggyness on the inside.

 

[janes_mw]

Had plenty of both over the years. I think everybody has covered the pro's and con's above, gets down to personal choice now! I can say that i scratched the heck out of one of my starfire tanks (had a little rock tumble mishap!), but I have also scratched my acrylic tanks in the past. Outside scratches no problem to fix, inside ones a little difficult on the acrylic or glass. If coraline gets ahead of you acrylic is about impossible to remove without scratching so if you do acrylic, daily maintenance is a good idea even if it looks clean .

my two pennies fwiw!

 

[LiquidCache]

Thanks for the info guys, I think I'm sticking with glass. I love my tech 120..

 

[Henchman24]

I have researched this several times in the past when looking at tanks. Let me start by saying that There are different types of acrylic & different types of glass. Some types of acrylic aren't supposed to ever yellow & some types of glass are clearer/stronger than others. I have had a few of both tanks myself. I learn towards glass mainly because of cost, availability, & the fact that glass doesn't bow out when filled like some thinner acrylic tanks will. The main advantage to me for acrylic is the strength of the tank.

cost - generally glass is much cheaper & more commonly found / manufactured

weight - acrylic is much lighter, but most people don't move a tank frequently

clarity/distortion - acrylic is a little bit clearer, I don't believe is a big difference

thermal properties - acrylic is better thermally so you run heater less & chiller slightly less

strength - acrylic is much stronger although weakest point of glass tank is the seam not really the glass

fabrication - acrylic is much easier to cut holes without fear of shattering it

scratches - acrylic scratches easier but can be removed. I think the tank has to be drained to buff out scratches though. glass does get scratched though

 

[Black Mammoth]

cost - generally glass is much cheaper & more commonly found / manufactured

Sorry, I'm not part of your club, but I saw this post in a search. I thought I would share my experience. I'm looking at building a 300+ gallon tank. For that size, acrylic is by far cheaper than glass. The cheapest glass quote is $2,000 more than my most expensive acrylic quote. If you compare against my most expensive glass quote, then acrylic is $4,500 cheaper.

 

[nicoli627]

Glass