Glass or acrylic?

Glass or acrylic?

  • Custom scrylic

    Votes: 9 22.5%
  • SCA Starfire

    Votes: 31 77.5%

  • Total voters
    40
  • Poll closed .

KnightMetro

New member
I can get a 150g long SCA for $895 with starfire.

or

I can get a custom 150g long in acrylic, from a local custom maker, for $1,050.

That's close enough to consider acrylic.

There are a list of pros and cons. I'm really interested in the long life review of acrylic vs glass in a reef tank. My biggest question is scratches and regular cleaning.
 
I don't know what I'm talking about so, take everything I'm about to say with a grain of salt. Glass will be far less likely to scratch but, any significant scratches that do occur will likely be practically irreparable, without significant work on the tank. The acrylic tank will be much more likely to scratch but, the scratches are significantly easier to fix.

IMHO, glass is the way to go, at least for me. I've never gotten significant scratches on a glass tank so the lack of easy repair has only been a theoretical problem for me. Also, for scratches inside an acrylic tank, I don't see myself emptying the tank entirely or being comfortable working on buffing out interior scratches with livestock in the tank so, the ability to more easily buff out interior scratches would largely only be a theoretical benefit for me. So, I have always picked glass because I'm much more concerned with the likelihood of scratching it than the ability to fix scratches.

But, I'm a happy glass tank user that's never owned acrylic so, clearly, I'm biased...........

Matt

P.S.- Have you thought about a 180? If i'm understanding the dimensions correctly, you might really appreciate the extra front-to-back space for aquascaping.
 
acrylic: Stronger. More clear. Lets you sleep at night.

Unfortunately it scratches easier and is usually more expensive. But if you've ever had a crack in a glass tank... its an absolute nightmare. I'll never use glass again. ESPECIALLY on a larger tank. Just make sure your mag-cleaner doesn't have sand stuck in between it and acrylic scratches should never be an issue.
 
Honestly, I'd love 30" depth. This is going into a recess in the kitchen and then plumbed down into the basement to a fish room. So, when I finish the reno in the basement, I may do a larger tank down there and add it to the loop.

Right now, the most I can do in the built in space I am thinking is 27" deep. Even if I wish I could knock out more of that wall.

Now I could definitely ask the acrylic fabricator to make the tank 27" deep. That would make it a ~170g.
 
acrylic: Stronger. More clear. Lets you sleep at night.

I'll never use glass again. ESPECIALLY on a larger tank...

100%... I’ve been using acrylic since 1991, from 120g to newest 6’x5’ 500g... wouldn’t want a glass tank for free!
 
I have a SCA 120 and the star fire glass scratches pretty easily. It’s a nice tank, but if I have to replace it, I may try an acrylic tank. If you scratch an acrylic tank, the scratch is easier to buff out.
 
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I agree. I actually purchased the cerium oxide and all for fixing glass a few years ago. I went through several different techniques and it never made a real difference. If the scratch catches your nail, it'll never come out with any amount of DIY worthwhile effort.

Acrylic can be repaired easily.
 
Has anybody figured out how to get coralline algae off an acrylic tank? It's all over two sides I can't easily get to and in all corners and along the sand in front where I can't reach with a stupid plastic scraper you can use on acrylic. I spent $80 on one of those rare earth magnet scrapers with an acrylic safe plastic scraper. The dollars would have been better used rubbing that algae. Honestly, I'll never do acrylic again. Impossible to clean.

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I used to attach a piece of credit card to my magnet for cleaning my acrylic tank. The pad and stuff were useless, but the card was preloaded against the tank like if you were to press it against it yourself and tore through coralline right quick. I imagine the Tunze magnet would be similar, though i have not had an acrylic tank in a while to see (and i get to use a metal blade on the glass tank).

I eventually trapped something under the pad on the magnet and ran a streak or two across the face good...
 
Personally I have known 5 people have glass tanks fail. 3 abruptly, 1 catastrophic failure. The catastrophic failure cost 10s of thousands of damage. I would never consider a large glass tank.
The best thing to fight coralline algae is to clean the acrylic before it gets built up. Ie weekly. Scratches are easy to polish out. 3200 grit wet dry paper is enough remove fine scratches and not leave any visible haze.
 
Both have their pros and cons. Acrylic is lighter and more durable than glass but, and this is a big selling point for me, glass in my experience has been MUCH easier to keep clean. I have both a glass and acrylic aquarium and even though I've had glass tanks fail and leak it was my fault for not making sure that they were level and a button somehow got under the front corner of the tank causing a pressure point and eventually causing a leak. But I'm constantly cussing under my breath when algae scrubbing the acrylic because it is a total pain in the neck getting algae off of the sides and front with out the fear of putting more scratches into it. So I vote towards glass.
 
Star fire scratches a lot easier than high iron glass.

1 you cant get the scratches out if you scratch the glass== acrylic you can.
2 glass is very poor insulation vs room or tank tamp==acrylic has good insulation qualities
3 More custom drilling and building options.
Maybe this will help. With it being in wall. I'd go acrylic. You may not see that lil seeping seal till your wall it ruined. Your hiding a lot of seals on that tank putting it in the wall. Go acrylic or use the spot light a lot at night the first few months, seeing if its holding.
 
If you're not gonna keep up with the coraline algae, I agree it will be harder to remove... But, coraline algae left on glass can permanently etch the glass and ruin it.
As mentioned, I've had acrylic tanks since 1991, I've learned to angle my front row of lights to lessen algae on front panel... When using plastic scrapers, it's important to keep a clean straight edge on the blade (I use a small 'plane' or sand paper to keep it sharp) ... My magnet cleaners are covered with an acrylic sleeve that cuts thru algae better, and keeps sand grains off the panel, preventing scratches...and believe it or not, when I have to, I do use the metal blade scraper on tough algae down by the sand bed! I used my dremel to round off the two 90 degree corners, which is the part of the blade that would scratch the tank.

IMO, many (not all) of the people that love glass tanks, have never had an acrylic tank, so they can't really compare them.
 
The clarity of an acrylic tank is unreal. Starphire is great but still not as clear as acrylic. However acrylic is much more reflective so there's a lot more glare when viewing it off angle during the day.

I use those magic eraser cleaning pads and they do an amazing job on stubborn algae. Just wish I could slice it thin enough to put in between my magnet cleaner.
 
Has anybody figured out how to get coralline algae off an acrylic tank? It's all over two sides I can't easily get to and in all corners and along the sand in front where I can't reach with a stupid plastic scraper you can use on acrylic. I spent $80 on one of those rare earth magnet scrapers with an acrylic safe plastic scraper. The dollars would have been better used rubbing that algae. Honestly, I'll never do acrylic again. Impossible to clean.

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http://www.mightymagnets.com/algaeCutterBag.html

Works like a charm. This has replaced all my plastic scrapers. surprised more folks don't use this.
 
LOL

The poll says most voted for glass, but in this thread most are supporting acrylic.

Reasons why I use glass:
1) Glass does not distort over time.
2) Glass is way harder to scratch. Those saying that glass can't be buffed are not wrong; but you are FAR less likely to scratch a glass tank to begin with. Unless your really trying or you have an algae scraper with a nice gouge in it and your reaming the glass, you are almost be certain your tank will be scratch free for the time its in use.
3) Glass does not yellow. Ever
4) Glass is easier to clean and overall glass will last far longer (Glass panel vs. Acrylic panel).
5) Did I say acrylic scratches far easier yet? Some fish can scuff and scratch acrylic.

Glass is however FAR heavier. Anywhere from 2x - 10x heavier than acrylic depending on the size and thickness of the glass used.

Some say that a professionally welded acrylic seam is stronger than silicon used to hold together glass panels. I can see this as being accurate, but regardless, both style tanks have failed in every size aquarium and there are far too many variables to actually point blame at the actual seam itself as the sole reason for failure.

Also to consider, acrylic has to be thicker than glass for the same size tank size. This means that for large aquariums, sometimes magnets for pumps, scrapers, ect. simply won't work is you use acrylic as the thickness is too great.
 
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I have used both and voted for glass.

as said above, sure a glass can scratch, but it takes a heck of a lot more effort to scratch it than acrylic.
sure, in theory, you can buff off scratches on acrylic, but in reality, it is not a practical thing to do with tank filled with water and livestock (too much trouble than it is worth). In all the years I had an acrylic tank, I never tried to remove the scratches that accumulated over the years, and by the time I replaced it with a glass tank, it has a ton of scratches, not to mention coraline that is almost impossible to clean. The only time I buffed the scratches is when I first got the acrylic tank before I filled it with water.

If you end up getting acrylic, you will learn how to ignore all the scratches as they accumulate over time.
 
Had both, but glass is all I have used in several years. Seems like acrylic scratches if you stare at it too long.
 
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