Glass or Acrylic
- Thread starter downhillbiker
- Start date
animaladam
New member
iv got a acrylic tank and went away for 3 week on holiday, left my tank with my mate. got back and cleaned it with a mag float that is made for acrylic. no scratches. you only get scratches if your careless!!! if your cleaning down by your sand them move it back from the glass then clean and then put it back. all sorted. if your careful and use the right tool for the job then you wont scratch your acrylic tank.
safer, stonger, clearer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
safer, stonger, clearer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
animaladam
New member
iv had both.
Tang Salad
Algae skeptic
My how I wish this were true! I cleaned mine like Adrian Monk, except even more carefully.
I'd be willing to bet that if you look closely enough you'd see plenty of microscratches on yours. This was my point above: some people are less sensitive to scratches and never look closely enought to see them. But that's a good thing, because once you see them, you'll always see them.
Tang Salad
Algae skeptic
And in realted news... new research from CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, has used acrylic to test one aspect of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The researchers showed that it is possible to scratch acrylic even before the acrylic comes into existence. The research team concluded that the scratches exist perpetually in the time/space continuum, even prior to the manufacturing of the acrylic.
This carries profound implications for our hobby. You know that acrylic tank you plan to buy next year? Well, it's already scratched!
This carries profound implications for our hobby. You know that acrylic tank you plan to buy next year? Well, it's already scratched!
animaladam
New member
if you have " micro scratchs " then they can be buffed out in 2 mins. no probs.
and as for "new research from CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, has used acrylic to test one aspect of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The researchers showed that it is possible to scratch acrylic even before the acrylic comes into existence. The research team concluded that the scratches exist perpetually in the time/space continuum, even prior to the manufacturing of the acrylic."
dont you think that is takin it abit to far???.
and as for "new research from CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, has used acrylic to test one aspect of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The researchers showed that it is possible to scratch acrylic even before the acrylic comes into existence. The research team concluded that the scratches exist perpetually in the time/space continuum, even prior to the manufacturing of the acrylic."
dont you think that is takin it abit to far???.
lol at the quantum scratch.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Hobby Experience: 2 years
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
tip: you can use any magnet with acrylic- simply purchase some acrylic safe pads for it
here's a partial list of some reef animals that can scratch acrylic:
*urchins
*snails
*large hermit crabs
there was/is a thread on RC that showed how corallines grew faster on a piece of acrylic than on a piece of glass in the same aquarium. Anybody that starts up a new reef aquarium knows that coralline will grow on plastic (powerheads, PVC plumbing etc.) long before it starts growing on glass.
animaladam
New member
just cuz iv only been in the hobby 2years dose that make my advise invailed???. corallines only grow on it if you leave it for weeks without cleaning. do you not run a magfloat over your tank?????.
animaladam
New member
gary do you no what type of snails scratch the glass as i have loads of diff types???. i no about the urchins but i have also been told that some will eat silicone in glass tanks.
there are + and - to both its just what you want out of it.
there are + and - to both its just what you want out of it.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
There are a number of types of subtidal limpets occasionally available for the coral reef aquarium. Generally, they are not particularly good animals to have in aquaria. Those shallow water forms that graze on algae seem to have a decided tendency to eat coralline algae. These limpets are exceptionally well equipped to eat these algae. They have a radula with teeth made of a mixture of iron salts (primarily hematite) and silica (in the form of opal). This gives them a rasping organ with a value of 7 or 8 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Additionally, the opal is deposited in the teeth as small inclusions that tend to abrade away slightly faster than does the hematite. This turns the tooth into a self-sharpening rasp; the more it is used, the sharper it becomes until the tooth abrades away completely and another replaces it. The limpets possessing such a rasping apparatus can cut through and remove coralline algae like it was butter, and some of them can do the same to acrylic aquarium walls.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rs/index.php
no doubt there are pros and cons to using an acrylic aquarium for a reef display.
another tip: even if you have a glass aquarium the use of acrylic safe pads on your magnet can enhance it's performance and reduce the chances of scratching the glass. The razor scraper attachment on a magnet is great for removing stubborn corallines.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rs/index.php
no doubt there are pros and cons to using an acrylic aquarium for a reef display.
another tip: even if you have a glass aquarium the use of acrylic safe pads on your magnet can enhance it's performance and reduce the chances of scratching the glass. The razor scraper attachment on a magnet is great for removing stubborn corallines.
xtm
Active member
funny story.... I've used acrylic for years and years and never really scratched any of them badly. One day I decided to start a 60g glass cube.. get this- the first day I already put a deep gouge in the front!
that's after one tiny sand got in between the scrubber and the glass. That is the part I loathe about glass tanks.. it makes you super lazy when it comes to cleaning your tank but when you scratch it, you will have to live with it for as long as you own the tank. If it was acrylic, I would've buffed it already.Never again.
there are pros and cons to both as people have stated and everyone's major issue is scratches.
if you keep up with your tank and Coraline algae there isn't a problem
I've had coraline "etch" the side of a glass tank that I didnt clean for several years.
I'm building a large tank now 84LX36WX24T out of 1" acrylic
I'd need a fork lift to move it if it was glass
if you keep up with your tank and Coraline algae there isn't a problem
I've had coraline "etch" the side of a glass tank that I didnt clean for several years.
I'm building a large tank now 84LX36WX24T out of 1" acrylic
I'd need a fork lift to move it if it was glass
Similar threads
