Thinking about going Acrylic....

[jfolley67]

anyone with experience with acrylic. I know the old saying that it scratches and such, however, with appropriate care, seems to not be as huge and can buffer. I know cost is more, but long run does it look nicer? I like that it is so clear and weighs so much less...I would like to know what other stories and experiences you have had or others you know. Just getting ready to decide. I have been looking at the Tenecor tanks as an example..thanks for any help
in our decision making! This is for the 180 gallon.

 

[crumbletop]

I do like the way they look when not scratched -- very smooth lines, and very clear, etc. They do scratch easily, though. My guess is that the discipline in regular maintenance and keeping coraline, etc, off of the panes will be much increased with acrylic. For a 180, you might consider the low Fe glass, which is very clear as well. Eyebedam has a low Fe 180 from glass cages that you might could take a look at.

Here is a recent thread on an acrylic tank in Thailand. He keeps it very clean -- you might ask him questions on how he keeps it so clean and scratch free:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1053276

 

[jfolley67]

I PM'ed him, thank you for good advice. I truly am thinking that is what I am going to do. I read so much positive to acrylic. The only thing is the scratching which can be repaired in time. My kids are really good about not touching the tank, it is a rule in this house, so I think that if we keep up our regular cleaning we would be ok....but this time I will scrape sides, I did not on my current glass tank. I just love the clarity. I know I can get saphire glass and such, but the tank is so darn heavy and the thought of it failing concerns me in terms of the glass, I know it is not a common thing, but lifetime warranty on no leaking of acrylic tanks (of course not where you make holes I realize this.....)

 

[KAiNE]

Ive seen some very nice acrylic tanks and i have seen some horribly scratched up ones.
The weight difference is another plus for acrylic.

For me... there is no way i could have the patients required to not ruin an acrylic tank.

Another thing to remember, from what i understand, a glass tank requires support around the perimeter. An acrylic tank requires the entire bottom to be supported. Something to think about when/if building your own stand.

 

[mamagoose45]

Luckily the stand Julie bought looks like it has some pretty good supports for underneath the tank, as well as around the edges...

 

[jfolley67]

Yes, I think a sheet of 3/4 foam would fit perfect on top of the supports of the new stand I have....if I choose Acrylic. I am going to do more checking into acrylic and see how much scraping and what you need for care it takes to keep it in good condition. I don't scrape but once a week and about 2/3 days in between quick with the magnet....I think I am pretty careful, but don't want to get acrylic if I have to do this every day. such a hard choice, but so want to get this think ordered within the next week or so.

 

[Sir Knight]

Just one word of advise about acrylic tanks and stands.

Acrylic tanks need to be supported on the entire bottom, not just the ends like glass tanks so if your stand doesn't have a piece of solid wood on the top where the tank would rest you will need to add it. either 1/2" or 3/4" plywood would work fine. The foam is just used to even out any imperfections in the wood

Joe

 

[Highside]

Cleaning the glass on acrylic is a pain. I have to go in with my hand every two weeks and scrub for an hour with a scrubber pad to get the hard stuff off that a magnetic scraper will not take off (I have a box full of magnetic scrapers). With glass you can make one pass with a razor blade and it is clean. I will never get another acrylic tank.

 

[jfolley67]

thanks for the insight, I am going to have to rethink my tank....better than after it is ordered!!

 

[Siffy]

I'll never have an acrylic tank either. A 5 gallon made that decision for me. It even took forever to remove coralline gently. And still scratched. The weight difference is negligible once water is put in the tank. Acrylic is great for drilling and during the install, but after that it's a nightmare in my opinion.

 

[doodoobrown]

my 300 is a tenecor acrylic and i love it. i havent had problems with scratching. the temp is much more stable and easy to maintain. i actuallly like it better than my oceanic 200. mine is on a homemade stand and i do have a foam pad underneath it. oh yeah and 2 of us moved the tank by ourselves. its 3/4in acrylic and it was much lighter than the 200gal oceanic.

 

[jfolley67]

I was thinking of going tenecor......can you send me a pic of you tank, post it!

 

[doodoobrown]

heres a pic from when i first started setting it up. i dont have any recent pics. ill try and get some this weekend

 

[jfolley67]

awesome tank! Looks HUGE!! How are your scratch issues with it?

 

[DMBillies]

FWIW I was just talking with Chris at the Critter about the new frag tank going in. In conversation he said that the next thing on the list was to replace the big display reef tank they have in the back...because it's acrylic and is crazy scratched. While the new tank is acrylic (it's got a kind of crazy overflow design), he said he would never do a standard tank in acrylic again. Just thought I'd pass it on...