Glass vs Acrylic

It looks like I am going to be the only one here that likes the acrylic tanks. I have an acrylic tank and it has been set up for over 10 years and there is only 1 scratch on it. I know 1 scratch is still a scratch but my tank is in great condition. From the very beginning after my daughter was born she was told not to touch the tank and she doesnt. The weight of the acrylic tank is nice when it comes time to move. It was also nice when I went from freshwater to saltwater because I was able to drill my tank myself. I think alot of the choice comes down to how careful you are going to be. I dont have anything bad to say about acrylic tanks and when I buy a new bigger tank I will still look into another acrylic tank.

 

You can drill your own glass tanks as well, provided the panes are not tempered. Most overflows or drilling will be drilled from the sides or back, and those are almost never tempered.

Now, if you want th best of both worlds, light weight and non scratch, make your own plywood and epoxy tank with glass panes. Obviously the more glass panes you have the heavier it is, but my 1 side viewable 62" x 30" x 24" 200g reef tank weighs in arounds 150 lbs. An AGA 180g weighs 270 lbs.


In 10 years to only have 1 scratch on an acrylic tank is an amazing feat. I guess if I had an acrylic tank, I bet a similar result since i am so anal about my cars.

 

That is exactly what it is. NOBODY touches the tank but me. My daughter even tells her friends when they come over, now they know. It all depends on what you clean them with.

 

There are pros and cons to this but I'm a cautious person and I have owned both and I learned that you can scratch either one but, acrylic scratches much much easier and there is nothing that is more frustrating than seeing that damn scratch. You have to be so careful cleaning around the sand and you don't want to have an avalanche. The other dealbreaker for me is the cut aways on the top is a royal pain for cleaning and adding rock and coral. The one thing for sure is acrylic is clearer I'll give it that.

 

I maintain aquariums professionally. Almost all of my customers that I have setup with acrylic tanks have complained due to scratching and a general haziness in the acrylic. I know what I am doing when it comes to safety removing algae, but what these people do to the tank when your not there.... wow.

All of my customers with glass -- never complained about anything like this.

 

acrylic also collects coraline algae better than glass so if you want that purple Coraline background or want to grow coral on your background or walls

 

I wouldn't do acrylic for anything besides a nano. It is a pain to maintain because of how soft it is. To me, this outweighs the benefits of a lighter tank and the improved clarity (it won't be super clear for long as easily as it scratches).

In terms of hardness, glass is pretty high up there on Mohs hardness scale. If you have the option, go for starphire (a.k.a. low-iron) glass for the front panel. It has great clarity, comparable to acrylic.

 

Just remember that starfire or low iron glass is not as strong as regular plate glass. it is not as hard as plate glass and can scratch easier, but is still more durable than acrylic.

Typically, when going with starfire, you need to go one size thicker glass than if you used regular plate glass.

On my DIY 200g plywood/ epoxy and glass in wall tank, I would have needed to go with 1/2" starfire, to get the safety factor as 3/8" plate glass.
On 3/8" glass, starfire is pretty much worth no clarity difference.

 

Glass all the way.. The next tank I build will have starfire glass. This is a much more clear glass that really allows your coral colors to be seen rather then having in tainted by the glass.

 

It depends on how you want it set up. Acrylic is much more customed on the fly, where glass has to be ordered as you want it. A good acrylic tank will last longer and scratches can be buffed out. Anyone that says glass is hard to scratch is lying and once it's there, you're stuck with it. Typically glass is heavier, cost more and not as nice for viewing, but it all depends on what you want the tank to do and what you're willing to live with in setting it up.