Glass or Plastic Aquarium which is best?

Anythingfish

Feeder Fish
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Feb 23, 2005
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What is the best material for constructing the home aquarium, glass or plastic?

Aquariums constructed of plastic hold the heat better, are more transparent, easier to move around, can be drilled easily and less likely to leak or break. On the negative side fish tanks built out of plastic are easy to scratch although scratches can sometimes be buffed out. Some types of plastic when used in aquarium manufacture will craze over time which may not weaken them but the effect is often unsightly. If the plastic aquarium is not designed properly and insufficiently thick material is used, it will bow out and look somewhat unattractive.

Aquariums built out of glass will lose heat faster than plastic fish tanks; glass tanks are less transparent than plastic aquariums often adding a slight green blue color to the aquarium tank water. The larger glass aquariums starting around 80 gallons require 2 people to move about and lift up on their stand; I use a padded hand truck to move my big glass aquariums. Glass will scratch but less often especially when using a proper porous fiber pad to clean algae from inside the fish tank window. Grains of sand are the main cause of scratches on aquarium tank windows as they get wedged between the cleaning pad and the glass.

When aquarium glass breaks it is most often a single straight line fracture which will leak but usually very slowly. This is not the case with tempered glass which breaks into very small fragments much like a broken automobile window. Tempered glass is most often used in aquarium bottoms and to the best of my knowledge can not be drilled successfully once tempered. In other words if your glass fish tank breaks you should have lots of time to rescue the fish and drain the water out before it floods the house; if you are home that is. Almost always you will hear the loud thump when a glass tank breaks.

Shipping a large glass aquarium is very costly and there is a high rate of breakage with common carriers. Plastic aquariums can be shipped with ease and relatively inexpensively.

You might want to ask questions of the aquarium manufacturers before taking the plunge. I prefer glass aquariums myself; I see no overriding reasons to pay the extra money for a plastic fish tank. Just for the record I have many plastic aquarium tanks including a 600 gallon aquarium measuring 96” by 48” by 32” high made of ¾” thick Plexiglas.

Good luck.
 

GettingSassy

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Mar 19, 2006
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Depends on what you're keeping. If you have, for example, Petrochromis, you can't really keep them in an acrylic aquarium, because their sharp teeth will scratch it into opacity.
 

Jesse

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Mar 30, 2005
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You've pretty much summed up the pros and cons of acrylic and glass aquariums. One additional characteristic of acrylic aquariums is that the pre-cut filter slots in the back often preclude the use of wider HOB power filters such as AquaClear 500/110, Penguin 330/350, and Emperor 400 without cutting, whereas glass aquariums allow the use of pretty much any HOB filter. Also, acrylic aquariums are typically more expensive than an equivalent sized glass aquarium. I find that acrylic aquarium usually run about 50% more expensive than the same sized glass aquarium. For example, a glass 180 can be found for around $450 w/ hood versus $700 for a typical acrylic 180. I prefer glass aquariums up to 150 gallons and acrylic aquariums over 150 gallons, primarily for the weight savings associated with acrylic tanks and their lower potential for catastrophic failure.

BTW, those of us who pay extra for acrylic tanks never refer to them as "plastic." ;)
 
F

FishHeadSoup

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icthyophile said:
You've pretty much summed up the pros and cons of acrylic and glass aquariums. One additional characteristic of acrylic aquariums is that the pre-cut filter slots in the back often preclude the use of wider HOB power filters such as AquaClear 500/110, Penguin 330/350, and Emperor 400 without cutting, whereas glass aquariums allow the use of pretty much any HOB filter. Also, acrylic aquariums are typically more expensive than an equivalent sized glass aquarium. I find that acrylic aquarium usually run about 50% more expensive than the same sized glass aquarium. For example, a glass 180 can be found for around $450 w/ hood versus $700 for a typical acrylic 180. I prefer glass aquariums up to 150 gallons and acrylic aquariums over 150 gallons, primarily for the weight savings associated with acrylic tanks and their lower potential for catastrophic failure.

BTW, those of us who pay extra for acrylic tanks never refer to them as "plastic." ;)
:thumbsup:
 

DeLgAdO

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just acouple small things you may have left out

Acrylic is half the weight of glass.
It's easier to ship, move, and set up your aquarium.


Acrylic is several times stronger than glass.
It will not shatter, crack, or leak like glass can.


Acrylic distorts much less and is clearer than glass.
If a transparent object is surrounded by another material that has the same index of refraction, then the speed of light will not change as it enters the object. No reflection and no refraction will take place, and the object will appear invisible and without distortion, even at increased viewing angles. In addition to having a slight green tint, glass has an index of refraction that is considerably different from water. Incidentally, clear acrylic plastics have almost the same refractive index as seawater so there is no bending of light as it passes from the plastic into seawater, providing better and brighter color and sharper shapes in acrylic aquariums. The huge viewing windows in large public aquariums and oceanariums can be more than 12 inches thick, but because they are made of acrylic, they afford a very clear view of the water and ocean life they enclose. Acrylic also allows better penetration of your system lighting, which is especially important for reef systems.


Acrylic insulates better than glass.

Acrylic controls water temperature fluctuations, one of the primary reasons for fish stress, disease, and death. Glass conducts heat and cold causing more fluctuations.


Acrylic seams are stronger than glass.
Acrylic seams are molecular bonds and actually stronger than the acrylic itself. Silicone seams used on glass aquariums can dry out and weaken over time.


Acrylic seams are visually superior to glass.

Acrylic seams are polished and nearly invisible. Silicone seams are clearly visible and have been known to discolor when exposed to certain fish medications.


Acrylic is easily refinished.

If glass scratches it can not be repaired. Acrylic can be repaired with a variety of scratch removal kits. Even internal scratches can be repaired without removing the fish or water.


Custom formed designs are possible with acrlylic.
Acrylic can be formed to create interesting aquarium designs which you won't find with glass aquariums.
 

is300zx

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Feb 17, 2006
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Actually the correct term is "polymer" not plastic. And acrylic is not really stonger than glass. Glass is stronger under compression (much stronger than steel) while acrylic has higher tensile strength. Acrylic is soft and ductile while glass is harder but more brittle. The brittleness is why glass cracks or shatters easier when it encounters too much force in the wrong direction. The soft and ductile nature of polymers is why acrylic scratches easier and bows easier than glass.
 

DeLgAdO

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is300zx said:
Actually the correct term is "polymer" not plastic. And acrylic is not really stonger than glass. Glass is stronger under compression (much stronger than steel) while acrylic has higher tensile strength. Acrylic is soft and ductile while glass is harder but more brittle. The brittleness is why glass cracks or shatters easier when it encounters too much force in the wrong direction. The soft and ductile nature of polymers is why acrylic scratches easier and bows easier than glass.
this is true :)
 
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