Acrylic vs. Glass

[FINWIN]

You can paint acrylic the exact same way as you paint glass. You can use a roller, spray paint, air brush, paint brush. You can use spray paint or acrylic paint. The difference is getting the paint off. Glass you can use a razor and scrape it off without worrying about scratches. Acrylic you can not. You can still use a razor, but you will have to buff it afterwards.

Starfire to acrylic...acrylic is still clearer and does not distort like glass. Glass, starfire or not distorts the view. A lot of people get dizzy looking through glass for long periods of time due to the distortion. Looking into any acrylic tank, it looks like nothing is there as well. Starfire is clear no question, just won’t ever be as clear. Not an outdated fact, still holds true, they just improved glass clarity. Still, there are impurities.

Can you please post a picture of your background so we can see why it does not work? There is no reason that I can think of why it would not work.

Pics of my tanks are in several threads but the easiest one would be the "new tank pics "thread. Has a deepwater jungle background in shades of green blue and turquoise. Its painted on and sealed with white plastic material. 3D printed quality. Company I ordered from has 50 backgrounds and you can custom order one or even put your picture on the back.

The difference in starfire vs acrylic is not perceptible, really. Yes, on a molecular level there's some small difference but that alone isn't that big a deal to the average cluck. Biggest thing would be the fused edges of acrylic making it more clean and seamless. But some people like the framed look, especially with black silicone seams. If people get that dizzy looking at glass they're dizzy to begin with. Nobody ever looked at my tanks and hit the floor.

Acrylic can absorb small amounts of chemicals in the air, (molecules porous) glass does not. Say from paints/cleaners and the like, petroleum based products if your tank is in the basement and you do household projects. Fumes can be an issue.

At the end of the day I've seen muffed up glass tanks and muffed up acrylic tanks. Its just what features are important to you.

 

[Lepisosteus]

I have the novus 123 bottles but only use number 1 with the towelettes that came with it to wipe down the outside every now and then. To remove peanut butter finger prints lol and the like. Never used anything else. How much baking soda vinegar in the solution? White vinegar?

Yeah funny how the clean corners become so prominent after going with acrylic. The silicone on my glass tanks scream at me.

Novus 2 works great for fine scratches (fingernail can’t grip). Novus 3 works for deeper scratches (fingernail slightly grips). There’s a few different recipes. White vinegar for all. You can create a coarser paste and use with a cloth/buffing pad or you can make a finer paste and use the spray bottle with micro fibre. Both work well. More vinegar cleans off stains, more baking soda gets rid of scratches.

 

[Lepisosteus]

The difference in starfire vs acrylic is not perceptible, really. Yes, on a molecular level there's some small difference but that alone isn't that big a deal to the average cluck.

Why I mentioned that is because you described it as outdated. Similar to a lot of cons associated with acrylic. Like yellowing. Highly outdated argument.

 

[jaws7777]

I saw a video of this guy whacking and acrylic tank with a hammer... and i mean whacking it. He couldnt get it crack.

Novus 2 works great for fine scratches (fingernail can’t grip). Novus 3 works for deeper scratches (fingernail slightly grips). There’s a few different recipes. White vinegar for all. You can create a coarser paste and use with a cloth/buffing pad or you can make a finer paste and use the spray bottle with micro fibre. Both work well. More vinegar cleans off stains, more baking soda gets rid of scratches.

Do you think 1 is ok for routine cleaning or overtime will create a haze ?

 

[Lepisosteus]

Acrylic can absorb small amounts of chemicals in the air, (molecules porous) glass does not. Say from paints/cleaners and the like, petroleum based products if your tank is in the basement and you do household projects. Fumes can be an issue.

As in these chemicals can harm the inhabitants? Or damage the acrylic? Harm the inhabitants would be a very heavy stretch, cause discolouration is still a stretch but plausible. The concentration required for absorption to cause discolouration from air based particulates would likely be worse for human inhalation then acrylic.

 

[Lepisosteus]

I saw a video of this guy whacking and acrylic tank with a hammer... and i mean whacking it. He couldnt get it crack.



Do you think 1 is ok for routine cleaning or overtime will create a haze ?

I would do regular cleaning with vinegar and water only. Once a month with Novus 1 to reduce the static surface and give it that new sheen. I can’t speak for long term use of 1. I only use it on tanks before they leave the shop or finishing a buffing job.

 

[Lepisosteus]

Pics of my tanks are in several threads but the easiest one would be the "new tank pics "thread. Has a deepwater jungle background in shades of green blue and turquoise. Its painted on and sealed with white plastic material. 3D printed quality. Company I ordered from has 50 backgrounds and you can custom order one or even put your picture on the back.

I’ll check it out

 

[Lepisosteus]

Yeah funny how the clean corners become so prominent after going with acrylic. The silicone on my glass tanks scream at me.

If the builder rounds the external corners with a router then polishes the end product its amazing. You ever see those infinity acrylic aquariums?

 

[Poseidon2.0]

I saw a video of this guy whacking and acrylic tank with a hammer... and i mean whacking it. He couldnt get it crack.

It’s hilarious what extremes people go to. There is a video of a guy dropping a ten or twenty pound weight from a few feet up and can’t get an acrylic panel to break. Only when he drops it from seven or so does it finally break. Glass broke from like six inches.

 

[FINWIN]

Why I mentioned that is because you described it as outdated. Similar to a lot of cons associated with acrylic. Like yellowing. Highly outdated argument.

The chemistry changes over time. There will be a visual difference in an older acrylic tank vs a brand new one. Particularly noticeable if the walls are thick. I've seen some nightmare tanks on craigslist. Every used acrylic tank I saw was yellowish even when they looked 'clear'. Sometimes when filled with water you couldn't see it. Water refraction changes perception a lot. This applies to glass tanks also.The funny thing is when you fill a starfire glass tank a lot of the extra clarity is negated by the blue light water holds. If you have blue deco and green plants its really hard to tell major difference by the eye test from green tint regular glass. So you have the physical optical effect vs your eye perception. But if you drain the tank its like "Wow, that's really clear!" You can see the tremendous difference again.

Just sayin'