Glass / Acrylic aquarium walls

[Michaelgd]

Hi,

I am new to your group and have a couple of questions regarding glass and acrylic for aquarium walls.

I would like to know which is the best, glass or acrylic. I am planning a large aquarium with measurements of the following:
Length - 320 inches (26 ft 7 in)
Hight - 122 inches (9 ft 3 in)
Thickness - 11 inches.

Can anyone tell me which of the two products will have the longer lifespan and which one will be the best to use.

Regards,

Michael

 

[the big kahuna]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong or haven't had my coffee yet but I have to ask, are you sure of the dimensions?

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Well, I'll give you my take on it. For a tank that size, I think glass is going to be better. It will be much heavier, and the install will will be harder/more expensive, but you won't have to worry as much about it getting scratched up and needing to rebuff it.

However, if the tank will be somewhere where it will not see much traffic, then I would go with acrylic because it's much lighter and will make the install go much easier.

 

[Drstrangelove]

1) Lifespan. Depends on maintenance, conditions and how much protection it's given.
2) Best. Totally based on how a person weighs and chooses various parameters. Best is a subjective evaluation in this case.

Also, you might want to fix your numbers. 26 feet 7 inches is not 320 inches; 9 feet 3 inches is not 122 inches; and glass thickness is not 11 inches, nor would the tank likely be 11 inches wide.

 

[Fat Homer]

Are you thinking of making this a single viewing panel underground aqurium???

I.e viewing window in a sub-level room???

Eitherway, sounds like it will be an expensive project regardless if glass or acrylic... but it would seem most places that go with large view panes of that size choose acrylic (although that will also scratch a lot more easily)