glass or plastic?

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rhinod56

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2006
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Illinois
Well since I agreed to the move with the wife, she's agreed to allow me to get another tank, and a larger one at that, after the move is completed. Thining at least 125, but proabbbly not more than 250, so I am really thinking about 180 or 225.
Next choice though is even more tough.
do I go glass or acrylic?
Glass is heavier, doesn't scratch as easily, but is more vulnerable to breaking (specially if/when I do decide to get a true full blown monster, or kids? lol)
Acrylic is more expensive, and lighter, but costs quite a bit more, and is very easy to scratch...
hmmmmmmm
thoughts? opinions?
 
taken from another thread...

Glass or Plastic Aquarium which is best?

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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.
 
why is acrylic more expensive? and also there are so many benefits there other than the scratching, why hasnt it made glass obselete?
 
davo said:
why is acrylic more expensive? and also there are so many benefits there other than the scratching, why hasnt it made glass obselete?
Click to expand...

because some *******s decided to stop exporting acrylic to us and thats why prices have gone up.

BUT

acrylic is not THAT expensive!!

there a link around here that sells acylic tanks hella cheap, theyre made by tenecor and if you buy a tank over $1500 SHIPPING IS FREE as long as your in the continental united states
 
I like my glass tank. I dont care how much it weighs, once its in place....its not going to move. You can use the difference in cost to get a bigger tank, sence you arent talking bigger than 250g. do some shopping, and I may be able to help you out if you cant find a good deal :thumbsup:
 
i would go for acrylic. but it all depends on what you really want and how long and how ofter are you going to move it. in quality and durability acrylic is the best but their are two distinctive drawback on them.. one is scratching (but you can buff them) and the $$$ you need to put out. investment on your aquatics should be done wisely. listen, read and decide. i honestly like glass and acrylic but i choose the more expensive one.:)
 
Only certain plecos will scratch your acrylic, and even then it shouldn't be too bad. What are you planning to house it this tank? Hopefully not the kids... I would probably go for the bigger tank, made out of glass.
 
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