Glass vs Acrylic

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Hey J jaws7777 did you ever decide on glass or acrylic?

I'm trying to decide on which one to keep (or both?)...

Bought used 110 sea clear acrylic w/stand and canopy (though canopy is short an inch at the back). It has black back and I painted the stand (not the canopy yet). It has sea clear t12 lights that I don't love.

And i was given a 110 glass tank w/stand and canopy and wave point t5 light. They used it for saltwater but I could convert to fw. The stand has water damage though. Structure is sound but just the side panels.

my plan was to set up the acrylic as a SA biotope. Only thing is I don't think I did the best job buffing the acrylic, so now I can't decide if I should move all to the glass setup with the imperfect stand and then sell it, or sell the glass setup and live with the not perfect acrylic....or keep both?? Haha

Any advice? :)

image.jpeg
 
Yeah i decided to go with acrylic but havent placed the order yet. Im not sure which way i would go. Never buffed a tank before. Are they both the same dimensions ?

choomanji choomanji
 
Yes they are. I was just cleaning the glass tank. There was a lot of salt and hard water build up. I'm thinking of setting it up inside to see how it looks. Maybe that'll help me decide. But the stand it pretty warped in some areas and the ocd part of me is bothered. Haha. Same ocd part that is bothered by the small hazy areas on the acrylic. :D
 
I have a 96x30x24tall glasscages and just received a midwest custom aquariums acrylic tank of the same dimensions. The acrylic looks so much nicer, was able to carry it inside with just 1 other person. Just a nice clean look.
 
I really think it depends on the application and situation as to which is better.

If you are looking to build yourself and want a larger tank that you will be able to move easily, then acrylic is probably better.

However, if you have plenty of money to spend, don't plan on moving and will not be rearranging the tank, then glass will probably be better.

Cost is always a factor and transportation/moving a glass tank is going to be much more expensive thank that for an acrylic tank.

Then, a glass tank will never need repolished while an acrylic one most likely will at some point.

I think these are all factors that could influence the decision between the two and I think that both glass and acrylic have their place, even with much larger tanks.
 
bacon said:
I have a 96x30x24tall glasscages and just received a midwest custom aquariums acrylic tank of the same dimensions. The acrylic looks so much nicer, was able to carry it inside with just 1 other person. Just a nice clean look.
Click to expand...

I have a new 5x2x2 glasscages tank. Two of us moved it, but it surely wasn't light. I don't even want to imagine how heavy yours is lol
 
Yes Acrylic is lighter then glass. But this is what most of us are not understanding. (The same thickness).If you build a tank the same thickness as glass the Acrylic will bow. A lot of manufactures build there tanks will undersize the thickness of the Acrylic. If you use the proper thickness of Acrylic , the tank will weight a ton. Looking through a Acrylic tank is a completely different experience then glass. I feel the glass tank manufactures are realizing this that why they are coming out with star fire glass ( glass with less iron ) The only down side in my book is that acrylic scratches easily. Even though it can be buffed out it is a process. Never use a magnet on Acrylic. Even if is says acrylic safe. Use a soft sponge or pad and say away from the sand. Yes it scratches that easily. This knowledge is from experience. I worked with acrylic before and had acrylic tanks in the past. It is a catch 22. Should I or shouldn't I. A Acrylic tank in ones home can be a real showpiece.
 
So I ended up selling the acrylic tank yesterday. Bitter sweet. But probably a good decision. I didn't want to spend anymore time money or energy to buff it. And wanting to put manzanita branches it would've been difficult with the smaller opening. What I didn't know about this Visio glass tank tho is that it has a much stronger green tint on it than my smaller glass tanks (which I actually don't even see a tint). I think if/when I get a much larger tank and/or have the budget to get a new one, I would try an acrylic again. Thanks for everyone's 2 cents! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: jaws7777
I have one of each and they both have their strong points. Acrylic scratches buff out easily with a power buffer. One of the main downsides is you shouldn't put plecos in acrylic tanks they will rasp it badly over time causing a hazy look. Some plecos are worse than others but probably all will eventually scratch it up. I have sand in the bottom of my acrylic tank and I'm going to switch the whole tank to a different setup soon because the sand really makes it hard to clean around the bottom. All and all I prefer the acrylic because it's so bright and clear. My 75 glass tank is a nice newer tank but definitely has a greenish hue to it. The nicer tanks with star fire glass are as much money as acrylic tanks and glass absolutely does scratch too, just not as easily.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jaws7777
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom