Glass vs. Acrylic ... Opinions wanted

[dbrock12]

I am going to be purchasing a new 180 gallon aquarium and I need opinions of whether to go with glass or acrylic. I have owned numerous glass aquariums over the years, but never an acrylic one. I have allways heard that acrylic tanks scratch easily, so that is one concern of mine. Anyway, I would like to hear your opinions and experiences.

Don

[socalreefer73]

A good buddy of mine is going glass after acrylic for a very long time.. says he'll never go back to acrylic... I'm trying acrylic for the first time... I'm frightened that I'm going to scratch it once I get sand in there..... Nothing like a nice gouge in the acrylic to breed algae... which from the scratches on the bare bottom of my tank appear to do... Also, coralline loves plastic... : P

[PRESTO2345]

Glass all the way!!!!

[Nano_reeflover]

I HATE acrylic. Touch it, it gouges. Look at it, it scratches. Think about it, it scrapes.

[john37]

if you get starphire glass it's very very clear and doesnt scratch as easily as acrylic. but then you'll be paying a lot more.

either way, i feel glass is the way to go, especially if you're going to have a sand bed.

[sirbooks]

I prefer glass. Like everybody has said so far, acrylic scratches easily. Algae is able to get into the scratches, which means that you have to scrub extra hard to remove it, and in the process the tank gets more marks on it. A real pain.

Acrylic does have its advantages (supposedly nicer viewing panels than glass, wider range of shapes, and I've heard more solid construction) but I feel that glass is still better.

[sjm817]

Glass. Acrylic scratches too easily and Coraline algae loves to grow on plastic, which makes it even worse.

[SDguy]

Glass. I hate scratches!!!

[geckofrog]

Glass Tank.
Acrylic Sump.

[Criminal#58369]

I like glass better, but it is heavy, acrilic is much lighter, but i still like glass :D

[xtrstangx]

Glass.

[Biggie]

Starfire glass or Low Iron glass here.

[Kellie in CA]

I am going to have to vote for glass too. My last tank was acrylic and it was a major PITA. Not only did every little thing scratch the inside, but I had it in my living room and if anyone brushed past it with a button or zipper on their clothes it would leave an ugly mark. When I bought it I thought people were exaggerating about how easy it was to scratch, but even the scrubbers made for acrylic tanks would scratch it, and if you got a little grain of sand stuck in the scrubber.....forget it, by the time you notice it's too late!

I live in CA so I probably should have an acrylic tank for earthquake safety purposes, but I will take my chances!

[LBCBJ]

Scratches, Scratches, Scratches :fun5:

I think most of the people who say that have never had one, they're just parroting someone else. I prefer acrylic over glass, and I've had both. Unless you're just plain careless, it's hard to scratch acrylic. I've never scratched mine. The clarity is much better than glass, which is why I like it. It's also lighter and is much less prone to CRACK than glass.

If you get glass, get starphire

[Gerad]

i have an acrylic 55 gal cub now and i hate the thing. go with glass. yes you can buff out the scratches and so on. but the D@MN corlaine alge drives me nuts. get glass

[coralnut99]

I sold my first 2 reef tanks that were both acrylic 75's. I bought them used real cheap and spent a ton of time and elbow grease getting them to barely acceptable. After a few years and much coralline scraping, it just became a real pain to keep up with. There are definite advantages in terms of weight and ease of drilling, but in the very long term, glass has been a much better choice for me.

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7728193#post7728193 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LBCBJ
Scratches, Scratches, Scratches :fun5:

Unless you're just plain careless, it's hard to scratch acrylic.

:rolleye1: :rolleye1: :rolleye1: :rolleye1:

I think a poll may disagree ;)

PS - I have had both. More than one of each over the years.

[servicky]

ummm Dont forget acrylice and snails dont mix because as soon as the snail picks up one piece of sand he runs across the whole acrylic tank and now you have your very own custom scratch painted by your favorite snail..... :)

STARPHIRE From PPG all the way.............

[dbrock12]

Thanks for all of the opinions. After carefull consideration, I decided to go with a glass tank. I am currently having it built. It will be a 180 with Euro bracing and Starphire glass on the front. Should be ready this week.

[Clouded]

I worry about glass splitting and cracking...I do not know if I would do glass, I agree that acrylic scratches, but I think has a better peice of mind.

[theatrus]

What if your acrylic crazes? ;)

Low iron glass is really nice.

[xtm]

Having used a glass tank for the last 3 years, I managed to try acrylic... the only thing that ****ed me off was Why didn't I do this earlier???

I've been a HUGE fan of acrylic since then. The numerous advantages of acrylic are just amazing:

- Acrylic is flexible (meaning the tendency of cracking is less)
- Acrylic is more tolerant to uneven surfaces/stands
- The acrylic cement bonds the sheets on a molecular level - I've used Weld-On 16 and it literally "melts" the edges of both sheets to form a single piece. Glass tanks, on the other hand, use silicone (seams are still there)
- Acrylic is easier to drill.
- Acrylic is more smash-resistant than glass.
- Acrylic is STRONGER than glass
- Acrylic is LIGHTER than glass
- Acrylic is CLEARER than glass
- Acrylic is a BETTER INSULATOR than glass, which means less temp fluctuations
- Acrylic scratches can be buffed out easily with Novus 3, then Novus 2 to remove swirlmarks. Heck you can buff it underwater - without removing the fish and disturbing your aquascape. With glass, once you scratch it, it's extremely DIFFICULT to buff. (have you tried buffing glass?)

I've had my 75g Acrylic for YEARS and not one deep scratch. I use a mag-float with a cotton piece on the outside and a sock on the inside. CLEANS it inside and out without scratches!

Also, if you spend a LOT of time looking at your tank everyday, aren't you getting annoyed by the greenish tint of glass? With acrylic, it's super crystal clear - like you're diving inside your tank!

Perhaps THE MOST important thing about acrylic (in my opinion) is its ability to be fixed, modified, and drilled. When you crack a glass tank, that means you're screwed. IF You ever crack an acrylic tank, you can simply brace it with an acrylic sheet using Weld-On and you're up and running again in minutes! You can beef up the bracing, add overflows, drill returns, etc.

Acrylic has many many benefits over glass tank. I will never use a glass tank EVER again.