Do I go glass or acrylic?

[cediss]

I need your help. I've had many tanks over the years. All were glass, but none larger than a 125 gallon. Had a couple leak, but these were very old, built back in early seventies, and had a lot of abuse.
I'm going to be upgrading my 125 glass to a new 180-220 gallon tank in next month or two. I am looking into a Visio glass RR tank (made by Advanced Aqua Tanks). I know the general advantages and disadvantages to glass vs. acrylic, but the questions I have are as follows:

Anyone familiar with Visio glass tanks (Quality, etc)?
Anyone recommend a better brand tank?
Anyone have a large glass tank break or leak without outright hitting it with heavy object or filling it on uneven surface?

Please advise based upon these issues. I'm not yet firmly committed to glass but would like to have experts weigh in!
Thanks, Chris

[theduckster]

go acrylic www.envisionacrylics.com does top notch work i have seen many of them doesn't get any better

if you go glass www.Glasscages.com has good prices and good tanks

i am not familiar with Visio glass tanks

good luck
whatever you do

[cediss]

Thanks duckster! I'll check out those sites.

[cediss]

Anyone else with advice please!

[crescent1]

never heard of them. since you are only thinking about a 180 or 220 gallon size, go with glass.

[cediss]

Thanks crescent 1!

[beerguy]

I got my 180 from envision acrylics and love it.

Acrylic does scratch, but it's visually clearer and considerably lighter than glass. Scratches in acrylic buff out, scratches in glass are there forever. It boils down to preference; there isn't a right or wrong answer. Spend some time looking at other people's tanks, make up your own mind and buy what you like best.

Cheers

[cediss]

Thanks beerguy! I was wondering what others felt about structural safety? Any comments on that perspective!

[David M]

Personally I favor glass, but I'll stay away from that debate. I have been using VISIO tanks for 4 years now, I have set up at least 20 of them in various sizes and never had a problem. The largest were 110 tall and 125, but I know they make a 240 and I would not hesitate to buy it.

[lakersfan0014]

Originally posted by beerguy


Acrylic does scratch, but it's visually clearer and considerably lighter than glass. Scratches in acrylic buff out, scratches in glass are there forever. It boils down to preference; there isn't a right or wrong answer. Spend some time looking at other people's tanks, make up your own mind and buy what you like best.

Cheers

I think this is the bottom line, it comes to personal preference. I personally love the clean look of acrylic (no siliconed joints), as well as the clarity. Yes it does scratch, but if your very careful it shouldn't be to much of an issue. HTH

[cediss]

Thanks David for the feedback on Visio's and your opinion! Thanks for you opinion Rany!

[viggen]

I also prefer acrylic...if cared for properly it doesn't scratch

personally the only glass tanks I would buy would be 150g or smaller.

[bergzy]

hey cediss,

you're just down the street from me!!!

if you want to throw money into the wind...get a lee mar glass 180g. ask tom if they are making tanks with starphire now.

i got mine used from a fellow reefer but it was resealed and basically brand new when i got it.

another option is mitch from IA (in canada). be prepared for long (and i mean long) possible delays with promised delivery date. the up side is that he is reasonable in price and workmanship is so-so.

lee mar workmanship is awesome. the edges are clean and square. i have seen a couple of IA tanks and while they are nice...i have seen some edges that werent glued square and for some reason...his overflow boxes were made with clear glass. dont know the reason behind that.

lee mar's no: 800-372-4400

don't have mitch's handy. i am sure someone here can provide that...

[cediss]

Thanks viggen.
Bergzy, very helpful. I was wondering how to get in contact with Lee Mar. Have heard of their quality. I'll check out there prices. Thanks a lot!

[p0tpie]

hey i live in yorba linda too lol

[jimmy n]

I went with acryllic due to the weight issue (my wife and I could lift the 240 onto the stand) and I do like the clean edges and clarity. Another excellent option in acryllic tanks is Midwest custom aquarium. Very good price, product and service. You can find him through ebay and get his phone number. Tank was ready fast.

Glass is popular for good reason, but weigh the pros and cons yourself and choose what is best for you.


Jim

[cediss]

p0tpie - Living in "The Land of Gracious Living!"

Jimmy N- Thanks for the advice!

Gotta love medicine!

[bogg]

I like my 125 g acrylic tank from sea clear the clarity is unsurpassable by glass. I have heard that the light actually bounces off the glass 5 times more than acrylic. Thus making it harder to see through than acrylic. I like the round corners on my tank also. You have to be carefull not to scratch yes but I scrape coralline algae off my tank with a plastic razorblade and have not had any scratches. Its pretty tough stuff. The tank was really lite also. I had a 60g glass that seemed heavier than my 125 acrylic, comes handy when moving. I have heard acrylic is unbreakable and also will never leak.

[cediss]

Thanks for feedback bogg

[David M]

Aw heck, you guys are dragging' me into this kicking and screaming... There are a lot of pro's to acrylic but I still prefer glass, it's just so much cleaner looking. I have about 20 tanks of my own and service several more. Most are glass but 4-5 of them are plastic. When you clean 30 tanks a week you really come to appreciate how much easier glass is to maintain. Acrylic WILL get scratched, don't kid yourself. Even tiny hairline scratches that you don't even notice become traps for dirt and algae requiring more work on your part. Also most acrylic tanks bow, I just hate that. It's just a personal thing but I like the straight lines of a glass tank. As for clarity, yes acrylic has better optical qualities unless you pay for sratfire glass, but that is actually a negative for me. I like the heavy lighting of a reef tank to stay INSIDE my tank, I really dont want 1000 watts of MH and VHO all over my living room. To me a plastic tank with heavy lighting looks a lot like one of those Chineese paper lanterns, they glow. And the rounded corners of some acrylic tanks bug me too, just when you are finally getting a good close-up view of a small problem with your fish, he moves into the corner and whammo- instant fun house mirror, totally distorted. Finally is longevity, ever see a ten year old acrylic tank? It ends up being used as a sump. A friend of mine has my original glass 55 I bought in 1976, it looks great. So it's really a question of asthetics for me, glass just looks better to my eye. If you plan to move a lot or have kids that play baseball in the house, then I'd definately consider plastic.

[cediss]

David M- I'm really glad to hear fron you. I knew there was more to my resistance to acrylic but I just couldn't get past the majority preferences. But you hit it right on. I worked in a LFS for 12 years and cleaned many tanks in the store and in private homes and offices. When you see that many tanks and see them age, glass does indeed come out a "clearer" winner. There are still many advantages to acrylic, but it is the points that you made that will likely in the end sway me to go glass.
I don't have kids yet, but even visiting nieces, family children, and neighbors kids that come buy love to put their hands and whatever other objects that happen to be in their hands all over the tank. Even if they are closely supervised, it makes me cringe. Especially if the tank is acrylic. If the tank is glass you just have to make sure its not something heavy like a brick (haha).
The only other reservations I have about glass is the risk of leaks which from what I have found so far is rare and having to plan ahead with modifications. Once you get it home, drilling holes to add plumbing is all but impossible!
Thanks again David for that insight! Chris

[David M]

Once you get it home, drilling holes to add plumbing is all but impossible!

A common misconception, glass is very easy to drill. I'll bet I've drilled 100 tanks in the past few years. Just remember that you CAN NOT drill tempered glass, I usually go out the back if it's unknown, normally only the bottom is tempered. Yes the bits are expensive so unless you plan to drill a lot of holes it may not seem worth it, but you can probably find someone in your area who drill tanks for around $15-$20 per hole. Wanna drive to San Diego?

[theduckster]

sounds like you already had your mind made up you where just looking for someone to give you the answer you wanted to here

anyway glass tanks are fine i have 2 glass and 2 acrylic i like them all just fine

its pretty rare for a well made glass tank to leak so if that's all that concern you then glass should be fine choice for you

i don't worry about my acrylic tanks scratching to much my wife has a daycare
so they get plenty of abuse from the kids just make sure they don't have any knifes or forks carving in them

if they do get a scratch it takes about 10 minutes to get them out to perfection with Micro-mesh and Novus

i no you only have to move them once but large glass tank get pretty heavy i can move my 135 gallon acrylic by myself empty of coarse

acrylic must not be to bad being that 99%+ of zoos and public aquariums use acrylic they get fingered allday everyday and still seem to look all right

the newer acrylic cant even be compared to older acrylic
newer doesn't discolor like the older stuff
the newer acrylic is just all together better than the stuff from 10+ years

good luck with your new tank
the only way you could go wrong is to not get any tank at all
more tanks the merrier is what i always say

[cediss]

Thanks Dave- I know drilling glass can be done, but may be difficuly and risky as you pointed out. Thanks for the feedback.

Duckster- I have not completely made up my mind, but I am leaning toward glass. Among many reasons is the cost difference. Your reply was very helpful. My main fear with glass is having leaks. I don't plan to move it once it is set up, but realistically and historically I can't count on that, especially in SoCal real estate. I'll be making a decision very soon. Glass is winning at this point!

[edgerat]

there have been a few occurrances of big glass tanks splitting at the seams and draining the tanks and thus killing 10s of thousands of dollars in livestock. Oceanic who is generally considered to be the cadillac of glass tanks just so happened to be the culprit. They covered replacement of the tank but didnt cover the 15k the fella lost in coral.....

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=418103