Show me your acrylic tanks

[Breakthecycle2]

I would love to see pictures of your acrylic tank, the bigger the better, but really doesn't matter. I'm curious on how well they hold up and scratches you might have.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

No one? Seriously?

 

[kireek]

I will try to get the ball rolling for you.I have owned this 20 gallon TRUVIEW for over four years.It came with a few minor scratches which are more noticeable when the front needs algae scraped.I have not noticed any other new blemishes.

 

[stylaster]

Here is my 312 gallon tank, one minor scratch so far caused by a asterina starfish getting stuck in magnet scrapper. Its been up 1.75 years. I went without sand to help minimize scratches on it

 

[J Rog]

Here is my 312 gallon tank, one minor scratch so far caused by a asterina starfish getting stuck in magnet scrapper. Its been up 1.75 years. I went without sand to help minimize scratches on it

Beautiful tank!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Awesome! Bump for more pics!

 

[matt_97055]

Here is my 100 gal 48 24"x8
It's been up for 4 months

 

[GHill762]

so are you guys happy you went acrylic? or do you wish you'd stuck with glass? just curious..

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Yeah, whats the consensus on those of you with the acrylic?

 

[SPotter]

I've now had both a large glass and large acrylic tank....Acrylic being my current tank. The glass tank was low iron and I will say that the acrylic is so much clearer! We needed 8 guys to move my glass tank and it took only two guys with moving straps to move my 8x3x2 acrylic tank. They both scratch....my glass tank scratched 15 mins after getting on the stand. Something I didn't know about acrylic is it will conform to minor imperfections in the stand. When we placed the tank on the stand I built there was about a 1/8" gap on the front left corner. I got in touch with the builder he said not to worry about it....the gap will close as I fill the tank. Sure enough it started to close before I even filled it. I filled it half way and let it sit for a few days. After 3 days the gap was gone and I continued to fill. Here it's....only been running for 3 weeks.

 

[GHill762]

^AWESOME dimensions!!

do you mind sharing who built it?

 

[SPotter]

It was built by James Steele at Envision Acylics. Tank is 3/4" all around with solid black back and bottom. He is truly a tank building artist!

 

[stylaster]

James makes some awesome acrylic tanks, hes local to me so nice to see his stuff in person. Also i use 1/2" foam board under my tank to cushion it and to make up for any potential gaps

 

[SPotter]

James makes some awesome acrylic tanks, hes local to me so nice to see his stuff in person. Also i use 1/2" foam board under my tank to cushion it and to make up for any potential gaps

If I ever find my way out there I want to see his shop!

 

[kireek]

so are you guys happy you went acrylic? or do you wish you'd stuck with glass? just curious..

If I could only have one type I would go with glass because algae scraping is so much easier.The clarity of acrylic is so nice especially when paired with LED's.I can really appreciate the effort that goes into a sparkling acrylic setup.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

SO is the consensus in this thread acrylic??

 

[Breakthecycle2]

I've now had both a large glass and large acrylic tank....Acrylic being my current tank. The glass tank was low iron and I will say that the acrylic is so much clearer! We needed 8 guys to move my glass tank and it took only two guys with moving straps to move my 8x3x2 acrylic tank. They both scratch....my glass tank scratched 15 mins after getting on the stand. Something I didn't know about acrylic is it will conform to minor imperfections in the stand. When we placed the tank on the stand I built there was about a 1/8" gap on the front left corner. I got in touch with the builder he said not to worry about it....the gap will close as I fill the tank. Sure enough it started to close before I even filled it. I filled it half way and let it sit for a few days. After 3 days the gap was gone and I continued to fill. Here it's....only been running for 3 weeks.

Anyone have James' email address? I went to his website, but the contact us form is not working.

 

[SPotter]

[email protected]

He might be a little slow to respond since he recently injured his back and is just getting back into the swing of things.

 

[Newmariner]

My tank and Spotter's tank are build mates. James was building them at the same time. Spotter got his up and running sooner than me. Though Im working on getting mine up by Christmas. Ive had a 180g Oceanic tank before and was my largest glass tank. It was heavy for the size. My new tank is 478 gallons. It was lighter, just a bit bulkier due to the size. I feel more comfortable with the acrylic tank though. The seams are chemically bonded together. There are no gaps, no "air bubbles" to have to worry about. At the end of the day, my system will total about 1400 gallons. I don't want 1400 gallons worth of water on the floor because a seem failed. As much as I think Oceanic was a great tank builder(They made their tanks like tanks), I have had one fail. It was a 46 gallon bow front. I don't have that fear because in the 15 years or so Ive been in and out of the hobby, Ive heard of one Envision tank fail. It wasn't due to the manufacturer, it was due to the guy having his metal halides to close to the top brace and it cracked the top brace. The tank itself still held, and James I believe was able to assist him in getting a repair to hold the tank together. Thats the only one I have heard or read about regarding an Envision tank. And that was probably 10 years ago....

Ask me how I like my new acrylic tank after I get it setup with water in it, and start fighting the algae though However, at least I will be able to buff out the scratches...

 

[Breakthecycle2]

The only thing holding me back from acrylic is the scratching.