To build a glass or acryllic aquarium?

[mobyreef]

My idea for a new Aquarium... I am moving to a new house and have an opportunity to build an aquarium. I can't give exact dimensions because we haven't even closed on the house yet. I want it built between two rooms (one is a living room and the other is a office/den). You will be able to view it from both sides/rooms. Right now there is a wall between the rooms with a window built into it. The tank may end up being 6 to 8 ft wide by 24" tall by 18" deep? If it is deeper I may have it protrude in to the living room side about 12". I will probably have cabinetry built on the office side flushed with the aquarium to hide equipment. And then I'll have a sump in the basement below the aquarium.The plumbing for the returns will be on the sides and/or from the bottom? I would like for it to have an overflows on each side.
So question one... Glass or acrylic? or, sorry if this is a stupid idea but could I have glass fronts with acrylic sides? I want to have both sides be the overflow and not have a overflow box taking up space in the aquarium.
Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

 

[Troylee]

Glass and acrylic mixture won't work... Glass with acrylic overflows inside the tank is fine thou.... Or all acrylic..

 

[redtop03]

look into plywood as an option too,you can use either glass or acrylic for the viewing panes and it'll save you a lot of money to build.......it's easy to DIY for the average person with minimal tools...basically,all you need is a table saw,a variable speed drill with a few bits and a countersink bit,and a caulking gun for the silicone and construction adhesive...if you don't have a table saw,you can use a circular saw with a guide to get good straight cuts too...

use a 3/4" or thicker good grade plywood,the more the plys,the stronger the plywood (I used 25/32" A/C grade floor underlayment plywood on mine) predrill all screw holes to keep from splitting the plywood and countersink all the screw heads,put the screws 2" apart,use a waterproof construction adhesive in all the seams...use a 2 part fiberglass epoxy on the inside of the wooden box for strength and waterproofing and you can paint it about any color you want with sweetwater epoxy paint

if you're interested in plywood here's a link to my build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/31440-redtop03s-360g-plywood-adventure.html

 

[REEFCRAFT]

With those dimensions, you might as well go with a standard 180g. 18" isn't deep enough and you'll wish you went deeper in the long run. A 24" deep tank won't poke out that much more on either side and you can build around it. You could also drill one end for your drain and return so that it's all hidden off to the side and not on either viewing pane. Try to get low iron glass for the front and back panels. Acrylic is a pita and I won't be using it again.

 

[mobyreef]

Thanks, Some great ideas here. I will keep you posted as things progress. What about Starfire glass for the front & rear? Where to get that and, would that work with the Plywood option. I've never heard of low iron glass. Can I get that from most any glass shop. What is the advantage (or disadvantages?) of it? I am obviously at the very beginning/planning & collecting ideas stage and I really appreciate the input. I am having the home inspection this friday so I plan on taking my ruler with me to get some actual measurements.

 

[redtop03]

Thanks, Some great ideas here. I will keep you posted as things progress. What about Starfire glass for the front & rear? Where to get that and, would that work with the Plywood option. I've never heard of low iron glass. Can I get that from most any glass shop. What is the advantage (or disadvantages?) of it? I am obviously at the very beginning/planning & collecting ideas stage and I really appreciate the input. I am having the home inspection this friday so I plan on taking my ruler with me to get some actual measurements.

Starphire is low iron glass,Starphire is a brand name,and yes it'll work beautifully with plywood...ordinary glass has somewhat of a greenish tent to it because of the higher amount of iron in it,the low iron glass is virtually invisible,your coral and fish will look much better....it's like going from an old tube style TV set to an HDTV...the view is so much better

 

[steamer51]

I prefer either 4 or 8 foot tanks due to 48" lighting being standard and cheaper at initial purchase and bulb replacement. I have a Glass Cages tank that is 8' X 18" X 25" tall. It will be a FOWLR but for coral I agree 24" would be better. Mine comes out to 180 gallons but I think a standard 240 long (96"X24"X25") would work well for you. I have seen in wall tanks that hang over a little that have trim around them like a picture frame around the tank and it looks good.

 

[DrTrey]

Glass = Class. Definitely go for the Starphire on the viewing panels

 

[NautilusQ]

I have an Acrylic (120g) and it is painful to clean it up. I went for vacation and next thing, it's full of algae all over. If it is glass, I could scrape it with less difficulty and intricacy. OK, I have cleaned it, but I accidentaly scratched it. Some small snail stuck into my magnetic cleaner and its hard shell vandalizes the acrylic. I have heard some sand may also cause this problem when cleaning. Next, bracing of my tank creates only like (2) 12 x 5 hole which impedes light penetration, large rock placement and probing of livestock/ corals when they fall of from rockwork. On my next build, I will just use it as a sump or FOWLR which needs less light/light intensity (less algae development), and will go go go for Glass

 

[redtop03]

the glass in my tank has some bad scratches also,as hard as I've tried to prevent 'em,they happen....I'll agree,glass is less likely to scratch than acrylic,but it will scratch.....if it were acrylic,I could buff the scratches out but with glass,it's a done deal....there's advantages and disadvantages to both

 

[Electrokate]

Glass gets my vote... with low iron on important viewing panels. Are you thinking of building this tank yourself? The title suggests that. I'd be interested in any links to sites on how to do that as I am building a frag tank soon. Cannot do acrylic again, so tired of the scratches... choice seems to be live with scratches or live with coraline.

I have also scratched glass but it's much easier to avoid.
Also have read that low iron glass is easier to scratch, is that true?