Acrylic or glass?

[zheka757]

i got 400g acrilyc, weight debate is absolutly dumb in my opinion, who cares if its 300pounds more, in not like we have to move tanks around monthly or even yearly, youll need help moving them regardless...
personally, im very anoyed cleaning acrilyc tank free from coraline algae, very hard task, this alone i would consider buying glass tank over acrilyc.

 

[H@rry]

Glass tanks are only heavy one time.

 

[lagatbezan]

I have a 300g acrylic. Best investment I have made was to get a mighty magnet. Well worth the price.

 

[Joeype]

I have a 300g acrylic. Best investment I have made was to get a mighty magnet. Well worth the price.

That's a beautiful tank!!

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I don't have much to add to what everyone else said. I upgraded from a 180 gallon glass to a 300 gallon acrylic. Yea the acrylic scratches easier, but I honestly haven't found it to be a big deal and I think its kind of overblown. You can barely see them unless you are really close to the tank. I use a mag scraper made for acrylic, the biggest issue is making sure sand doesn't get into the scraper. An acrylic aquarium can always be sanded/buffed to look brand new. There are sanding kits where you can do this with water in the tank. My glass aquarium also scratched, except I couldn't buff those out.

The biggest factor for me is that when built properly, acrylic tanks are about as leak proof as it gets. My tank is located in a finished space on my first floor, directly above the finished basement. A blown panel with 300 gallons of water dumping everywhere would be very very bad...

 

[McPuff]

I have had both acrylic and glass and agree with a lot of the comments about both. You don't have to move the tank around much so weight shouldn't really be a deciding factor. My 300 was 540# empty but with 3 others we got it down the stairs using a complex choreographed dance... there was very little room but we got it down (of course, it'll never come back up in one piece!).

Acrylic scratches so easily... this is disheartening and it becomes more of a problem with coralline. Low iron glass will scratch and my current tank has a few. Bad thing is you can't fix those scratches. BUT it doesn't scratch as easily. I do prefer glass but if you can get a good deal on something nice then go for it. A 20 year old acrylic tank I would not buy, at least not for that much.

 

[Joeype]

I have had both acrylic and glass and agree with a lot of the comments about both. You don't have to move the tank around much so weight shouldn't really be a deciding factor. My 300 was 540# empty but with 3 others we got it down the stairs using a complex choreographed dance... there was very little room but we got it down (of course, it'll never come back up in one piece!).

Acrylic scratches so easily... this is disheartening and it becomes more of a problem with coralline. Low iron glass will scratch and my current tank has a few. Bad thing is you can't fix those scratches. BUT it doesn't scratch as easily. I do prefer glass but if you can get a good deal on something nice then go for it. A 20 year old acrylic tank I would not buy, at least not for that much.

I absolutely agree, I don't mind spending the money. I just want to be fair. Its too much for a 20 year old tank. So, whether an acrylic or glass 300 comes up I will consider either based on the feedback from everyone.

 

[Roatan Reef]

I have 125 Acrylic Bowfront Tank for my Freshwater Tank, and love it. It was formerly a Saltwater Tank that I converted about 5 years ago, before I ever had a Saltwater Tank.

Super light, when setting up or moving.

Seams Busting/ Leaking ?? What Seams??

Scratches easy? Yes...but why are you scratching your tank? They make Acrylic magnet cleaners, brushes etc...so no problems.

We bought it used, previous owner buffed it out, was a tad bit cloudy, but once filled with water, it was crystal clear.

There is something to be said about the light that filters into an acrylic vs. Glass tanks, they seem much clearer, even if you have small scratches.

 

[Peair]

Good evening,

I'm looking to upgrade from a 180g to a 300g. My 180 is a glass bow front which I'm very happy with. I want to upgrade to a 300g and the one I have my eye on is acrylic. I have never owned an acrylic tank. As with any set up there's pro and cons. Can anyone share their experiences with an acrylic tank such as cleaning/scratching glass..ect ect. Thank you!!

I own a 55 gal Pro Clear circular acrylic tank with sump for about 10 years up and running, I have it in storage now, and I was very happy with it, for it is a lot lighter than glass, which I was glad because I set it up myself, and it was a lot clearer than glass which I really liked, I did not have scratches mainly because I took good care of the acrylic, on the outside I used Fritz Acrylic cleaner and protector, and I think it is still around today, and on the inside I used white non scratch pads, for it was a very beautiful tank, and I offen am thinking about setting it up again.

 

[sfin52]

If you are set on keeping urchins they can ruin acrylic just something to thank about.

 

[Peair]

Glass tanks are only heavy one time.

Till you have to empty it and clean it up and set it up again, I am going through that problem right now, I moved, and I have heavy large glass tanks that there is no way I am going to lift those tanks and stands now, and they do need a lot of cleaning outside.

 

[FilthyFifty]

I have had both acrylic and glass tanks. I would say go with glass…less scratches. Nothing is a bigger eye sorer than having a scratch in the middle or a spot you tend to look at often.

 

[Doc Lemonjello]

Those that have had acrylic tanks, have you experienced any yellowing or discoloration?

 

[nuxx]

Glass tanks are only heavy one time.

Actually twice

I loved my big acrylic tank, then thought the 150 glass we had built swayed me in that direction, but honestly I think I'd still go acrylic again, esp. if over 300+ gallons.

 

[Peair]

I think I am going to get an acrylic tank for my nest tank, I had about 15 years ago a Pro Clear 55 gallon cylinder tank, and I was so impressed how clear that tank was, I had it running over 10 years, never had any yellowing, for I never had a glass tank that clear, and I had many glass tanks.

 

[wrgoff]

Good evening,

I'm looking to upgrade from a 180g to a 300g. My 180 is a glass bow front which I'm very happy with. I want to upgrade to a 300g and the one I have my eye on is acrylic. I have never owned an acrylic tank. As with any set up there's pro and cons. Can anyone share their experiences with an acrylic tank such as cleaning/scratching glass..ect ect. Thank you!!

I have a 240 gallon Tsunami acrylic tank. It is 8 feet long X 2 feet X 2 feet. I couldn't even fathom trying to move a tank that size if it was made of glass.