At what point is acrylic 'better' than glass?

[daftwazzock]

I've noticed a strong preference for glass aquariums around here, and I totally get why. I'm thinkging about upgrading to a much larger setup (73 gal display is a little limiting, no tangs/etc) in a house I'm purchasing and am considering using acrylic for weight reasons. Are the benefits of using acrylic going to be noticeable at the typical size for home aquariums, even 'monster' 1000g systems?

 

[ScottR]

Acrylic weighs so much less than glass and is stronger. Imagine hitting glass with a hammer. Just one hit. The pressure would build and push all the water out. Acrylic can take much harder blows and withstand pressure from larger builds. This is why many aquariums opt for acrylic.

 

[Braves Fan]

I would never ,, ever ,, buy a acrylic tank ,,, other than the weight issue ,, there is no upside to buying one ,, I won't go into all the down side reasons ,, that we all know , not to buy one ,, I will just give one reason ,,

I have a friend that bought one ,, a 300 to 400 gallon acrylic tank ,, made by a top of the line tank maker ,, this was a really nice tank ,, he paid good money for it ,, he had a change in his job where he was going to have to move and sell the tank ,,

He pretty much couldn't give this tank away ,, the price was eventually marked down to less than 1/4 of what the tank cost new ,, and 3 years later ,, he still had the tank ,, and may still have it to this day ,,, I have never asked him ,,

 

[Slawman]

It scratches to easily otherwise all my tanks would be Acrylic. They just don't stand up in the long run no matter how much care you take.

 

[daftwazzock]

It scratches to easily otherwise all my tanks would be Acrylic. They just don't stand up in the long run no matter how much care you take.

How do public aquariums maintain the condition of their acrylic walls then?

 

[Slawman]

How do public aquariums maintain the condition of their acrylic walls then?

The aquariums I know that use acrylic have scratches however I would not be surprised if someone is better at not scratching it than I am. I tend to get lazy with my maintenance sometimes (over the years) and this is when I pick up a bit of sand or coralline in between the magnets accidentally and bingo...

 

[daftwazzock]

The aquariums I know that use acrylic have scratches however I would not be surprised if someone is better at not scratching it than I am. I tend to get lazy with my maintenance sometimes (over the years) and this is when I pick up a bit of sand or coralline in between the magnets accidentally and bingo...

Did a little googling and found a drone used to polish aquarium walls. But it looks a bit out of the price range for a reef tank, even a megatank.

Glass Window & Acrylic Panel Polishing Services | AQUALIFE

We provide acrylic panel polishing and glass panel polishing services for custom and public & commercial aquariums as well as infinity swimming pools.

aquariumrobots.com

 

[radsdad]

You need acrylic if you want a theme tank with a brightly lit logo inside and it has to look like a big gulp soda cup.

 

[Roachbeef19]

I recently purchased a 290 gal acrylic tank. I like that its stronger lighter and cheaper in price than glass. Just have to practice good maintenance on it and it will stay scratch free

 

[AlexG]

I prefer glass and when I eventually build more displays in the future I will stick with glass. While you can take scratches out of acrylic its a pain and removing coraline algae alone can scratch acrylic. While glass can be scratched the modern magnetic blade scrapers make that much more difficult in my experience since trapping sand between the blade and the glass is difficult. Also good blade maintenance will ensure that it does not have an edge that will scratch the glass. As for strength I think any aquarium that is engineered with the right thickness of glass or acrylic is plenty strong. That being said if I was going to have a tank taller than 48" then acrylic would be my choice of material to build with.

 

[WWIII]

When you have to carry it!

I always prefer glass, but man is it heavy. I have some tanks in my basement and anything over 40 gallons is acrylic simply because I have to carry them down there. Any monster tank (over a few hundred gallons) needs special considerations regardless of material. Those big tanks are heavy no matter what.

 

[ZoWhat]

Acrylic weighs so much less than glass and is stronger. Imagine hitting glass with a hammer. Just one hit. The pressure would build and push all the water out. Acrylic can take much harder blows and withstand pressure from larger builds. This is why many aquariums opt for acrylic.

But..... acrylic can scratch sooooo easily and after a few years the acrylic starts to stain/yellow. You have to break it down and have it rebuffed

Think.of plastic (acrylic)headlights on a car over 10yrs old and how they yellow

 

[Seanb1]

I had a acrylic tank once and knew how they ended up looking after a year or two but got it anyways.
No matter how careful you are they always get scratched up.
All it takes is 1 piece of sand and you have scratches.
And forget about getting coraline off the sides, you might as well be scraping concrete across it.
Worst idea in the world to make tanks out of it if you ask me.

 

[hllb]

I had acrylic for years and definitely prefer it. Scratches were never an issue if you take care of your stuff. Even with two toddlers, no issues. There were tiny scratches you could see when drained, but when full, you couldn't see them. I have a glass tank now, and it makes me very nervous for leaks. Really hope to get another acrylic next time. Credit cards work very well for scrapers on acrylic, but do require more elbow grease than using a blade on glass.

 

[mfinn]

At no point is acrylic better than glass for me.
I had a 125 acrylic once. Within 6 months I was looking to get rid of it.

 

[jlts21]

This is a debate that will never be solved. I personally will never go glass tank again. Acrylic is stronger and lighter. The arguments that people make stating why one is better than the other is the same type of argument, just different topic. Argument people make against acrylic is scratching. Acrylic scratching is not like it is made out to be. Do they scratch easier? Absolutely, but some people make it seem like rubbing your finger on it is going to scratch it. Similar argument is glass tanks blowing seams. Do glass tanks blow seams? Yes, does it happen all the time? No.

I personally feel the benefits to acrylic far out weigh the benefits to glass. What are the benefits to glass other than it doesn't scratch as easily anyway?

Best way to keep from scratching your acrylic from sand particles? Run bare bottom

 

[KrisReef]

Acrylic is better than glass at the moment you wake up and find a seam failure in the glass tank.

Scratches are the only other issue but at least the floor stays dry.

 

[Aardvark1134]

I have a 120 gallon acrylic tank that is 12 years old. I will never own glass again unless its a qt tank. It does not yellow and only has 1 noticeable scratch after 12 years. It looks brand new

 

[Jamesmost]

Acrylic holds temp better

 

[chiefifd]

I've had a 90 gallon acrylic tank for the last 6 years. I have one small scratch, I got that from using a Tunze Care Magnet. I thought it might work better for me in hard to reach areas, I was very cautious using it and I did make one scratch using it.
I'll continue to use cheap melamine foam to clean the acrylic. Just make sure they don't contain any additives.
Overall I'm very happy with my acrylic tank, very clear and no yellowing that I can detect.