Bar reef ideas

MDreefer301 · Feb 2, 2015

Hey whats everyones thoughts on a large all glass or acrylic bar? Planning on getting one in the future. Who builds custom aquariums? How much can I expect to pay for somthing like this?

tyler1503 · Feb 2, 2015

By bar, I assume you mean a bar at home (with alcohol an what not) with a tank built into it as oposed to a tube shape aquarium?
The lfs I worked for had a huge tank built into the sales counter which is essentially the same thing. It was a pain to clean, but it looked incredible. If you go that route, I would suggest a fowlr as opposed to a full reef, unless you can find a way to get in and clean it properly like you would with a regular tank. Lifting off the counter top (which was HEAVY!!), moving the computer, moving the till etc was the worst job. I assume a bar would have similar issues too with the counter top etc.
If your up to the challenge it would be awesome!!

Humblefish · Feb 2, 2015

Just so I'm understanding correctly; you're wanting to put an aquarium in a bar? I would say acrylic over glass for that. Back when I used to do maintenance, we had an instance where a customer threw a beer bottle thru the front panel of the aquarium. 250 gallons of water, rock, fish went everywhere. I'm pretty certain an acrylic aquarium would have been able to withstand it, with just some scratches that could have been buffed out.