Doug's 1600 Dream Marine Aquarium - Topic 3: Glass or Aquarium

[Blue Tang Clan]

I was happy with lifetime aquariums for a glass build. Mid range price and no b.s. The website lets you adjust thickness of glass, low iron versus standard, etc... and see exactly how that affects the build cost before you have to talk to the sales team. I played with it for weeks before actually calling them.

I went from acrylic to glass to make the scraping of coralline easier.

Same here - I went with Lifetime Aquariums On my 10’ tank and they actually know what they’re doing.

The default glass thickness might seem a little thin based on we overbuild everything, but they have the math to back it up - especially given that the standard tank has cross bracing. No bracing is a different story with different specs.

I had no issues with their recommendation of 5/8” thick glass all around on 29” of height. Had I gone 30” or taller, it would have made sense to do 3/4” glass. But... because this is what we do, I convinced myself that 3/4” was better. Boy was it heavier!

 

[kangadrew]

Look into fiberglass tanks as well. It's a fiberglass shell with holes cut out for however many viewing panels you want. Pretty lightweight and will allow you to comfortably go with glass, and even move it if you want to.

 

[DJKNOX]

I was happy with lifetime aquariums for a glass build. Mid range price and no b.s. The website lets you adjust thickness of glass, low iron versus standard, etc... and see exactly how that affects the build cost before you have to talk to the sales team. I played with it for weeks before actually calling them.

I went from acrylic to glass to make the scraping of coralline easier.

Thanks for that feedback. I know that site and the configuration is good except for monster aquariums deeper than 3ft, Pricing is reasonable too.

 

[ElussssvReefSD]

Yeah its a mixed bag. There are variables that will impact the quotation: thickness and quality of materials, amount of bracing deployed, material source, freight and general workmanship. And then there is the stand which also has a lot of variables. Then there is custom design vs standard design (noting real design manhours cost money) and whether the aquarium is being build in a sophisticated shop or not. And then there is scope - are you buying just the basic tank or are you buying all the accessories. I'm an engineer with a good understanding of the structural design principles - and I have developed my own spreadsheets that analysis stresses and deflections, so I could give you a guideline of what I think is an acceptable design from which you can benchmark bids against. In the end, I won't buy any aquarium without knowing the design and material details, just so I know I'm getting something safe and value-added. Unfortunately the average hobbyist doesn't have that luxury. But to defend the suppliers, it is not unreasonable that they try to protect intellectual property - ie their knowledge of a good design. So maybe the best approach is to specify minimum requirements and ask the supplier to confirm they meet and/or exceed those requirements...

I hope you don’t mind if I send you a DM to pick your engineer brain over a little bit to educate myself somewhat on the forces involved and get better idea of what those minimum requirements would be?

 

[DJKNOX]

yes please do - happy to help.

 

[ElussssvReefSD]

yes please do - happy to help.

Incoming, I appreciate it!

 

[DJKNOX]

Just a marker here that I posted a detailed explanation of glass vs acrylic from an engineering perspective on another thread... for those that are interested. Post #249:

At what point is acrylic 'better' than glass?

@DJKNOX, it may help to think of the worst case scenario with each option. With acrylic, you have the potential for a seam to fail IF you go with a shoddy manufacturer. Worst case, if you go a bit too thin, it bows. Acrylic will NOT shatter. With glass - in time, the silicone deteriorates and...

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