Glass vs Acrylic vs Ultra clear glass aquarium

[DxMarinefish]

I have had an Acrylic tank (about 200gal) from 2007. It just leaked last month and I have spent the last few weeks fixing the leak and re-stocking. the right side bottom corner came apart, slowly thank goodness.
I have been informed that if it was glass it would have been a bigger disaster due to its inability to "flex" with the distorted pressure and the tank would have just snapped.

I would go for Acrylic again if my leak fix does not hold. Why?

Acrylic is clearer than Glass (IMO), it can scratch but the scratches can be removed (as above comments have stated).
Also for an unusual size/dimension Acrylic is the only viable, (Glass is a no-go option).

I would not get a bow front again (current one is) simply because i find it hard to take decent pictures from some angles. (but same for Glass as well).

IMPORTANT:
Just make sure the build uses industrial 2-part acrylic cement.
If you see any bubbles in the seems, don't take home because its trouble down the road.
Use as thick a sheet as possible. Mine is 25mm, good but hard to find a magnetic cleaner. I use th Flipper Max, but reinforced with 2 Maxpecpt Gyre 350 reinforced markets. It loses then "flip" function, but works better than any other magnetic cleaner i can afford).

Hope that helps.

 

[DxMarinefish]

Actually many of them do skip over 1 disadvantage of acrylic... acrylic plus large UV often means you need a chiller lol

does UV damage Acrylic? I am not saying that's what you meant, i just don't understand the comment.

Or does it make the tank hotter?

 

[Aardvark1134]

It will not damage high end acrylic tanks or fighter cockpits. It will damage the cheap stuff.

And I was talking about acrylic tanks need 50% less heat on average to stay warm and even less than that if they have full lids. If you add in a large uv 24/7 and your tank may get too hot for the fish unless you have a chiller

 

[Reeferfrank]

Hello all,

I wanted to gather some opinions regarding a tank I will, in the near future, being purchasing.

As the title states, what do people think about acrylic vs glass aquariums? It will be a larger sized reef tank (84 L x 30 W x 24 H, roughly 280 gallons).

If I go the glass route, should I go with 1/2 inch or 5/8th thick on the glass?

Is ultra clear glass worth paying for?

And is acrylic better? Worse? Or same but just different? Vs Glass.

Hopefully those are the right questions but please feel free to provide any input! I'm all ears.

You can’t get clearer than acrylic I have 2 one 75 gal and 1 150 gal the only negative is you have to careful cleaning it , it can scratch I use a Mr Clean sponge it works great

 

[tc760]

Its really a matter of opinions. A 280 gallon tank is pretty large for glass. I would lean toward acrylic for that reason. Glass will be ridiculously heavy. I just switch from acrylic to glass myself but I went from 100G to 180G so its still relatively small. I will give you my experience and thoughts. My biggest concern right now is I have two young boys. I could hit my acrylic tank with a bat and it would be fine. I cant say the same for glass.

I had my acrylic tank for nearly 6 years. On the acrylic tank the amount of little scratches that accumulated over the years was really an issue for me. Year one it was super clear but by the end you could really notice the buildup of algae in all the scratches. If you are ok with breaking down your tank to buff it out then you can have a awesome tank for many years. I feel like cleaning was more work than my glass tanks prior. My wife can attest to the amount of complaining I did over the years when trying to clean the panes. I never found a good magnet cleaner. Eventually I spent a lot on a Mighty Magnet cleaner which is ridiculously strong but just didn't cut it. I had to use a lot of manual labor in the end. When I drained the tank there was a major haze on the acrylic. It took me a good hour of sanding to clean it up to the point I could consider selling it. That being said I have buddies that swear by acrylic but they are about daily cleaning too.

I never owned a regular glass tank only low iron. The extra money wasn't that bad considering all the other costs with building a new tank. I find glass scrapers work well and dont scratch unless you are not careful. Sand is a problem no matter what you choose. It will always be a possible cause of scratches. Thats part of why I am going bare bottom this time. I think the look of glass is better personally. I have never had two tanks setup next to each other with different materials so I cant say for sure its a big difference or not. I think in the end if you have a big beautiful tank full of corals and fish you will love it. Its big so cleaning will always be a pain to a certain degree. My advice it make sure you have all the holes you could ever need for pumps and drains done. I have had my 180g tank for 2 months and I already wish I would have had additional holes drilled for wires and a drain.

 

[DJKNOX]

Hello all,

I wanted to gather some opinions regarding a tank I will, in the near future, being purchasing.

As the title states, what do people think about acrylic vs glass aquariums? It will be a larger sized reef tank (84 L x 30 W x 24 H, roughly 280 gallons).

If I go the glass route, should I go with 1/2 inch or 5/8th thick on the glass?

Is ultra clear glass worth paying for?

And is acrylic better? Worse? Or same but just different? Vs Glass.

Hopefully those are the right questions but please feel free to provide any input! I'm all ears.

thickness of glass very much depends on the type of bracing deployed. I could build your tank out of 1/2" provided I used double euro bracing. With reasonable bracing, 5/8" is certainly enough.

 

[MBinNY]

I just got done building out my 520 using acrylic. (Build thread on here) I’ll never have a glass aquarium again 5 people moved it into my basement family room. It took 6 to get the steel stand in. You can buff out scratches while the tank is full it just takes patience.

 

[Joeg]

I've had a variety of tanks over the years and can't say that I'd ever look to acrylic again. I was just not able to keep it scratch free but others can so maybe I'm just oafish . I've also had a couple low iron tanks and I can't say that I ever found that I appreciated the view more than a regular glass tank.

I'm in the club that just assumes a tank will eventually fail and for that reason I'm sticking to common sizes in regular glass (framed...ewwwwww) so I can hop in the car after making some calls and drive like a bat outta hell to have a replacement within a few hours. Maybe it's too limiting but it certainly saves money.

 

[SEGA]

I've never had an acrylic tank, but I have had many glass tanks. I'll say the the low iron glass in my Red Sea Reefer is absolutely amazing. 100% crystal clear from end to end.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I feel glass tanks have a slightly nicer look to them, I can't pinpoint exactly what it is but with the same light setup over my acrylic and glass frag side by side the glass just brings out the lighting even if it's not as clear...hard to describe.

That being said, all acrylic for me in the future. I have scratched low iron glass tanks so easily and they can't really be repaired. Acrylic is easy to sand (without taking water out via mighty magnet sanding kit) and will look great after a scratch is repaired. The biggest thing with acrylic is how hard it is to get coralline off if you let it build up. I feel the bond is just really strong on acrylic tanks even when I use a metal scraper for the tougher areas.

Mighty magnets with their mesh nets and sanding kits + acrylic are a match made in heaven.

 

[DJKNOX]

So with a low level of care, one can keep glass predominantly scratch free. But to keep acrylic scratch free is impossible and thus one must periodically repair. All other things being equal (which is arguable), it would seem that glass is much less maintenance than acrylic.

 

[ModernFrag]

I have 3 low iron glass tanks and I love them. I haven’t noticed any scratches and they have been running for 5+ years now.

The only issue I have noticed is that there are some areas in the glass where you can see imperfections which warp the glass.The warping is minor and I really only notice it when I’m trying to take photos with my macro lenses.

 

[DJKNOX]

yeah glass has a higher refractive index with water than acrylic, so photography is slightly impaired. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

The Pros for going with Acrylic.


Acrylic is half the weight of glass. Acrylic aquariums are easier to ship, move and set up than heavy glass tanks.


Acrylic distorts much less and is more clear than glass. In addition to having a slight green tint, (Low iron glass being the exception to the tint) glass has an index of refraction that is considerably different from water. Clear acrylic has almost the same refractive index as water so there is no bending of light as it passes through the acrylic into the aquarium.


Acrylic aquariums look better with brighter colors and sharper shapes. The huge viewing windows in large public aquariums and oceanariums can be more than 12 inches thick but because they are made of acrylic, they afford a very clear view of the water and ocean life they enclose. The same is true for smaller home aquariums. Acrylic also allows better penetration of your system lighting, which is especially important for reef systems.


Acrylic insulates better than glass. Acrylic controls water temperature fluctuations, one of the primary reasons for fish stress, disease and death. Glass conducts heat and cold causing more fluctuations.


Acrylic seams are stronger than glass. Acrylic seams are molecular bonds and actually stronger than the acrylic itself. Silicone seams used on glass aquariums can dry out and weaken over time.


Acrylic seams are visually superior to glass. Acrylic seams are polished and nearly invisible. Silicone seams are clearly visible and have been known to discolor when exposed to certain fish medications.


Acrylic is easily refinished. If glass scratches it cannot be repaired. Acrylic can be repaired with a variety of scratch removal kits. Even internal scratches can be repaired without removing the fish from water.


Custom formed designs are possible with acrylic. Acrylic can be formed to create interesting aquarium designs which you won’t find with glass aquariums.


Acrylic is the only option for large aquariums. Really big frameless glass aquariums don't exist.