Glass vs Acrylic vs Ultra clear glass aquarium

SoCalReefer13

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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.
 

Cell

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I would never go a huge tank with soft glass. It's stressful enough cleaning small ones without scratching it up.
 
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SoCalReefer13

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@Cell By soft glass are you referring to the acrylic and to stay away from it due to the sheer size and time it'll take to properly clean it without scratching it all up?

If so, I am kind of leaning toward your way of thinking. I am really scared of having a bunch of scratches all over my tank. Tho, I have no kids at the house. Literally just me and my roommate, so there's no real hazard beyond what I would do to it myself.
 

Cell

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I was actually referring to starfire or low iron glass. Maybe calling it soft glass is inaccurate, I'm no expert, I assume it scratches easier because it's softer though. I've never owned an acrylic.
 

Lowell Lemon

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I love acrylic due to the clarity and impact resistance especially in large aquariums. It will scratch easier than glass but is so much stronger and relatively easy to polish out scratches. Glass is about 7 times less impact resistant and slight corner chips can lead to catastrophic failure as contents on the floor.

Each type has its advantages and disadvantages. Glass weighs much more than acrylic as well so moving is very difficult and you must avoid just bumping a corner or edge or you might chip or crack the tank. Both tanks do better on a stand that is flat and level and supports the whole bottom in the case of rimless tanks.
 

JoshH

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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?

At a minimum you're looking at 3/4" glass for a tank that size and realistically it will have to be Eurobraced as well.

Is ultra clear glass worth paying for?

For me it was but you should probably look around and see for yourself, it shouldnt be too hard to find examples of them near you.

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

Personally I think Starphire/optiwhite glass is similar in clarity to acrylic. However scratches a little less often.. Acrylic is much lighter and much more resistant to impact if you have little ones running around the house. Regular glass is more scratch resistant than Starphire but has a greenish tint. Between Acrylic and low iron glass I would say you are splitting hairs between the two.
 

Raege

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Here’s a good thread on low iron and example pic glass difference

6ACDBB12-0399-4212-91DE-7C85BA80A955.jpeg
 

Spieg

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I'm an acrylic hater. Really dislike the look of a fogged/scratched tank. After seeing what a sea urchin did to a friends acrylic tank, I'd never consider one for myself. If you really want a good idea of how things work out, got to a LFS that sells used tanks and compare their used acrylic tanks to the used glass tanks, it's a real eye opener.
 

ca1ore

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A quick search of R2R will reveal a sizable number of acrylic versus glass threads all, shockingly, running through the same pros and cons. As to regular float glass versus low iron, those are somewhat less common. Never seemed worth the extra cost to me.
 

vetteguy53081

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I used to fear acrylic and now own 2 acrylic tanks of the three I own. I feel the image in the tank and under lighting is somewhat magnified, brighter and not to mention the lightweight characteristics of the fused glass panels.
Not sure I can go back to glass after this experience
 

Jordan Prather

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I'm a huge fan of acrylic actually and if I ever order a larger tank it will absolutely be acrylic. I have a 220 regular glass reef my dad has a 120 starfire/low iron reef and we have a 180 gallon acrylic for fish only. The 180 is my favorite. The refraction difference between glass and acrylic is actually pretty substantial and colors seem better in acrylic. It's also lighter and for a tank over 100 gallons it's a huge difference it took 4 people to move my 220 and it was still a struggle the 180 was two of us with ease. We have had the 180 for a year and it looks like new using the flipper with the abs blade for acrylic and a magic eraser.
 

Jordan Prather

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Also dont have to worry about seems as much since they are "welded" instead of just some soft silicone that will deteriorate.
 

MichaelReefer

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I have an acrylic tank I bought used for my Planted freshwater, it works but it definitely sucks that it scratches so easy.

Love my red sea though. Crystal Clear.
 

Jordan Prather

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I have an acrylic tank I bought used for my Planted freshwater, it works but it definitely sucks that it scratches so easy.

Love my red sea though. Crystal Clear.
Use a magic eraser for the inside and if the outside is scratched get some novus.
 

Jordan Prather

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Yeah I've always used Magic Erasers. It just sucks if a grain of sand gets in there.
Yea sand does suck but it scratches glass to just not as easily. I use my flipper down closer to the sand and knock on wood no scratches yet.
 

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