Larger mixed reef tank... 72" x 24" x 24" or so. Acrylic or Glass?

[Ignitros]

Hey Everyone! I am starting to get together a list of equipment for a new build I'm going to take on. I am building a through wall display tank. It will be 72" to 84" wide, 24" to 30" deep and tall.

I've had both acrylic and glass tanks in the past but never done anything larger than a 90 gallon so I want advice on which way to go. It's going to be middle of the road as far as quality. I'd love a Reef Saavy tank but $4000 for the tank alone is just too much. I am also not sold on the Aqueon and Marineland tanks. We will be using a Synergy Reef 16" Shadow overflow so the tank will be drilled for that and dual Vivid Creative Aquatics Random Flow Generator return nozzles. We are going to build a custom steel or aluminum stand for the tank since it will have it's own room to house the equipment it just needs to be open and sturdy.

Which material would be better in your opinion... Arcylic or Glass.
What manufacturer should we take a look at to get something reasonably priced but still not apt to fail anytime soon?

 

[Dsnakes]

I’ve not had an acrylic tank before due to kids and fear of scratching. Though I have scratched all of my glass tanks with rocks at some point ;Facepalm

For glass, I would check out SCA and glass cages for something made with low iron/star fire glass. My quote for 72x18x25 was a bit under 2k from SCA.

 

[Ignitros]

I’ve not had an acrylic tank before due to kids and fear of scratching. Though I have scratched all of my glass tanks with rocks at some point ;Facepalm

For glass, I would check out SCA and glass cages for something made with low iron/star fire glass. My quote for 72x18x25 was a bit under 2k from SCA.

What's the build quality for Glass cages? Better or same as Aqueon?

 

[Dsnakes]

What's the build quality for Glass cages? Better or same as Aqueon?

I don’t have personal experience with them. Only what I have read from reviews. You’ll find a lot of good reviews and a few bad ones (probably the same for any consumer product ;Hilarious). Just keep in mind that most often a person will always post a negative review if they are upset, while a happy customer doesn’t always post a positive review.

Search them on here and you’ll find some good reading

 

[scriptmonkey]

Have a look at Crystal Dynamics Aquariums. Very friendly and very responsive.

https://cdaquarium.com/collections/...ts/180-gallon-reef-aquarium-with-modern-stand

 

[Mark]

I had a 72x27x27 tank from Deep Sea Aquatics, and the build quality was awesome for a great price. They are no longer in business, but a lot of the builders are now at Planet Aquariums. They have a great reputation, and the tanks look great in person. Both companies have that old Oceanic tank feel. I would not go acrylic ever. Glass sucks when getting it delivered due to weight. But is much easier to keep clean once installed. It's worth the hassle of the weight.

https://www.planetaquariums.com/custom

Have you also considered a Red Sea Reefer 750? It's close to the same dimmensions. I "downsized" from the 72x27x27 tank to a Reefer 650, since I had to move the reef to a place in my house where I only had 60" of wall space. I'm really happy with the red sea tank.

 

[Gourami Swami]

I always go acrylic for big tanks, for ease of moving it if you ever need to. Two strong guys can move a 200g acrylic tank, would take a whole team of dudes to carefully move a glass tank same size. Though, I must admit my large tanks have been freshwater, not sure how easy it would be to keep algae off an acrylic tank. But lots of people do seem to have reefs in acrylic tanks, so must be do-able

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I am in the same boat, I swore off Acrylic 10 years ago, but after watching and seeing my friend move a 72 x 30 tank and large number of people to move that and also move a existing tank it made me pause. If there is a grade change, stairs lots of stairs and turns I would think very hard about getting not getting a glass tank.

PS I second Crystal Dynamic like I said I am thinking the same thing.

 

[garbled]

My big tank is acrylic. 7/8" thick face, 1 1/8" sides. Had it for 10 years..

I have not scratched it, other than a tiny little scratch on the inside near the bottom. I've made similar scratches on my glass tanks though..

Cons:
You cannot keep urchins.
You cannot keep puffers
If the thickness is too high, it becomes difficult to source powerheads with magnets that will work.
You can't use a razorblade to take down algae from the front pane.
You have to be careful of various chemicals that might craze the pane.

Pros:
Easy to drill.
Super-unlikely to ever explode or crack.
Cheaper.
Lighter.
More forgiving of minor stand imperfections.

I would say if you go acrylic on a big tank, figure out how you are mounting powerheads early. It's not trivial to find ones with magnets that will span the thickness.

 

[ca1ore]

A little research will quickly reveal the pros and cons of acrylic versus glass. I was a 30 year glass tank reefer; now I’m a 1 year acrylic tank reefer. I suppose the notion of a ‘large’ tank is subjective. There are perfectly acceptable mass market options for medium-sized 180 and 210 gallon tanks. Once you start expanding the front to back dimension beyond 24” you mostly are into custom made tanks and the cost doubles or even triples. I ran a marineland 265 for four years and was quite happy with it. Key for a larger tank is to make sure your stand is substantial and the floor is inured against deflection. Once you get into the really huge tanks, the advantages of acrylic make it the better choice IMO/E.