Upgrade to 450g ACRYLIC

JCOLE

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Here is my 480 gallon Acrylic peninsula tank. Came in new with scratches. I spent all week buffing them out. They all came out. I do like it and it is very clear. I start filling it up tomorrow

20220930_214044.jpg
 

Jubei2006

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I have a 525gallon from envision acrylics. Sits in the waiting room of my practice. I have no concerns about a seam failing. I read about seam failures on glass all the time on here, and even more frequently on Facebook. That alone was enough to steer me to acrylic. Yes it scratches, but so does glass. You can buff acrylic out. There are also some in tank products that dont require livestock removal. My 1 inch thick acrylic tank is very clear as long as I wipe the algae off. I can still take nice pictures though it as well.
 

Tenecor Aquariums

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I’m not too surprised. How many more glass tanks are out there vs acrylic? It’s probably about 10-1 which I would say is about the same ratio of what you hear of failures.
This is a false equivalence. Just because there are fewer acrylics doesn't mean there should be greater number of glass failures. These are two different techniques for building aquariums. One is the joining of panels with an intermediate agent (silicone) the other is a fusion of the panels. Challenge to the glass guys: find one example of a glass aquarium mfg with a leakage warranty greater than five years.
 

Tenecor Aquariums

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Here is my 480 gallon Acrylic peninsula tank. Came in new with scratches. I spent all week buffing them out. They all came out. I do like it and it is very clear. I start filling it up tomorrow

20220930_214044.jpg
You will find the clarity to be amazing when you fill it . The refractive index of acrylic is almost identical to water. No distortion. Enjoy and post your progress.
 

Lowell Lemon

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I tried an acrylic tank for my upgrade. It was so bad I actually risked losing more livestock and switching over to a glass tank after less than a year of use, even got a new one that cost 3x what I paid for the acrylic tank. Absolutely any benefit of acrylic (aside from the buffing) ends once the tank is on the stand. It bows more, it's opaque and hard to take pictures through.

lets be honest. Years from now, you have a 400 gallon functional tank, ecosystem and biology just how you like it. Beautiful reef, growing coral. Are you really going risk it all to empty the tank and buff the scratches that are on it? Sorry for the mini rant, but i can't stress enough how much I dislike acrylic.
If your acrylic tank bowed and was opaque it most likely was fabricated out of to thin of material and likely did not use proper cellcast acrylic. I also looked at your build thread and just wondered if you supported the entire botton of the acrylic tank with your finished stand? Acrylic absorbs some moisture and requires a complete solid base for support. You cannot build a stand that only suports the perimeter and some cross bracing for long term success. Sorry you had that experience.

If it was a glass tank that was to thin it would have exploded on your floor. Acrylic is at least 6 times stronger than glass on impact. Properly constructed acrylic tanks will outlast glass in seam strength, clarity, thermo efficiency and light transmission. I have twentyfive year old tanks that are clear, strong and the seams are watertight to this day. Of yeah, they were built to thin but used the proper cellcast acrylic. I would build those same models at least up one Guage in thickness now days just cause it would be that much better.

I have experience building and selling glass tanks. From an insurance cost for liability I would only build and sell acrylic today if I was still in the aquarium business. My insurance company would not even underwrite a policy for me for glass aquarium manufacturing. Most public aquariums are made out of acrylic due to the impact resistance and liability protection. Not to mention the clarity of the viewing panels at 4" to over 12" thick. Water clear even at that thickness. Advantage acrylic.
 
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jmichaelh7

jmichaelh7

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Here is my 480 gallon Acrylic peninsula tank. Came in new with scratches. I spent all week buffing them out. They all came out. I do like it and it is very clear. I start filling it up tomorrow

20220930_214044.jpg
How did it come in with scratches

That’s annoying!

how is the clarity compared to glass
 

JCOLE

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How did it come in with scratches

That’s annoying!

how is the clarity compared to glass
You will find the clarity to be amazing when you fill it . The refractive index of acrylic is almost identical to water. No distortion. Enjoy and post your progress.

You are correct! Filling it now and the water is almost invisible. Falling in love with acrylic and it's only 1/4 full

20221001_091650.jpg
 

JCOLE

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How did it come in with scratches

That’s annoying!

how is the clarity compared to glass

That's anyone's guess. Scratches on the outside I can understand with shipping but the cost and it being new, I shouldn't have to buff out scratches from the inside. I will talk to the manufacturer about that. Not a problem as they all came out. I just shouldn't have to spend a week buffing the inside of a new tank.

Other than the minor scratches. The clarity is night and day between glass. My wife couldn't look at my old glass 150 for more than a minute because the distortion made her dizzy. The first thing she said this morning while filling it up is that there is no distortion and it seems the water isn't even there.
 

albano

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Here a few pics of my 120g Tenecor acrylic tank….
It’s on the floor because I’m gonna clean it before placing it on the stand to fill as a holding tank for my move. I will put it on the stand by myself (for the record, I’m over 70 and a 130lb weakling) but I can do it , because it’s acrylic.
It’s 1 piece front and sides, with rounded ft corners. And it’s only 5/8” thick…

I wish that they had warned me that this tank would never last…back in 1995 when I ordered it!!!!!
D815FCE2-FD12-41AA-AF6E-8C93420C0F3A.jpeg
EBA4ABBF-3720-42F4-B60A-849C5284C335.jpeg
81A0EB29-9583-4219-B572-EC74A729B232.jpeg
 

Tenecor Aquariums

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Here a few pics of my 120g Tenecor acrylic tank….
It’s on the floor because I’m gonna clean it before placing it on the stand to fill as a holding tank for my move. I will put it on the stand by myself (for the record, I’m over 70 and a 130lb weakling) but I can do it , because it’s acrylic.
It’s 1 piece front and sides, with rounded ft corners. And it’s only 5/8” thick…

I wish that they had warned me that this tank would never last…back in 1995 when I ordered it!!!!!
D815FCE2-FD12-41AA-AF6E-8C93420C0F3A.jpeg
EBA4ABBF-3720-42F4-B60A-849C5284C335.jpeg
81A0EB29-9583-4219-B572-EC74A729B232.jpeg
28 years. Still in its teenage phase.
 

1ocean

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acrylic is way more clearer.. Acrylic let up to 92 % of light making it clearer than standard glass. That is why glass tanks are now using this low iron glass for front panels or all viewing panels to try and get closer to acrylic. Acrylic come in either cast or extruded. Cast is stronger, clearer and not as bendable and when cutting it does not leave burr edges. This is used for fish tanks etc. Cast is poured into a mold or form.. Where extruded is poured and pushed through rollers, this is the stuff you can get at most big box home improvement stores. Cast will have paper protecting it in most cases where extruded has plastic protecting it.
 
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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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