Glass or Acrylic
- Thread starter TWINYTWIN
- Start date
...Glass...because I said so.
Hah. Actually, Ive only had glass tanks. Acrylic resists cracks/breaks/leaks a little more than glass does, but obviously it scratches much easier. Acrylic comes in customized shapes/sizes, but nowadays glass is beginning to as well. I have seen someone remove scratches from the inside of an acrylic reef tank without draining the water and it was returned to new. With acrylic, you dont have access to the entire top of the tank because they are not fully open. Ive heard that acrylic is more of an insulator against heat/cold.
IMO, glass is better. Just be careful with it, thats all.
***Just a side note, check out this quote I found while cruisin online: "Don't waste your time with any fish tank smaller than 55 gallons (4' long). It is difficult to achieve stable water chemistry in a smaller tank. Most of the world's interesting fish either need at least 55 gallons of space or a bunch of companions before they'll exhibit their natural behavior. It takes a certain effort every week or two to maintain a fish tank; you'll find yourself getting very annoyed if you have to drag our your maintenance gear for a tank that seems puny. Finally the high-tech filters that you will want to have aren't really cost-effective or space-effective on a tank smaller than 55 gallons."*** I dont know, my fish are pretty interesting, even though they are stuck in my "puny" tank! what do you guys/gals think.
Hah. Actually, Ive only had glass tanks. Acrylic resists cracks/breaks/leaks a little more than glass does, but obviously it scratches much easier. Acrylic comes in customized shapes/sizes, but nowadays glass is beginning to as well. I have seen someone remove scratches from the inside of an acrylic reef tank without draining the water and it was returned to new. With acrylic, you dont have access to the entire top of the tank because they are not fully open. Ive heard that acrylic is more of an insulator against heat/cold.
IMO, glass is better. Just be careful with it, thats all.
***Just a side note, check out this quote I found while cruisin online: "Don't waste your time with any fish tank smaller than 55 gallons (4' long). It is difficult to achieve stable water chemistry in a smaller tank. Most of the world's interesting fish either need at least 55 gallons of space or a bunch of companions before they'll exhibit their natural behavior. It takes a certain effort every week or two to maintain a fish tank; you'll find yourself getting very annoyed if you have to drag our your maintenance gear for a tank that seems puny. Finally the high-tech filters that you will want to have aren't really cost-effective or space-effective on a tank smaller than 55 gallons."*** I dont know, my fish are pretty interesting, even though they are stuck in my "puny" tank! what do you guys/gals think.
shaggydoo541
New Member
I like glass because it won't scratch. I can get pretty rough on the sides of my tank getting that got dang coraline off and so if I had acrylic before too long I wouldn't be able to see into my tank anymore due to all the scrathches. Acrylic is nice for larger tanks though. A buddy of mine just started a 205G and it only took two of them to get the tank into his house. Try that with glass (Yeah right).
IMO it depends on what I want to do with the tank. Acrylic is alot easier to modify, I can drill it bond more acrylic to it, make bends in pieces if need be, etc. It is also a better choice for an uninsulated, drafty, or slightly chilly room because it is alot better insulator than glass. It may also be the better choice in an unstable area where either you may be in an earthquake area or an older building that doesn't have the most stable floors. A glass tank would not be able to withstand hardly any instability without failing where an acrylic tank will flex some and will withstand quite a bit more. It is clearer than glass (regular glass that is) and is lighter weight. A glass tank is alot more durable when it comes to aquascaping and tank maintenance, acrylic will scratch very easily and though the scratches can be buffed out it is alot of work. Another nice thing with glass is that is doesn't flex as much as acrylic so it doesn't distort the view like acrylic can. There are pros and cons to both. I mainly prefer glass tanks and really like acrylic for sumps but each of them does have a place within the reefing community. HTH, Skip
A
Anonymous
Guest
glass
Abarnswell
New Member
Balderdash! That's a total crock of BS! My 15 gallon reef tank is good for HOURS of viewing enjoyment. What a bunch of bull! I would guess that was written by someone who has 1) never had a small tank, and 2 ) someone who has a "size" issuereefman23 said:
In the world of aquaria, bigger is not always better. I find myself very captivated by small systems.
I realize what the person who wrote that quote was getting at but I don't think that they have ever had the opportunity to view a nano reef. You see so many things in a nano that just get overlooked in a larger tank. How many people with large reeftanks spend time watching a spaghetti worm or their pods swimming around? They are the ones who are truly missing out on the wonder of having a small reeftank. JMO, SKip