New Tank! Which brand? which material?

[jcrim007]

need a little help here.

starting back into aquariums again, and need a little help picking a new setup.

looking at going marine this time. had a saltwater before, but decided to stick w/ freshwater plantted (still have it)

had the same aquarium now for 6 years. it is a perfecto, glass, and has been a great aquarium.

i am leaning towards acrylic this time, but don't really know. appears to scratch way too easy. any comments?

not up on current brands of tanks and which would be best. please make suggerstions.

thanks for all the help.

JCrim007

[Sting]

Hi, Welcome To AquariaCentral!

I like you have recently caught an interest in Saltwater aquariums. After a short year in Freshwater, I knew it was time to move to bigger and better things! Well, here I am, in the same boat as you :)

If you would try reading around some of the beginner posts, maybe some articles and some other reef sites or boards, you might acquire enough information to actually make that decision if you'd really want to take the big step to what people here call "the salty side". Marine aquariums require a lot more than Freshwater aquariums do, maintenence-wise, biologically, and most importantly, money-wise! They can be very expensive, and it doesn't stop either- costs will always go higher and higher, and you will always need more! My first suggestion is just plainly to read. Read read read, all you can. Many people who hang around here, who would consider themselves experts, are still learning- as am I.

After you've made the final choice of doom (Mwhahahaha :p) you will probably want to go with glass. No matter what kinds of rocks you get, you will probably need a lot (which means piling on walls, ect), and I know if I had an acrylic tank, I'd already have some major sratches! Decide the size, with the general rule: Bigger is always better, and figure out what kind of tank you want. Fish Only? Live Rock maybe?

Maybe you don't even know what some of this is. I can't give links, since I am just now starting up as well (My tank started cycling only today) but try my post on Converting from FW to SW, and then read some of the stickys. JasonA is also a beginner who has started his tank within the last week, and his posts have a lot you can learn from, as well pictures and special methods you can use.

Good luck! Any questions and I'm sure anyone here will be happy to answer them as best as possible.

[JasonA]

From personal experience with tanks, both with friends and family, I've ALWAYS seen the best results from glass..

The only reason I say this is because of the scratch factor. If kids and other currious fingers are going to be in contact with it, then I'd say glass.

Living in SoCal in the SanFernando Valley area, I've been through 2 major quakes, Northridge and Simi Valley, and my parents have been through those including Sylmar back in '71.. Glass has always stood up...

Again, it's all about personal preference, but that's my pick!

[jcrim007]

thanks for the great tips Sting and JasonA.

glad to here the quake story! glad to here that glass is that resiliant! thanks for sharing

this will help a lot. i was kind of leaning towards glass, but when you go to the Florida Aquarium... well, they swear by acrylic. but i think that is mostly because the distortion factor.

like i said i had a saltwater before, w/ live rock and fish, and i know that it is more work than freshwater (had both going at once, that is why i got rid of the salt... and i was getting married, did not have time for the salt). definitely going reef/fish again.

still don't know what size i want. my current is a 30 gal. standard (36"), but i think i want a show type tank of atleast 45-60 gal. next time.

anyone got any comments on brands?

i was in the pet store industry for about 3 years before getting into the professional work world, so i don't have a lot of inside info on which brands a better.

thanks to all,

JCrim007

[Triggerman]

Acrylic is much clearer to look through.
Tenecor aquariums are beautiful.
I have the 100r.
Very pleased to say the least.

[JasonA]

Originally posted by Triggerman
Acrylic is much clearer to look through.
Tenecor aquariums are beautiful.
I have the 100r.
Very pleased to say the least. I wouldn't say that it's clearer to look through...

Although it may apear brighter then glass, Acrylic "looks" brighter thanks to the crystaline structure of the molecule chain in the polymer. Just like diamonds appear to "amplify" light and look all shinny.

Another reason why plastic lenses suck....any good grade of glass including either "hi grade" or optical grade glass is the way to go..

If you have a glass tank and when you look at something close to it, if it distorts by changing the angle you look at the object, then its cheap run of the mil glass... A number of factors including "refraction" and such play a part..

But for me...a HQ glass made aquarium cannot be beat !!

[jcrim007]

thanks triggerman and jasona.

trigger man has been the only brave enough to state an actual brand name that he likes.

jasona; have you got any brands in mind when stating "HQ" glass aquariums?

also do i need a protein skimmer if i have the right amount of live rock and live sand? don't the accomplish the same thing?

maybe stupid question, but i did not have a skimmer on my last SW tank.

thanks again for all the advice. i love this forum!

JCrim007

[Triggerman]

I prefer the cpr bakpak.
Very pleased with it.

[Corax]

Glass vs Acrylic, the age old question... Glass IMHO, is the material of choice for a few simple reasons.

1.) Scratches. Acrylic scrathes if you look at it wrong.

2.) Clarity. Like Jason said, better tanks give you the utmost clarity when looking at the tank. Thick Acrylic tanks tend to refract and look blurry when you get up close. At least the ones I've seen.

The two things I do like about acrylic are the corners and the weight of the tanks. Glass is heavy and it don't like to bend to make pretty corners.

As for the skimmer, it depends. What do you plan to keep? Wanna keep a large predator like a trigger, lionfish or eel? Then yeah, a skimmer is a good idea to help with the waste these guys produce. Planning on a reef? Then no, a skimmer will actually do you more harm than good. The planktonic STUFF that the filter feeding corals need to survive are all (mostly anyway) destroyed when they go through the smimmer. Same hold true for a UV sterilizer. I'm not saying that skimming a reef is bad, cuz as long as you do supplemental feedings then yer fine. But I'm telling you that a more natural approach to a reef is possible.

I've heard some good reports on the CPR backpack, but for my money, NOTHING tops the AquaC Remora. Besides, any company that would include a biological filtration option on a protien skimmer is obviously using dated thinking ;)

[mogurnda]

As far as a skimmer, I think it gives you a bigger margin of safety, especially when you're starting out. There are lots of debates regarding the merits of skimmers, water changes (some even will argue they are a bad thing), and so on. There really isn't one answer, but my suggestion is to get one.

Another vote for glass. If things go well, you will have to scrape coralline algae off your tank, and that will be hard on acrylic. Another downside of glass, though, is it weighs a lot. If you are thinking about a sump and/or refugium, go with a reef ready. Hang-on overflows are a pain.

[OrionGirl]

Oceanic and All-Glass are considered the better grades of glass tanks. The problem is that the tanks you'll see in most places are all made by the same company but marketed under different names, and it's hard to determine if there is much difference between the different grades. For instance, my 40 is a cheaper grade, but I don't have distortion issues, the tank is solid and the sealant remains in good shape and attractive. Ditto for the 2 All-Glass 65's. The only tank we have the looks at all bad is a 15 high that is more than 20 years old--and if it's full, you can't see any scratches, just a few distortions around one corner.

I do prefer glass tanks for SW--you will have coralline algae growth on the sides, and I gaurantee that getting it off an acrylic tank without scratches is going to be a nightmare.

[Ray Pollett]

Once again It seems I am the one who disagrees. :D

I use arcylic tanks. Tenecor ( www.tenecor.com ) is a good but expensive brand. But you get what you pay for in most cases.

Arcylic is clearer than glass, Starfire Glass (very expensive and only in specially made tanks) is close.

Arclylic is lighter. It does scratch easier, scratches can be buffed out in arcylic not so for scratches in glass.

Arcylic hold heat better. it does noy conduct heat anywhere as well as glass. This helps durring power outages.

Glass tanks develop leaks much easier than Arcylic. Rock pile collapses in Arcylic, you probably get a scratch. In Glass; get the mop bucket and pick the fish off the floor.

Oceanic and All-Glass are the same company. The Oceanic is top of the line in Glass, All-Glass is lower quality in my opion.

As for a Skimmer, The Remora is better than the CPR IMO. But is not nessary to have a nice tank.

Ray

[Triggerman]

Acrylic is much clearer than glass.I have moved twice and moving acrylics is a godsend.My kids have also bumped my tank pretty hard,with no worries.
There are advantages to both but I prefer acrylic.
The view is so bright and far exceeds glass,imo.
As far as not having a skimmer,is not a wise choice,imo.
Any fluctuations in organic material are compenstated by the skimmer.
The organic material never has a chance to go through the nitrogen cycle.
This is a very good thing and results in lower nitrates.