View Full Version : Acrylic VS Glass tank..
mtweldon
07-13-2005, 2:30 PM
I'm just looking and planning for around a couple months down the road or so.. what is the difference, which is better, what are advantages or disadvantages from one to the other?
mvigor
07-13-2005, 2:40 PM
Acrylic scratches easy but is light and strong. Glass is very thick and heavy for larger tanks.
What size tank are you thinking of?
mtweldon
07-13-2005, 2:58 PM
Probably looking at between 75 to 100ish, and probably a 20 for containment and or fry
Kasakato
07-13-2005, 3:01 PM
Glass:
Pros:
-Cheep
-Hard to scrach
-Filters, heaters, etc..hang eaiser
Cons:
-Can leek
-Silicon can go bad after a while
-Green tint
-Heavy
-Must be more or less 90* angles
Acrylic:
Pros:
-Super Clear
-17x stronger than glass
-Better at keeping in heat
-Seams are "welded" so theres little chance for a leak
-Can curve
Cons:
-Price
-Scrachs eaisly
-May "yellow" with age
For a 100g Id stick with glass.
mtweldon
07-13-2005, 3:15 PM
Probably go with acrylic for the 20g then?
A question on glass, how often do the seals go bad?
Kasakato
07-13-2005, 3:19 PM
Glass on both. If you still want to use arcylic then use it on the 100g IMO.
The silicone lasts for a long time on glass tanks. Iv seen 10 years+.
mtweldon
07-13-2005, 3:36 PM
Ok cool, was just curious. I personally have never seen a acrylic tank, just wanted to know some details, thanks.
wataugachicken
07-14-2005, 7:15 PM
don't put any plecos in acrylic tanks. if they start to scrape at the walls, they will scratch enough to make a little divot, and then they will keep gnawing at it until they scrape clean through.
and not a big deal since most people don't put their tanks in direct sunlight, but acrylic can get ugly with too much direct sunlight. it causes the plastic to look like it is cracking
chefkeith
07-14-2005, 7:25 PM
cell-cast acrylic doesn't scratch easily. You have to do something really stupid or by accident to scratch it. I have 3 acrylic tanks that I built myself and have 2 glass tanks. Which do I prefer? Acrylic. But due to the high cost of acrylic, I'd buy glass instead.
slipknottin
07-15-2005, 1:40 PM
Glass:
Cons:
-Silicon can go bad after a while
Acrylic:
Pros:
-Super Clear
As I said in the other thread, this is not true. There are various qualities of glass and acrylic. Glass can be made with no green tint and can be as clear as acrylic. And there are some low quality acrylics that arent all that clear at all.
Kasakato
07-15-2005, 5:37 PM
Well the "adverage" LFS, walk in and buy grade.
The silicon in my 5 gallon tank is over 30 years old now. Still going strong.