Acrylic Tanks?
- Thread starter Hurley
- Start date
khombre said:
Good thought, but I doubt that's it. That tank's on a kitchen counter type
workbench. Perfectly level. And the cracks did kinda, sorta appear in the
same place, but that's mostly because they appear at the bottom at
something like a seam. I think there's something wrong with that design...
or, I guess I was just insanely unlucky. We'll find out, because like a dummy,
I just went out and bought another one. Although I highly doubt it'll make
any difference, I bought it from a different store.
i have both acrylic and glass tanks in my home.
like said before the advantages about acrylic tanks is that insulates much better than glass. come in different shapes and it is lighter. the only problem that i have is that it can be easily scatched. Just when cleaning using a srubber that is made for acrylic tanks and make sure that you do not pick up gravel while doing so.
i personally prefer acrylic because of its look. the glass does have seams and that look of that nasty silicone.
but to each their own
like said before the advantages about acrylic tanks is that insulates much better than glass. come in different shapes and it is lighter. the only problem that i have is that it can be easily scatched. Just when cleaning using a srubber that is made for acrylic tanks and make sure that you do not pick up gravel while doing so.
i personally prefer acrylic because of its look. the glass does have seams and that look of that nasty silicone.
but to each their own
Last edited:
Puffernewbee said:
That's a great comparison you posted Puffernewbie and one of the few I have read that are accurate an unbiased. Up until recently I had been designing large scale aquariums for public institutions. In the last several years the majority of tanks have moved away from glass and are primarily acrylic. This is for many of the reasons listed in that webpage. (mostly to allow for a more diverse range in shapes, lower weight and clarity.) It's biggest downfall is it's tendency to scratch though it's not as bad as the article suggested.
My personal opinion is that I still like glass for smaller home aquariums but if your looking for custom or even something more large scale for you house I would go acrylic. Just my 2 cents.
I own both acrylic and glass.
about the only thing I don't like about acrylc is the way the cutouts are built in..understand that the cutouts have to leave room for support on the top of the tank.
some designs are better than others...make sure that you can access the bottom of the tank ..this is more important if you are designing the layout. the cut outs on top may prevent easy access to parts of the acrylic tank.(some areas are hard to reach for maintenance)
the flip side is that the acrylic can be more easily drilled for sumps and external filters.
also part of the cost of the tank is in the shipping..acrylic is lighter and may actually be cheaper to ship ...
I tried to locate glass tanks and stand (large custom sizes) turns out that the shipping on a large glass tank makes it cost more than the same tank in acrylic...
about the only thing I don't like about acrylc is the way the cutouts are built in..understand that the cutouts have to leave room for support on the top of the tank.
some designs are better than others...make sure that you can access the bottom of the tank ..this is more important if you are designing the layout. the cut outs on top may prevent easy access to parts of the acrylic tank.(some areas are hard to reach for maintenance)
the flip side is that the acrylic can be more easily drilled for sumps and external filters.
also part of the cost of the tank is in the shipping..acrylic is lighter and may actually be cheaper to ship ...
I tried to locate glass tanks and stand (large custom sizes) turns out that the shipping on a large glass tank makes it cost more than the same tank in acrylic...
