The mag float won't scratch unless a grain of sand gets caught between the float surface and the acrylic, which happens fairly frequently. This is especially bad when your 6 year old decides he's going to "help" and clean the whole front of your display. My new tank is glass. I wouldn't go acrylic for anything but a cheap nano that I wouldn't mind throwing away after a couple years of use.
Glass or Acrylic
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Having owned all glass tanks for my entire hobbyist career (aside from a small Marineland Eclipse), my next tank will be an acrylic. Without doubt.
The principles of breaking and failure have so many variable and issues based on manufacture, its an argument in and of itself. Both can fail. But company make both rock solid, too.
The issue of scratching is rather silly to me. Be careful. Dont scratch it. Its that simple. If it does, fix it. You CAN fix acrylic scratches. Glass does scratch too (albeit, not as easily). My current 220 testifies to that with the scratch going down the front 1/3 of it from an overzealous nephew with the magnet cleaning and a piece of substrate. And theres nothing I can do about that, practically.
The price issue becomes null once the size increases, in my opinion. Once in the 200+ ranges, a quality glass can cost as much as a quality acrylic, practically. And weigh significantly less.
The principles of breaking and failure have so many variable and issues based on manufacture, its an argument in and of itself. Both can fail. But company make both rock solid, too.
The issue of scratching is rather silly to me. Be careful. Dont scratch it. Its that simple. If it does, fix it. You CAN fix acrylic scratches. Glass does scratch too (albeit, not as easily). My current 220 testifies to that with the scratch going down the front 1/3 of it from an overzealous nephew with the magnet cleaning and a piece of substrate. And theres nothing I can do about that, practically.
The price issue becomes null once the size increases, in my opinion. Once in the 200+ ranges, a quality glass can cost as much as a quality acrylic, practically. And weigh significantly less.
Jeremy has a very valid point here,
there is a reason why all larger (well, most) tanks are acrylic nowadays.
I personally would not own an acrylic tank in any size under a 240gal tank - once that limit is crossed - I would ONLY own an acrylic tank.
there is a reason why all larger (well, most) tanks are acrylic nowadays.
I personally would not own an acrylic tank in any size under a 240gal tank - once that limit is crossed - I would ONLY own an acrylic tank.
I wish it was that simple. I have owned 4 acrylic tanks so far, Every single one of them ended up scratched after a year. Granted it wasnt to bad on all but one of them...but yeah I dont care how careful you are it will happen.
I will NEVER EVER OWN ACRYLIC again unless its a sump.
I have a 300g DD with 3 side starphire, the clarity is right up there with acrylic and I dont have to worry about getting sand in the magnet, and I can just bust out the blade and scrape all 15 feet of viewing area in 5 min. My old 58g would take 15min just to whipe and 45 min to scrape "carefully" F that.
Also you can custom order marineland DD tanks from 2' to 10' lengths drilled however you want, and even with external overflows(really wish I had known they did this when I got mine!)
FYI the only scratch in my tank is when I was doing the rockwork in the garage and slipped with a 50lb rock, and its barely visible. I dont even want to think about what it would have been if it was acrylic!
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I remember when I purchased my 125 from MRC it was a LOT cheaper than a nice glass tank.
Acrylic is VERY clear, very light, and very "customizable".
IF you can keep the tank from getting scratched acrylic, IMO, is superior for a larger tank.
THAT being said.. you will eventually get scratches. I have a 6 yr old who decided to scrape the outside of my tank like daddy does one day.. he.. ummm.. used the GLASS scraper.... thankfully he stopped before any massive damage could happen.
I also have a VERY VERY high grit pad that I use on my mag cleaner about once a month that manages to clean off the skuffs on the inside.
Oh, and acrylic normally doesn't pop seams.
the scratch issue IS something to consider though.
B
Acrylic is VERY clear, very light, and very "customizable".
IF you can keep the tank from getting scratched acrylic, IMO, is superior for a larger tank.
THAT being said.. you will eventually get scratches. I have a 6 yr old who decided to scrape the outside of my tank like daddy does one day.. he.. ummm.. used the GLASS scraper.... thankfully he stopped before any massive damage could happen.
I also have a VERY VERY high grit pad that I use on my mag cleaner about once a month that manages to clean off the skuffs on the inside.
Oh, and acrylic normally doesn't pop seams.
the scratch issue IS something to consider though.
B
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I can appreciate that, I guess. I just think there is more to fail with a piece of glass and silicone, as opposed to two piece of acrylic chemically bonded together as one. Sure, a poorly built acrylic tank can fail. But, I would argue that poorly built glass ones fail more.
Regarding clean/scratching, I guess it all boils down to how we want to upkeep. I dont mind at all spending time being careful. I do it now, when spending time carefully "chiseling" coraline away from the silicone seams.
Youre right, the tank wont be moved repeatedly, likely. But it will need to be moved initially. And it will always weigh what it does.
Thats just my opinion, though.
To anyone who is thinking about going acrylic, you're welcome to come to my house and clean my 240g acrylic tank when I'm out of town for a week. It takes me hours (yes, hours) to clean the inside, and my arm is sore for days afterward. Compare that to our glass 300g, where we just put the blade on the magnet and wipe it down.
I hear what Jeremy is saying, but the ongoing maintenance of acrylic is huge compared to the one time move of the tank. Either may burst - I'd guess that the stats are the same, if you compare equal quality glass vs. acrylic tanks.
I'll never have an acrylic display tank again. Likewise, I'll never have anything but acrylic for sumps.
I hear what Jeremy is saying, but the ongoing maintenance of acrylic is huge compared to the one time move of the tank. Either may burst - I'd guess that the stats are the same, if you compare equal quality glass vs. acrylic tanks.
I'll never have an acrylic display tank again. Likewise, I'll never have anything but acrylic for sumps.
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But.......why is this?
Ease of modification - adding bulkheads, partitions, probe or float valve holders, etc, etc. It's also easier to patch if I decide to move something elsewhere. All that is possible with glass, but a lot more difficult. With acrylic, I can modify as needed pretty easily.
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I couldnt resist
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Ok, makes sense.
skriz
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Fish Scales2;596941 wrote: I vote glass..........ya think
I always disliked acrylic because of the change in color due to exposure to uv light. They all seem to yellow to me.
Poor quality acrylic will do that. High grade acrylic will stay clear.
skriz
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For clarity, acrylic is the only way to go. The colours of your fish and corals are unbelieveable through acrylic. As long as your water is clean, it's like the fish and corals are floating in air!
I have a starphire glass tank. It is scratched and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. The scratches are from a rock brushing up against the glass and something getting trapped between the magnet. There's a larger one on the outside that I have no clue when or how it happened, but it's there. With my acrylic nano, I scratched it a couple of times and was able to immediately buff them out within minutes. I can never hope to do the same with my glass tank.
Mojo-you just need better tools and a better work ethic! Stop waiting so long to clean the tank and it won't take you so long!
I have a starphire glass tank. It is scratched and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. The scratches are from a rock brushing up against the glass and something getting trapped between the magnet. There's a larger one on the outside that I have no clue when or how it happened, but it's there. With my acrylic nano, I scratched it a couple of times and was able to immediately buff them out within minutes. I can never hope to do the same with my glass tank.
Mojo-you just need better tools and a better work ethic! Stop waiting so long to clean the tank and it won't take you so long!
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Skriz;597228 wrote: I believe they're free with the purchase of a...
But wait, we'll double your offer!
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looks like glass is by far the favorite! acrylic is nice and has its pro's however, ive narrowed this down to just a few sponsors and now we are waiting on the prices to be adjusted and set in stone so i can close the deal on a Marineland 300dd starfire! or, i have one particular sponsor thats looking into another company, same dims as the ML 300. so we shall see! the bad part is waiting 3 to 6 weeks for it to be built and arrive at my house!
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