Glass versus Acrylic

[MGKelly]

I'm planning on adding serveral more 75 gal. tanks probably 8 to 10 and was considering arylic tanks.
Glass is probably easier to clean but the Acrylic is lighter. both are easy to drill, but i can't drill the glass bottom but can drill the acrylic bottom.
glass cheaper also, any suggestions would be very helpful.

Joe

[warblad79]

Do a Google search and type " acrylic vs glass tank

[MGKelly]

Do a Google search and type " acrylic vs glass tank

Never thought of that and thanks for the response!

[krislewis3]

I've also considered acrylic, and my research has convinced me to stay with glass....the main reason is that glass will keep its clarity longer.....

[brewmaster15]

I'm planning on adding serveral more 75 gal. tanks probably 8 to 10 and was considering arylic tanks.
Glass is probably easier to clean but the Acrylic is lighter. both are easy to drill, but i can't drill the glass bottom but can drill the acrylic bottom.
glass cheaper also, any suggestions would be very helpful.

Joe

Joe some tanks can drilled bottom. It depends on the glass.. Tempered is often used now a days and that you can't drill bottom, but you can drill sides usually and pretty low.

Acrylics main down sides to me are cost, and scratch easy. What I like about them is they are light and hold heat better, something like 7X better than glass, I believe.


hth,
al

[rickztahone]

Joe some tanks can drilled bottom. It depends on the glass.. Tempered is often used now a days and that you can't drill bottom, but you can drill sides usually and pretty low.

Acrylics main down sides to me are cost, and scratch easy. What I like about them is they are light and hold heat better, something like 7X better than glass, I believe.


hth,
al

all great points. I love that acrylic is so much lighter. I can manage a 75g tank on my own, but I wouldn't be able to do that with a glass one. The clarity is supposed to be better with acrylic as well. I have had both, and to be honest, I am still on the fence as to which I like. I like that I can simply run a razor blade along glass to clean algae and such. Not sure if that can be done as easily with acrylic, or if it is even advisable.

[Discus-n00b]

I've debated this a lot recently. I want to upgrade my reef tank and acrylic has the draw of being a cheaper upgrade option....but I can't stop worrying about the scratching. And I hear it eventually becomes a huge problem. So right now I'm still leaning glass. It might not fully matter on fishroom type tanks....get whatever is cheap and holds water IMO. But on a show tank I have to side with glass.

[rickztahone]

I've debated this a lot recently. I want to upgrade my reef tank and acrylic has the draw of being a cheaper upgrade option....but I can't stop worrying about the scratching. And I hear it eventually becomes a huge problem. So right now I'm still leaning glass. It might not fully matter on fishroom type tanks....get whatever is cheap and holds water IMO. But on a show tank I have to side with glass.

With a SW tank, I think the choice is easier Matt. Glass I think wins out because of the coraline build up. On acrylic, it is a real pain to remove apparantely.

[MGKelly]

Scratches can be a big concern when you'r constantly cleaning a tank.
is it possible for bacteria to get trapped and surviving between the silicone sealant and the glass even when using a strong detergent like bleach?
I don't believe this can happen with acrylic because they're directly glued panels?

thanks for the previous responses, several points i didn't consider.

Joe

[brewmaster15]

Joe,
I honestly don't think Bacteria would be something I would factor in.

Al

[MGKelly]

Thanks, Al

Is there something I missed, just not aware of, or silicone sealant not a concern?
I'm sure it's possible but probably unlikely.

Joe




Joe,
I honestly don't think Bacteria would be something I would factor in.

Al

[afriend]

Joe some tanks can drilled bottom. It depends on the glass.. Tempered is often used now a days and that you can't drill bottom, but you can drill sides usually and pretty low.

Acrylics main down sides to me are cost, and scratch easy. What I like about them is they are light and hold heat better, something like 7X better than glass, I believe.


hth,
al

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html

I was really surprised by the relationship between the thermal conductivity for glass and acrylic. I had no idea that acrylic was so much better than glass, so I looked it up. According to the reference above the ratio turns out to be 1.05/0.2 = 5.25

There is more to be considered however, and that concerns the relative strength properties. Perhaps acrylic tanks are made of thicker material in order to get the same strength. This could account for the difference.

I knew that acrylic was better than glass, but a ratio of 7 is absolutely huge. This means that it costs approximately 7 times as much to heat a glass tank. I calculated the costs of heating my glass tanks once and I was surprised by how much it turns out, it is by no means insignificant.

[dprais1]

ummm, is cost an issue? the cheapest I see a 75 acrylic is 600++ while a glass can be had new for 120.

8 tanks!!

acrylic over $4,800
glass $960

that would help me decide for sure.

[MGKelly]

The price is a consideration for sure.

Joe



ummm, is cost an issue? the cheapest I see a 75 acrylic is 600++ while a glass can be had new for 120.

8 tanks!!

acrylic over $4,800
glass $960

that would help me decide for sure.

[Debow]

I have a 240g acrylic tank that when I bought it, it had many scratches from the owners reef setup, I paid a body shop to wet sand and buff the panels crystal clear and so far have not scratched it, the algae is not a issues with the MagFloat scrubber just cant let it get in the sand. I will be reporting on the heat retention vs glass this coming New England winter by the way. Any It is crazy light for a 8' tank only took 2 people to move. And when doing a build in excess of 2,000 lbs weight is everything.

[afriend]

Well, here's an issue I ran into about three years ago.

Not long after I got my beautiful glass bow tank, black beard algae began to grow on the silicone. After it covered all of the silicone on the bottom of the tank, it spread to everything else. Man, that black beard algae is hard to get rid of. Took about a year, but I finally defeated it. Why it started on the silicone sealant, I don't have a clue.

[afriend]

I have a 240g acrylic tank that when I bought it, it had many scratches from the owners reef setup, I paid a body shop to wet sand and buff the panels crystal clear and so far have not scratched it, the algae is not a issues with the MagFloat scrubber just cant let it get in the sand. I will be reporting on the heat retention vs glass this coming New England winter by the way. Any It is crazy light for a 8' tank only took 2 people to move. And when doing a build in excess of 2,000 lbs weight is everything.

Hey, thanks for the info about using a body shop to wet sand and buff the panels crystal clear. The main reason I chose glass was the issue of scratching. If I knew then that the acrylic could be repaired, I might have gone with acrylic. How much did it cost, and how good was the result?

[Debow]

My guy charged me $120 I gave him $150 and Id say that 70% of the tank had fine scratches and there were probably 10 deep scratches and he couldn't get out 2 but if he worked them with larger grit sand paper they would have came out. I would say that the tank is 95% scratch free here is the link to the tank video http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?119466-240g-planted-build/page4.

[brewmaster15]

I paid a body shop to wet sand and buff the panels crystal clear and so far have not scratched it That was an excellent idea! I'll be filing that tip away for future use! Thanks!
al

[Second Hand Pat]

I have acrylic for my big tanks (240 and 180) and glass for the smaller tanks. The clarify of the acrylic over time is fantastic nor does it have the green tint of glass (unless you have the high-end glass). I also feel that since the seams are melted together an acrylic is less likely to leak.
Pat

[nc0gnet0]

The only downside to acrylic is the ease in which they can be scratched, and cost. Not much you can do about the cost, but they will save you money over the long haul when you factor in heat retention in cold climates. Scratches can be buffed, its not that hard, and acrylics never need to be re-sealed or spring a leak at the worst of times. They are also shatter proof (something to consider for those with kids). The light diffraction is also better than that of glass. They are a ton easier to drill.

[Debow]

That was an excellent idea! I'll be filing that tip away for future use! Thanks!
al

Thanks Al, I was on a super thin budget and when I found my tank I paid $820 vs the $3,500 for a new one all in I think I spent $3,000 +/- for everything (not including fish) to get the system running. The body shop saved me a lot of money so I didn't have to cut corners where it mattered ie: filtration and lighting and plumbing.

[rickztahone]

The only downside to acrylic is the ease in which they can be scratched, and cost. Not much you can do about the cost, but they will save you money over the long haul when you factor in heat retention in cold climates. Scratches can be buffed, its not that hard, and acrylics never need to be re-sealed or spring a leak at the worst of times. They are also shatter proof (something to consider for those with kids). The light diffraction is also better than that of glass. They are a ton easier to drill.

I couldn't agree with this more. Drilling acrylic was actually the ultimate buying factor for my current build. Drilling glass seemed like more of a pain, and I decided to go with acrylic. Hole saw is all you need for acrylic, and it is super easy to do. I drilled 6 holes in acrylic with not 1 problem.