- Location
- Staten Island
glass or acrylic??? what's the difference in a tank?
glass or acryllic
- Thread starter jfahim
- Start date
- Location
- Staten Island
so glass is cheaper, acrylic is less likely to crack. glass will not scratch easily, acrylic will. glass is usually square or rectangular, acrylic is anything... so if its not going to be anything fancy, go with the glass!
- Location
- Melville, NY
if you go glass, try to get reef ready. many glass tanks now adays are made with tempered glass which, from what I understand, cant be drilled.
- Location
- Vernon, NJ
how big of a tank are you thinking??
it took 6 people to lift my 180 on to it's stand
it took 10 people to move my 450 out of Billy's house and load it into the rented truck.
I had guys lined up on my end and everyone canceled
left me wishing I had built the acrylic like I had planned
my 450 3 side starfire weighs 780lbs empty
I rented 2 genie lifts to get the tank on stand I will never rely on help again
if I ever plan a DIY project it will a true Do it myself!
my tank is beautiful do get me wrong but I think on a tank that size if I was ever to do it again I would go acrylic
this is a genie lift
it took 6 people to lift my 180 on to it's stand
it took 10 people to move my 450 out of Billy's house and load it into the rented truck.
I had guys lined up on my end and everyone canceled
left me wishing I had built the acrylic like I had planned
my 450 3 side starfire weighs 780lbs empty
I rented 2 genie lifts to get the tank on stand I will never rely on help again
if I ever plan a DIY project it will a true Do it myself!
my tank is beautiful do get me wrong but I think on a tank that size if I was ever to do it again I would go acrylic
this is a genie lift
Attachments
- Location
- Vernon, NJ
glass does scratch just not as easily as acrylic
with acrylic u can buff it out with glass your stuck with it
- Location
- Throggs Neck, BX
That sucks, didnt you have like 20 something people coming to people out.
Personal preference is glass, but when you start getting to larger tanks like Frank, arcylic may be the way to go due to the weight factor.
- Location
- Vernon, NJ
it wound up to be me, my brother phil and my brother-in-law Gerard ( wife and sister supervised)
we were able to get it out of the truck rolling on PVC pipe I mada dolly for it and we used the lift gate.
oncve it was out of the truck my nieghbor chimmed in to help navigate it up 2 patio steps and in the patio door and into my basement
it cost me an extra day with the moving truck. a day job moving this tank took 2 days.
not to mention the waste of food I planned on feeding everyone that helped ou
NOT TO HIJACK This Thread.....
one isnt better than the other both have pro's and cons
all depends on the application and size!
well if you can afford a custom GLASS tank like that, I am sure you can pay to have it delivered and set on stand- wasnt talking about you FRANK I was talking about the guy asking about glass or acrylic IF HE can a afford to have a BRAND NEW tank and stand built and "DELIVERED" I am sure they will set it for him
sorry to hear about the normal flaking of MR members :grumpy
aparently bad assumtion altho If I do recall your thread about asking for help MR members were coming) but also glad to hear you got it in safe and sound :birthday:
Time to start a tank thread :scratchch
sorry to hear about the normal flaking of MR members :grumpy
aparently bad assumtion altho If I do recall your thread about asking for help MR members were coming) but also glad to hear you got it in safe and sound :birthday:Time to start a tank thread :scratchch
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- Location
- Vernon, NJ
I guess you are a comedian
if you read my post you would know that I bought the tank used
PS use spell check it's delivered not "deliverd"
if memory serves me correctly that was a spelling word my 3rd grade son had last week
AND FOR THE RECORD DID I SAY ANYONE FROM MR STOOD ME UP???????
- Location
- The Big City
Starfire glass scratch very easily.
- Location
- The Big City
The weight factor is a pretty big issue on large tanks. It only took 2 people to lift my 260gal acrylic tank, where it took about 6 people to lift my 220 glass tank.
- Location
- Wallingford, CT
Plus, starphire will also pitt if the wrong side is assembled (wet/dry side).
Frank,
Bright side is that the tank is in, know your going to make TOTM with it.
Frank,
Bright side is that the tank is in, know your going to make TOTM with it.
- Location
- The Big City
Another thing is that if a glass tank starts to leak you need to empty it, clean it, re-calk it and then let it sit for 24-48 hours before you can use it again. With an acrylic tank you just bring the water level down to the leak, if it's on the bottom you need to empty the tank, and then use acrylic glue to bond it and then tank is ready to go again.
This was a big issue with me when I changed over my tank a number of years ago. I also felt that there was less of a chance of an acrylic tank starting to leak, as it got older, as compare to a glass tank, especially as the tank can shift over the years. I think this is a big reason a lot of people in California have acrylic tanks, as an earthquake could cause the tank to shift not to mention things falling on it.
This was a big issue with me when I changed over my tank a number of years ago. I also felt that there was less of a chance of an acrylic tank starting to leak, as it got older, as compare to a glass tank, especially as the tank can shift over the years. I think this is a big reason a lot of people in California have acrylic tanks, as an earthquake could cause the tank to shift not to mention things falling on it.
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- Location
- Vernon, NJ
NO WORRIES! it's all good:hug:
If you are going to have a reef tank, do not use acrylic.
I have a 240G acrylic tank made by an excellent manufucturer Tenecor in 1980's, it lasts more than 20 years without any problems, but it was just too much work to keep the acrylic viewing panels clean without scratching regardless I bought all the fancy repair tools.
Scratches on glass can not be repaired, I replaced my one year old 175G bowfront tank with a new one last Dec. just because some scratches on the old tank, it's a lot of work. However, I still go with "glass" if you want to have reef tanks.
James
I have a 240G acrylic tank made by an excellent manufucturer Tenecor in 1980's, it lasts more than 20 years without any problems, but it was just too much work to keep the acrylic viewing panels clean without scratching regardless I bought all the fancy repair tools.
Scratches on glass can not be repaired, I replaced my one year old 175G bowfront tank with a new one last Dec. just because some scratches on the old tank, it's a lot of work. However, I still go with "glass" if you want to have reef tanks.
James
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
Yeah you can buff out minor scratches in acrylic, but once those scratches are more than a slight scratch on the surface your gonna have to sand deeper into the acrylic to make it flush and then the buffing which leaves you with distorted area's on your acrylic. I don't care how good you are with the buffing wheel or how far out you work the scratch it will always be there.
Plus on most larger tanks made the front WILL bow out unless your using 2x the required thickness of acrylic, eurobracing or not. Also adding to distorted viewing. Plus, the recommended things needed to buff out a scratch properly usualy cost half of what the tank is worth. The proper buffer alone costs 200+$.
Acrylic is lighter for when weight is an issue, but 90% of the acrylic tanks i seen or know or heard about wish they went glass because of how easy it is to scratch.
Acrylic costs about the same as a starfire tank, maybe a little more, which yields the same viewing clarity.
Think there are like 10 posts on the acrylic vs glass topic and in most of the posts glass came out the winner except for specific needs of the tank.
Plus on most larger tanks made the front WILL bow out unless your using 2x the required thickness of acrylic, eurobracing or not. Also adding to distorted viewing. Plus, the recommended things needed to buff out a scratch properly usualy cost half of what the tank is worth. The proper buffer alone costs 200+$.
Acrylic is lighter for when weight is an issue, but 90% of the acrylic tanks i seen or know or heard about wish they went glass because of how easy it is to scratch.
Acrylic costs about the same as a starfire tank, maybe a little more, which yields the same viewing clarity.
Think there are like 10 posts on the acrylic vs glass topic and in most of the posts glass came out the winner except for specific needs of the tank.
- Location
- Washington Heights, NY
Hey Tosiek,
I don't agree, but I can understand yours and other's thinking though. A tank that doesn't bow doesn't take 2x the required thickness, the thickness required for it not to bow is the required thickness of the tank. If the panels are bowing then there is too much stress on the seams. I can also understand the tank manufacturer's point of view but don't agree with it. Since acrylic is strong they use thinner pieces in order to bring the costs down to sell them but at the same time give acrylic tanks a worse rap than they deserve. The bowing of acrylic tanks really helps the scratching along because now your cleaning a rounded surface instead of a flat one. Unless you realize this the corners of your tool might be digging into the panels. And a large majority of tanks I see bow somewhat (including tenecor's). Also, with the added thickness it will allow you to buff the entire panel as opposed to and just one area. If you overbuild it slightly then a trained person can come in and take off a 1/128" (or whatever is sanded off) and you have a brand new tank (yes the scratch will be completely gone). If its a really deep scratch, u still have a chance of getting it out, but if that was a glass tank then you probably would be much worse off. And with the thicker acrylics the scratches aren't as noticeable. Scratches aside, there isn't one area I see glass doing better in. Acrylic is a better insulator, it can be molded, its stronger, its lighter and my favorite, you can tell if its coming apart at the seams (if its done with solvents), can't do that with glass.
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I have noticed many people have had bad experience with glass tanks leaking over time. Is it less likely for the Acrylic to do so?
is less likely to crack if it is drilled. I looks like some people have designed some quite complexity CL systems that would be safer with acrylic?
is less likely to crack if it is drilled. I looks like some people have designed some quite complexity CL systems that would be safer with acrylic?
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