glass or acryllic

[marrone]

Acrylic costs about the same as a starfire tank, maybe a little more, which yields the same viewing clarity.

I found that starfire tanks actually costs more than acrylic tanks, especially on large tanks. As for clarity, well I've seen both and I don't think you can compare, acrylic is much clearer than a starfire tank.

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.

The only people that thought glass was better than acrylic were the people that couldn't deal with the scratches. Something that if you're careful, and regularly clean the front of the glass, shouldn't be a problem. And lets not forget starfire also scratches pretty easy too.

 

[RaSooch]

From what I was told about acrylic, is that not only does it scratch easier but over time the abrasion of salt water dulls the acrylic, much like that of very fine sand paper constantly rubbing up against it, whereas glass does not.

 

[ILikeFish]

I would think that dulling would be quite easy to buff out. How much time does that take to happen. Salt in the tank should be dissolved so don't think that could be much of a problem.

How about yellowing from UV? I would think do the new acrylics stand up over time to UV?

 

[RaSooch]

Agreed on the ease of buffing out the dull surface area, but the tricky part comes with the buffing. Ever try to use a buffer on a car? unless you are skilled with a buffer you will certainly see swirl marks. And as stated earlier, hiring someone to do the buffing for you would be quite costly. Just my 0.02

 

[BZOFIQ]

I vote glass for saltwater because nobody has been ever able to answer me how they clean coraline algae off of acrylic tanks. I have a bunch of freshwater acrylics and they are superlight and very clear. Cleaning them however requires some elbow grease and a very soft sponge. Absolutely no scrapers with acrylic!

 

[kimoyo]

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?

It really depends on the manufacturer and how it is made, if its the most common way, you tell if its going to leak from the seams. You look at the seams and if they start turning white that is a sign that the tank wasn't built properly and going to fail at some point (depending on the severity). The white is a sign of the pieces of acrylic coming apart. Usually you have some time but as more white comes in, the weaker the bond becomes and the quicker it separates. If its made by a good builder than a tank can last for a very long time. With glass you have no dramatic warning when it is coming apart, the other thing is that glass breaks and acrylic bends.

Yes, you can swiss cheese an acrylic tank (to an extent) and be okay. The acrylic is stronger and it bends so it allows more holes.

From what I was told about acrylic, is that not only does it scratch easier but over time the abrasion of salt water dulls the acrylic, much like that of very fine sand paper constantly rubbing up against it, whereas glass does not.

No, thats not true.

I vote glass for saltwater because nobody has been ever able to answer me how they clean coraline algae off of acrylic tanks. I have a bunch of freshwater acrylics and they are superlight and very clear. Cleaning them however requires some elbow grease and a very soft sponge. Absolutely no scrapers with acrylic!

I can tell you. You clean your glass often, you get the correct scrapper and the tank needs to be the correct thickness. I know of a few manufacturers who make and provide their clients with specialized scrappers which are much easier on the acrylic, but its kinda a client thing. With the correct thickness you have less of a bow and then you can also resurface the front panel if you want.

 

[tosiek]

You will not see the difference between the tanks untill you get over the 3/8 glass/acrylic thickness for starfire vs acrylic. And the correct brand of starfire you should not see a difference on a paper test untill you get over 1/2". I tested as i was going to go acrylic for this new tank im building due to weight but didn't want to deal with the scratches.

I completely agree with you Kimoyo, and can't really disagree because you work with acrylic a hell of alot more than i do. But the 3/8" min for a 4-5ft 18" deep glass tank you can't do with acrylic. And thats why i said 2x the recommended thickness, the thickness for glass vs what you would use to build an acrylic tank. Yeah, the commercial brand tanks are underbuilt, but so are the glass tanks so both are at fault.

Also marrone, a good custom built acrylic tank will cost the same as a custom starfire one same size. I haven;t looked at 250g tanks and up but everything from 50-200 or so i priced for myself costs roughly the same to be built (not counting glass cages or the other cheaper custom places). Its scary when i looked at the prices because acrylic should be costing more due to the tools, sheet prices, preparation and care, ect. The acrylic tanks that are commercially sold are cheaper than starfire, but im sure thats due to the "Hype" or "oohhh" factor that comes with something called "StarFire". ooooohhhh.... StarFire! It just slips off your tongue the right way.

And starfire does not scratch as easy, although it is easier than normal glass. I abuse my scrubber and always have sand in there without me noticing and i have maybe 5 scratches, where as an acrylic tank woulda been destroyed with the same handling.