Choosing your tank
You have decided to enter the saltwater hobby and have seen all of the beautiful fish and coral. Now comes the time to pick a tank. When looking at different tanks, the choices are beyond overwhelming !!!
This article will help make that choice a little bit easier for you as explain some of the types of tanks and construction methods too you.
Materials
We have come a long way from your only choice of a little 10 gallon glass tank. In today’s world you have your choice of glass, acrylic, or a hybrid of glass with a PVC bottom. Also for the DIY you have the options of fiberglass, plywood and or cement.
Glass tanks
These tanks come in many shapes sizes and dimensions and it will be up to you to choose the dimensions that best fit your need. A glass tank is built in a few different ways. All of the glass tanks can be built using black or clear silicone. You can also have a tank that is built using low iron glass otherwise known as starphire glass. Normal glass has a slight green tint to it when looking through it. Starphire glass is almost crystal clear. The difference in glass types is usually only limited to your budget.
The standard tank has a plastic rim at the bottom and the top, and can also have plastic braces across the top. The glass is held together with silicone. You also can have a choice of black or clear silicone.
This tank is always a good choice. They are very sturdy and resist scratching pretty well.
In the last few years a rimless tank has come on the seen. This tank is designed without the top plastic rim and is a very sleek looking tank. This tank is designed to have your lights suspended over the water to give you an unobstructed view into the tank.
Another design for a glass tank is the euro-braced tank. There are braces all the way around the perimeter of the tank. This allows you not to have any bracing crossing over the top of the tank.
There have also been many hybrid tanks made that combine glass sides with a PVC bottom. This helps with the weight of the tank and also durability. Glass tanks are notoriously heavy and changing out the bottom for the PVC will greatly reduce the weight. The PVC bottom is also more durable and will remove the chance of the bottom blowing out from a fallen rock or other accident.
Acrylic tanks
Acrylic tanks are very similar to glass tanks in there shape and construction. If you are not familiar with acrylic, it is just like plexi-glass only thicker and of better quality. Acrylic tanks are just as popular as glass tanks and some people prefer them because of the weight. Acrylic tanks are very light and the 90 gallon one that I owned was able to lifted by myself with no help from anyone. Acrylic tanks are also very goo insulators and can cut down on the cost to heat your tank. The one thing you have to be careful with, is that acrylic tanks can be scratched very easily and special cleaning tools must be used that were designed for acrylic tanks. If you would happen to scratch the tank (as long as its not to deep) the scratches can be buffed or polished out. Acrylic tanks are also less prone to leaks. The seams of the tank do not use silicone, but actually welded together chemically creating a solid bond. The great thing about acrylic is that it can be bent to form shapes that are almost limited by your imagination. Tanks made in full circles or columns or almost any shape can be custom made to fit your need.
DIY tanks
You will also have the option to build your own tank. You can use the materials listed above or you could also build your tank from plywood with a glass or acrylic front, a fiberglass tank with glass or acrylic front, or you could have your dream tank made from cement with a glass or acrylic front.
If you decide to go this route, I strongly suggest you do a lot of reading and contact other people or professionals who have built there own tanks. There is nothing worse than spending the money to build a huge tank and have it fail to ruin your house or have someone get injured because it was not built correctly. The user Redtop has a great ongoing thread on how to build and maintain a plywood tank. You can read it here https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/31440-redtop03s-360g-plywood-adventure.html
One of the most important pieces of advice I can offer you is to buy the biggest aquarium you can afford and fit comfortably in your house. This hobby will have you addicted as the rest of us in a short time, and before long that small tank you started with wont be big enough. So why not start big and stick with it?
Bob
You have decided to enter the saltwater hobby and have seen all of the beautiful fish and coral. Now comes the time to pick a tank. When looking at different tanks, the choices are beyond overwhelming !!!
This article will help make that choice a little bit easier for you as explain some of the types of tanks and construction methods too you.
Materials
We have come a long way from your only choice of a little 10 gallon glass tank. In today’s world you have your choice of glass, acrylic, or a hybrid of glass with a PVC bottom. Also for the DIY you have the options of fiberglass, plywood and or cement.
Glass tanks
These tanks come in many shapes sizes and dimensions and it will be up to you to choose the dimensions that best fit your need. A glass tank is built in a few different ways. All of the glass tanks can be built using black or clear silicone. You can also have a tank that is built using low iron glass otherwise known as starphire glass. Normal glass has a slight green tint to it when looking through it. Starphire glass is almost crystal clear. The difference in glass types is usually only limited to your budget.
The standard tank has a plastic rim at the bottom and the top, and can also have plastic braces across the top. The glass is held together with silicone. You also can have a choice of black or clear silicone.
This tank is always a good choice. They are very sturdy and resist scratching pretty well.
In the last few years a rimless tank has come on the seen. This tank is designed without the top plastic rim and is a very sleek looking tank. This tank is designed to have your lights suspended over the water to give you an unobstructed view into the tank.
Another design for a glass tank is the euro-braced tank. There are braces all the way around the perimeter of the tank. This allows you not to have any bracing crossing over the top of the tank.
There have also been many hybrid tanks made that combine glass sides with a PVC bottom. This helps with the weight of the tank and also durability. Glass tanks are notoriously heavy and changing out the bottom for the PVC will greatly reduce the weight. The PVC bottom is also more durable and will remove the chance of the bottom blowing out from a fallen rock or other accident.
Acrylic tanks
Acrylic tanks are very similar to glass tanks in there shape and construction. If you are not familiar with acrylic, it is just like plexi-glass only thicker and of better quality. Acrylic tanks are just as popular as glass tanks and some people prefer them because of the weight. Acrylic tanks are very light and the 90 gallon one that I owned was able to lifted by myself with no help from anyone. Acrylic tanks are also very goo insulators and can cut down on the cost to heat your tank. The one thing you have to be careful with, is that acrylic tanks can be scratched very easily and special cleaning tools must be used that were designed for acrylic tanks. If you would happen to scratch the tank (as long as its not to deep) the scratches can be buffed or polished out. Acrylic tanks are also less prone to leaks. The seams of the tank do not use silicone, but actually welded together chemically creating a solid bond. The great thing about acrylic is that it can be bent to form shapes that are almost limited by your imagination. Tanks made in full circles or columns or almost any shape can be custom made to fit your need.
DIY tanks
You will also have the option to build your own tank. You can use the materials listed above or you could also build your tank from plywood with a glass or acrylic front, a fiberglass tank with glass or acrylic front, or you could have your dream tank made from cement with a glass or acrylic front.
If you decide to go this route, I strongly suggest you do a lot of reading and contact other people or professionals who have built there own tanks. There is nothing worse than spending the money to build a huge tank and have it fail to ruin your house or have someone get injured because it was not built correctly. The user Redtop has a great ongoing thread on how to build and maintain a plywood tank. You can read it here https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/31440-redtop03s-360g-plywood-adventure.html
One of the most important pieces of advice I can offer you is to buy the biggest aquarium you can afford and fit comfortably in your house. This hobby will have you addicted as the rest of us in a short time, and before long that small tank you started with wont be big enough. So why not start big and stick with it?
Bob
