Glass or Acrylic

[EBinRI]

I'm looking to start a new larger reef (about 200 gal size) and I can't decide between glass and acrylic. What do you suggest and why?

 

[TheCoralLife]

It is all based on opinion personally we prefer glass as the scratching is not as bad as acrylic tanks. Do not have to worry about crazing on glass either from some of the higher intensity lights

 

[lapin]

I went with acrylic when I built my 500+ gallon. Why becase I dont have a crane to lift the panels while I weld them together. My folks taught me not to afraid of scratches. They will heal.

 

[BigKid4788]

I went with acrylic for my 280. Decision was based on what's worse thought a Seam failure would be worse than scratches. You can buff scratches out with water still in it.

 

[TheCoralLife]

This is true but also seam failures can happen on acrylic depending on the builders.. Have seen some pretty bad acrylic failures through out. But as stated in the beginning it is all opinions on which you prefer

 

[lapin]

This is true but also seam failures can happen on acrylic depending on the builders.. Have seen some pretty bad acrylic failures through out. But as stated in the beginning it is all opinions on which you prefer

They all can fail glass or acrylic, depending on the builder. The builder was me. Some of the money I saved went into a thicker high quality acrylic.

 

[User1]

Personal preference. One thing I will suggest though is to ask yourself some basic questions like. What size. Location. Remodel in the future? Painting. Age. Who can, can't assist with moving if need be. All these questions and more may help you decide. I asked those and still went with glass and I regret it daily. Glass is heavy. It requires more people to move it on short notice or transports such has material lifts or dolly's readily available. Acrylic is lighter by design and clear. Glass you are going to pay more for those low iron glass panels. Acrylic you can buff scratches out but at the end of the day low iron glass also scratches.

I'm looking at my 210 now has I reply and I'm thinking I would like to move the tank but really can't. I have some crown molding to put up - tank is in the way... I also wanted to swap locations now that I have it set up - very difficult to do. If it was acrylic I probably would have already moved it. Build quality is build quality regardless if it is glass or acrylic. That really shouldn't be your deciding factor. What should be the deciding factor is moving, adjusting, and possible longer term plans of your home if you are a owner (renting reduces this of course).

 

[ca1ore]

I really do think it comes down to what is most important to you. I was a lifelong glass tank guy (with a brief detour into plywood in the 90's) including my last tank, a marineland 265. For my current tank, a 450, I went acrylic and I've not yet regretted the choice. My primary reason was weight. Empty, my tank was 550 pounds, but a corresponding glass tank was 1,200. That's the difference between four guys and a few dollies and the entire neighborhood. I also like the clarity, particularly the corners. Assuming a good build, the corners are clear and continuous ..... much more aesthetically appealing than glass. Acrylic scratches much more easily, of course, though there are some things I did to help reduce the chances (almost 9 months and no scratches yet). Scratches can be buffed out though. Drop a scratch into your glass tank, it's permanent. I've not had mine long enough to know if it will yellow or craze. I did go with a thicker acrylic for all the walls.

 

[paphater]

I think it depends on the application. Small tanks glass makes more sense, medium to small-large tanks I think it swings towards acrylic. I built my 8' acrylic tank and it was lite enough that I could do everything myself. Next year I'm going to build an 10' plywood tank and an acrylic panel would cost over 2/3rds what a corresponding glass sheet will run. I would go with whichever allows you to get the biggest tank you can, because there is a good chance you will want to upgrade later.

 

[Matthew Frost]

My .02:

I had glass tanks for years with freshwater. Big, heavy glass tanks that always seemed to have seems that got ugly over time and black plastic moldings that discolored or got broken. My first reef tank I bought acrylic, 90 gallons, I'll never buy another glass tank. Smaller than 50 gallon, QT/frag/grow out tanks you can make them yourself and they last decades.

 

[EBinRI]

Thanks for the responses. You gave me a lot to think about.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Acrylic is so clear and durable and lighter in weight However, I have a drop off tank in acrylic and so afraid to clear algae due to scratch potential and when scratched a monster to buff out

 

[Pete1968]

I'm looking to start a new larger reef (about 200 gal size) and I can't decide between glass and acrylic. What do you suggest and why?

Personal preference, i went with acrylic for my 200 gallon build! Loved it until I accidentally scratched it when a piece of sand got caught in the magnet scraper! It became way to much work, if you do decide togo with acrylic do yourself a favor , go with bare bottom! If you go with glass try to find a starfire glass ! Nothings like it

 

[vetteguy53081]

Personal preference, i went with acrylic for my 200 gallon build! Loved it until I accidentally scratched it when a piece of sand got caught in the magnet scraper! It became way to much work, if you do decide togo with acrylic do yourself a favor , go with bare bottom! If you go with glass try to find a starfire glass ! Nothings like it

I know person who had rock fall down and place a gash in the acrylic as well as using a magnet cleaner with plastic blade and it picked up particles of sand which was magnetic and caused scratches

 

[Pete1968]

I know person who had rock fall down and place a gash in the acrylic as well as using a magnet cleaner with plastic blade and it picked up particles of sand which was magnetic and caused scratches

Exactly, i think for huge tanks over 500 gallons, its a good idea do to weight issues, but glass is way clearer and way togo especially starfire glass!

 

[italquam]

Did you end up going glass or acrylic??

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

My biggest complaint about acrylic is that it can be really tough to remove certain algae (coralline in particular) with even the best blades.

It is far more work in general to keep the viewing surfaces clean. If you’re there every day and can hit it up, you’re probably OK. But if you’re not, it can be a huge pain.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Im about to make a move on a large acrylic and never considered the subject of algae. Yikes

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Im about to make a move on a large acrylic and never considered the subject of algae. Yikes

It gets super difficult to get down into corners and along the bottom without scratching it up.

 

[Devaji]

i'll chime in here as I have been thinking about this for a while now...

all good points on the pros and cons.
glass:
starfire glass is an clear as acrylic
don't scratch as easily
but OMG its heavy years ago I have a 240 acrylic and 2 guys could move it no problem. the RS 750XXl took 4 of us and we worked out butts off.

Acrylic:
so much lighter
can do some cool shapes and sizes
Connor polishing
but I hear they can yellow out over time
scratch easy

in that size you are looking for might want to think about the red sea reefer 750XXL I got one over BF and I can say its a amazing sexy tank heck the sump is nicer than any tank I have ever had. comes with stand rimless tank sump ATO res and plumbing for not a bad price.
that said it's HEAVY 3/4" glass so if you want to move it for to have good friends or hired ppl.

when I got this tank I was planning a mixed reef however my coral QT tank crashed now I am moving more towards a fish only and wished I would have gone bigger 240-300+ gallons Acrylic would have been nice there.

someday ( when I build my own home ) I want a room divider massive peninsula tank like 8-10' long 3-4' wide and 2-3' high I dream of it all the time. I am in the same boat glass or acrylic...

I would price them out side my side. and maybe get a nano of each and run that for 6 months to a year while you plan your build and see what you like. heat to droop that kinda $$ only to regret it later on.