Glass or Acrylic

[PatW]

Acrylic tanks have advantages. They are clear not tinted green like glass. They are light. The glue for acrylic actually bonds the tank into a single unit. They are much easier to take photos through.

Then there is the drawback. Acrylic scratches if you look at it hard. It is easy to buff out but that means emptying the tank which you are not going to do.

Low iron glass has much less green in it than normal glass. It costs more.

 

[italquam]

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.

To speak on the yellowing of acrylic, I read on Midwest Custom Aquarium website that today's acrylic doesn't yellow like it didn't years ago.

On their website they have a "why acrylic" section

 

[italquam]

Acrylic tanks have advantages. They are clear not tinted green like glass. They are light. The glue for acrylic actually bonds the tank into a single unit. They are much easier to take photos through.

Then there is the drawback. Acrylic scratches if you look at it hard. It is easy to buff out but that means emptying the tank which you are not going to do.

Low iron glass has much less green in it than normal glass. It costs more.

From what I have read, even low iron glass still is not as clear as acrylic? Have you ever heard the same thing??

 

[lapin]

From what I have read, even low iron glass still is not as clear as acrylic? Have you ever heard the same thing??

Low Iron glass is just what it is. Low iron. By adding iron to glass you get hardness. Without iron the glass would be too soft and scratch too easy. When you add iron you get a green tint. Most visible if you look at the edge. Low iron is going to have a slight greenish tint. It will not be as clear as acrylic, but very close.

 

[mtraylor]

Glass. Easier to maintain than acrylic. Less worry of scratches

 

[lapin]

One other thing to think about. What is your expected life span of the tank? Is it like a car where you will get a new one in 5 years? Will it be more like a cd where you will be sick of it in 1 year ? For a lot of people, hobbies come and go, for others they are life long.

 

[Devaji]

if you own and dont plan on moving it but once I would price out low iron glass. check out red sea and water box complete setups.
in the end that is one helpful reason I went with glass over acrylic. I wanted a nice stand and not a DIY one for once..

but if you are handy and don't mind building a stand for the acrylic you might be able to get a bigger tank at a lower price point. but then add the coast of the stand then your about the same.

very curious what you decide plz keep us updated!

 

[Charles4400]

Glass all the way. I had a 300g acrylic before and never again. Eventually you will get scratches on it.

If you don't scratch it someone else will. Like a guest or kid using a magnet cleaner with a tiny piece if sand or substrate in it..uggghh...once you have a long scratch on it you will never unsee it...especially on a tank you plan on keeping long term.

Glass for longevity.

 

[italquam]

The only issue with glass is that it is so heavy . I have had both, I had 120 acrylic and 110 gallon glass, both still got scratches across the front.

I do know today they have better cleaning materials , such as mighty magnets.

 

[Devaji]

The only issue with glass is that it is so heavy . I have had both, I had 120 acrylic and 110 gallon glass, both still got scratches across the front.

I do know today they have better cleaning materials , such as mighty magnets.

I believe some of the scratch removal stuff is reef safe?? I would look into that a bit more to see. I remember seeing that guys very very large and amazing tank up in long island NY (20,ooo gal) that melves reef did a video tour of and if I remember right he dives in and buff his tank out.

 

[ashleyt]

We have an acrylic tank that is 250 or 280 gallon. Our main issue is the fact that they scratch easily. It is hard to get the scratches out but we have managed to get a majority of them out. It was extremely cloud but we found some stuff to buff it and it's really clear now.

 

[ashleyt]

Ours was also a display from a fish store that was going out of business so it was already built.

 

[italquam]

We have an acrylic tank that is 250 or 280 gallon. Our main issue is the fact that they scratch easily. It is hard to get the scratches out but we have managed to get a majority of them out. It was extremely cloud but we found some stuff to buff it and it's really clear now.

LA fish guy has a great scratch removal video series on YouTube

 

[ashleyt]

LA fish guy has a great scratch removal video series on YouTube

I'll have to check it out especially because of sand and magnets causing the scratches. We just rebuffed ours a few days ago, drained the entire thing so we could do the inside.

 

[EBinRI]

Still haven't bought yet as finances haven't allowed it.

 

[italquam]

I'll have to check it out especially because of sand and magnets causing the scratches. We just rebuffed ours a few days ago, drained the entire thing so we could do the inside.

The method they use, it gets scratches out without draining tank

 

[italquam]

Still haven't bought yet as finances haven't allowed it.

I am in same boat

 

[ashleyt]

The method they use, it gets scratches out without draining tank

I'll definitely check that out.