Upgrade to 450g ACRYLIC

[Tenecor Aquariums]

So acrylic is more better as far as clarity

With an acrylic tank, there is no refraction (how light bends from air to water). Every public aquarium uses acrylic and some of the panels are up to 16 inches thick without any distortion. You will also appreciate the bent front corners on some acrylic tanks, no ugly silicone seams. Lower price, much lower on the larger sizes. Longer lasting (Older 25+ years Tenecor tanks are common. Not too many examples of older glass tanks). Safer and stronger. Better looking. Acrylic wins.

 

[1ocean]

Wanted to share, my friend gave me this awesome 75 gallon cube tank made a long time ago. His parents had it and when they past away he gave it to me..I know it it a tenecor from how it looks to have been made. It is awesome looking and has to be back from late 80"s. They lived in Scottsdale, going to set it up ...Can't get a picture of it now cause it is safety packaway. It was for fresh water so no internal overflow. Which is perfect cause I hate giving up tank space and love external overflow boxes..

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

glass has is more clearer.. Acrylic let up to 92 % of light making it clearer then standard glass. That is why glass tanks are now using this low iron glass for front panels or all viewing panels to try and get closer to acrylic. Acrylic come in either cast or extruded. Cast is stronger, clearer and not as bendable and when cutting it does not leave burr edges. This is used for fish tanks etc. Cast is poured into a mold or form.. Where extruded is poured and pushed through rollers, this is the stuff you can get at most big box home improvement stores. Cast will have paper protecting it in most cases where extruded has plastic protecting it.

Here are a photos of cell cast acrylic. Notice the white gasket. This is what the acrylic is poured into. Like the crust on a a slice of bread.

 

[1ocean]

Here are a photos of cell cast acrylic. Notice the white gasket. This is what the acrylic is poured into. Like the crust on a a slice of bread.

awesome..thanks for sharing. I had to correct my post. My fat fingers typed they word glass instead of acrylic is way more clearer.

 

[1ocean]

we will be chatting when it is time for a 600...have to build the addition room first

 

[srcleary]

I have three glass tanks and about to set up an acrylic.

The tank I currently hate most is the Chinese made low E. It has a lot of scratches that I know I can never get out. I swear these Chinese low E are much softer than the Starfire.

my favorite glass tank is made from Starfire glass. Super clear and no scratches yet.

the other tank is a Planet Aquarium standard glass. Not as clear but also no scratches and tank is about seven years old.

my new tank is acrylic. The owner is replacing it with glass. It’s all scratched up. I’m hiring a guy to Polish and rebuild the overflow for $1k. It’s1,100 gallons.

i am very nervous it will get scratched in my office. But researching like crazy how NOT to scratch.

I am encouraged by this thread. Thanks!

The pic is of the acrylic tank I’m getting.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

I have three glass tanks and about to set up an acrylic.

The tank I currently hate most is the Chinese made low E. It has a lot of scratches that I know I can never get out. I swear these Chinese low E are much softer than the Starfire.

my favorite glass tank is made from Starfire glass. Super clear and no scratches yet.

the other tank is a Planet Aquarium standard glass. Not as clear but also no scratches and tank is about seven years old.

my new tank is acrylic. The owner is replacing it with glass. It’s all scratched up. I’m hiring a guy to Polish and rebuild the overflow for $1k. It’s1,100 gallons.

i am very nervous it will get scratched in my office. But researching like crazy how NOT to scratch.

I am encouraged by this thread. Thanks!

The pic is of the acrylic tank I’m getting.

You are making the right decision, especially in a public setting. Check with your insurance company and don't be surprised to find out there are exclusions for blown aquariums. People don't know this and assume they are covered. Glass tanks will leak. Maybe not tomorrow or the next day, but one day. You are going to have an amazing setup. Please keep posting. .

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

I have three glass tanks and about to set up an acrylic.

The tank I currently hate most is the Chinese made low E. It has a lot of scratches that I know I can never get out. I swear these Chinese low E are much softer than the Starfire.

my favorite glass tank is made from Starfire glass. Super clear and no scratches yet.

the other tank is a Planet Aquarium standard glass. Not as clear but also no scratches and tank is about seven years old.

my new tank is acrylic. The owner is replacing it with glass. It’s all scratched up. I’m hiring a guy to Polish and rebuild the overflow for $1k. It’s1,100 gallons.

i am very nervous it will get scratched in my office. But researching like crazy how NOT to scratch.

I am encouraged by this thread. Thanks!

The pic is of the acrylic tank I’m getting.

FYI, something else to be aware of. Most of the well advertised glass aquariums are all manufacturered by the same Chinese company. We know this because they keep trying to get us to buy their "private label" made "especially" for us.

 

[srcleary]

You are making the right decision, especially in a public setting. Check with your insurance company and don't be surprised to find out there are exclusions for blown aquariums. People don't know this and assume they are covered. Glass tanks will leak. Maybe not tomorrow or the next day, but one day. You are going to have an amazing setup. Please keep posting. .

I started a build thread on the new tank. Just didn’t want to hijack this thread.

I am very excited about the new built. And I love the advice albeit sometimes they are debates. lol especially when it comes to keeping sharks!

but what I like the most is applying what I have learned among the way from my own mistakes and from others.

 

[srcleary]

FYI, something else to be aware of. Most of the well advertised glass aquariums are all manufacturered by the same Chinese company. We know this because they keep trying to get us to buy their "private label" made "especially" for us.

I think people need to know what low e glass they are getting and be very careful. Mine cost $1k and will probably end up as a refugium!

 

[jmichaelh7]

You are correct! Filling it now and the water is almost invisible. Falling in love with acrylic and it's only 1/4 full

I’d like to k ow about the process you did for this tank to buff out

 

[italquam]

I tried an acrylic tank for my upgrade. It was so bad I actually risked losing more livestock and switching over to a glass tank after less than a year of use, even got a new one that cost 3x what I paid for the acrylic tank. Absolutely any benefit of acrylic (aside from the buffing) ends once the tank is on the stand. It bows more, it's opaque and hard to take pictures through.

lets be honest. Years from now, you have a 400 gallon functional tank, ecosystem and biology just how you like it. Beautiful reef, growing coral. Are you really going risk it all to empty the tank and buff the scratches that are on it? Sorry for the mini rant, but i can't stress enough how much I dislike acrylic.

You can actually buff the scratches under water , Mighty Magnets makes a buffer kit . Also, a video of it being done on you tube

 

[italquam]

I have a 525gallon from envision acrylics. Sits in the waiting room of my practice. I have no concerns about a seam failing. I read about seam failures on glass all the time on here, and even more frequently on Facebook. That alone was enough to steer me to acrylic. Yes it scratches, but so does glass. You can buff acrylic out. There are also some in tank products that dont require livestock removal. My 1 inch thick acrylic tank is very clear as long as I wipe the algae off. I can still take nice pictures though it as well.

Any build thread ?

 

[Jubei2006]

sure do

Monster Build - My wife will kill me if it leaks 525 gallons

So long time lurker, new to commenting, and possibly mental for my undertaking. I present my newly started reef tank. It's a custom built Envision acrylic tank. 84Lx48Dx30H. It has a central overflow as the wife wanted it 4 sides viewable with no seen cords. James Steele does fabulous work...

www.reef2reef.com