Glass or acrylic

[Goku's Reef]

Hi,,

I have a 10 gallon nano tank and I've been thinking of getting a new tank. I'd like to get a tank that's around 40 - 60 gallon. I'm not sure whether to get glass or acrylic tank. I know acrylic gets scratches and someone at the lfs store told me that in the long run, the acrylic tends to bend out of shape and turns a little yellow due to old age - is this right. when I heard this, it made me almost buy a glass tank - on impulse - had to stop my self.

Another question: is it better to get a tank that's wide than deep, tall or short?

Thanks..

[Travis]

For a 40-60 glass would be my vote!!

Will it be a reef? Normally shorter and wider is better for a reef... for two reasons. One- you can fit more lighting in a wider hood. Two- the lights will be closer to the corals in a shorter tank.

I know your looking for a 40-60 but as an example I think the 120g 48" x 24" x 24" is a perfect size for a reef.

[Goku's Reef]

:D

Yes... This will be a reef tank. I've been looking at the JBJ lighting system with 2 X 96 watts. I've been hearing good and bad things about this system. But, I do like the way it looks and its got a built in fan to dissipate the heat. I don't know if this lighting system is enough for the corals. I'd like to be able to handle any types of corals - I don't think, I'm pretty sure that I will stay away from corals that demand MH lights. Too expensive or setup and lighting bills.

Thanks for the input.

[Travis]

My brother is running JBJ lighting- 4-65w on his 55g and they do look good. You should be able to keep softies and some LPS with 2- 96w PCs.

You could opt for more lighting with somthing like this CustomSeaLife 36 - 4 x 96 W Power Compact (http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CL1911)... More light the better IMO.

[nokian]

I'm a glass tank man myself, its harder to scratch, and in a longer tank its less likely to bow to the extent that some acrylics will. However, they are heavier and more fragile, dont decide to play twister next to your tank or to have some sort of indoor game that may include throwing a ball around. The weight issue isnt really a big deal though, as your reef tank full will weigh only a small percent less if you do with acrylic. And yeah the longer shorter thing is the better choice for a reef tank for the reasons posted earlier. Hope this helps dude!

[Goku's Reef]

Yes... I'm more leaning towards the glass - but I do like the durability of acrylic tanks. Yes.... I know that the acrylic tends to bow in the long run and gets darker, doesn't stay clear.

I'm getting the wide and short for better lighting - hopefully - I can saves some money on the light fixture.

Thanks for all the input...

[Sandworm]

I did allot of reserach on this very subject goku. I found that some of what you were told is true. That said, if you get a decent brand acrylic you won't have any problems with the tank bowing or the tank turning color on you. Tenecor makes some awesome acrylic tanks , yeah they are a little pricey but its worth it in the long run. As far as the scratches go, most will get on the outside and can be buffed out or are so small you can't really tell. I like the idea and piece of mind when it comes to not breaking. Imagine if you will lets say a 100 gallon tank (this has happened to people before) you fill it up with 150lbs of live rock and it looks great. If anything should cause the rock to become unstable or dislodge and fall against the glass tank, it could blow the whole side out of the glass. The physics on this is astounding, you have any idea how many pounds per square inch a half ton is on the wall of a glass tank?? Point is accidents happen. Glass will seep and you could have salt buildups on the joints. The RTV used to glue glass together will break down eventually. A bond on an acrylic however is stronger than the acrylic to begin with.

All of these things should be considered. Most people go with glass cause they are cheaper. Acrylic drills so darn easy its not funny. Mess up on drilling a drain hole in your glass tank and kiss it off.

I ended up going acrylic cause I am a parnparanoidfball when it comes to accidents, so I chose to sleep at night instead of worrying.. hehe

But this is my opinion. Your tank will look great i'm suI'mwhichever route you decide to go with.. Reef On !!

[nokian]

Well I wouldn't lose sleep over having a glass tank, I have a 130 gallon, glass, freshwater (I could never afford a reef in that tank!) in my basement that I have had for some time now. I got it dirt cheap at the LFS when it came in with a broken end panel, I repaired it and it hasn't leaked or caused any problems since. The physics issue of the pressure on the tank walls is pretty simple, a foot of water squared weighs 64 pounds, give or take a pound, this is scientific fact. Most people will tell you that one gallon of water weighs somewhere between 7 and 8 pounds, I like to say it weights around 10, to account for rock and all that stuff that will be in the tank besides water. As far a rocks falling on the glass and breaking it, this would have to be a pretty good hit. a scratch on the outside of the glass is worse then a scratch on the inside. When cutting glass, you make your cut and then bend the glass away from it, thus splitting the glass. I'm not trying to make an argument here, both tanks have their ups and downs, I go with glass since as stated before, its CHEAPER and its all generally the same, you know what your getting with glass eveytime. I'm careful around my reef and I stack my rock VERY carefully! But hey, if you can afford it, go with the acrylic, or save some cash and get the glass, use the money for some new lights for that baby!

[Fiji Live Rock]

Sandworm is completely correct.

The physics on a rock falling just a foot, even through water, and hitting lets say the front of your tank...dead in the center of your front glass pannel. All of the kinetic energy stored up in that rock from its gravity driven fall will instantly transfer the second it is "stopped" by the glass...all through that SMALL surface area of the rock (Probably the size of a quarter to a half-dollar) that just slammed into it.

...you will hear a muffled pop then a rush of water and glass...You can only imagine the problems with 55-200+ gallons of salt water rushing out onto your floor.

Things like this are in my mind always with my tank. Though out of the 11 years I have had my 55 gal it hasn't happened, but who is to say it won't? Lets just say, once I get the time to build my acrylic or lexan tank...my glass tanks are gone!

[Goku's Reef]

Huh. well - I guess I have something to think about glass or acrylic. Time to go shopping again for a glass tank and/or acrylic. Tenecor.... let me check my lfs for this brand and check the prices...

Thanks..
Thanks... :D

[I_Was_A_Fish_Once]

I did all the research polling every one I could. I have found the if you plan on being in the game for a while that you should go with Acrylic 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch Lexan. I have looked all over the web for the best prices for both raw materials and complete systems. There are polishes that you can apply to take out minor scratches and you cannot do that with glass. All of the brands that I found have 10 to 15 year warrenties. I don't know what the going warrenty is on t AG tank. But 15 years was good enough for me to buy a 240 gal this weekend.

I have posted the best links that I have found for ram materials. That is the cheapest all around. A 180 gal acrylic would only cost about $300.

http://www.piedmontplastics.com/prodtype.asp?http://www.scicominc.com/plastic_sheet_stock.htm
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog_name=USPlastic&Category_Name=Sheet,+Rod,+Shapes&Page=1

Cheers,
MJ

[nokian]

Holy crap guys! I completly forgot about this post!


How big was that falling rock on the inside of the tank that you mentioned fiji? Did you mean that the rock was about the size of a pebel? A rock like that falling through water sideways ehh? If thrown from the outside, I can see it breaking the glass, but as I said before, its worse to have a scratch on the outside of the tank then the inside. If you meant that the rock was alot larger, maybe a few pounds and the contact point was as big as a pebel, then you would have a bad sitiuation there.


You can buy scratch removal or buffing pads for acrylic tanks, but its also easy to scratch them, glass is around a 5.5 on the hardness scale and I'd say acrylic is around a 3.5. 1 being the lowest, 10 being the hardest.

I never said that sandworm was wrong, I think sandworm has some great posts that have givein me some real insight.

Your posts have been helpfull too fiji.


As for warenty, I beleive hagen has a lifetime warenty on their tanks agains leaks. I dont thiknthey cover breaks and or floods of any type. I stated it before, get a realy good acrylic if your going to get one. If you want to save some cash, get an AG tank. Seriously, how many people play ruff around their maine aquariums?


No matter what. Stack your rock carefully, with a solid base, be carefull around your tank, dont make your own home movies of jack ass around it. Just use comon sense.

And just to let everyone know, I'm not disagreeing with anyone. I'd get an acrylic too if I wanted to spend that much when a glass tank of half the price would do the job.

Just my 2 cents.