At what point is acrylic 'better' than glass?

[((FORDTECH))]

guys, just to recap, what would you use to clean the acrylic ?

actually I have the tunze long and the magfloat acrylic. not really sure if they are good.

any better tool that is acrylis safe ?

The question I need an answer to is what you use to clean the outside of your acrylic tank without leaving streaks and haze? Right now I’m using warm water and paper towels but paper towels don’t seem to dry the Acrylic very well. Thinking about trying a car drying shammy

 

[iLMaRiO]

The question I need an answer to is what you use to clean the outside of your acrylic tank without leaving streaks and haze? Right now I’m using warm water and paper towels but paper towels don’t seem to dry the Acrylic very well. Thinking about trying a car drying shammy

Currently, paper and microfiber, but yes, it's different than glass, i still have to try with car shammy

But i was talking about the inside...

 

[Mkkari]

I would never ,, ever ,, buy a acrylic tank ,,, other than the weight issue ,, there is no upside to buying one ,, I won't go into all the down side reasons ,, that we all know , not to buy one ,, I will just give one reason ,,

I have a friend that bought one ,, a 300 to 400 gallon acrylic tank ,, made by a top of the line tank maker ,, this was a really nice tank ,, he paid good money for it ,, he had a change in his job where he was going to have to move and sell the tank ,,

He pretty much couldn't give this tank away ,, the price was eventually marked down to less than 1/4 of what the tank cost new ,, and 3 years later ,, he still had the tank ,, and may still have it to this day ,,, I have never asked him ,,

If your buddy still has that tank, I may buy it

 

[Midrats]

Novus 1 works great for the outside.

 

[Thaxxx]

This will never be decided...
It's the Coke® Pepsi ® debate for aquariums.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I basically have 3 acrylic tools in my arsenal..

1. mr. clean magic eraser. I slice them in half (making them thinner) and using them with my magfloat.
2. "white scotch brite" aka...https://premiumaquatics.com/products/premium-acrylicglass-scrub-pad.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwlID8BRAFEiwAnUoK1ZiaAhfcC6kcEimEZrZwLmfogNowOZQnMN9pm_Qa6wNsJE81igPPphoC3lwQAvD_BwE
3. plastic pot scrubbers like you get at the dollar store.
4. I also use a gas station window washer thingie majig on my frag tanks. It was like $4 at home depot. Soo easy.

If you pushed me into a corner and demanded that I chose one cleaner I would have to go with the magic eraser.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

oh.. the outside.. always and nothing but microfiber clothes.

 

[ycnibrc]

For me anything more than 300g I will go with acrylic simply because of seam integrity. So many nightmare tank failure thread regarding seam come apart and most are from glass aquarium.

 

[iLMaRiO]

I basically have 3 acrylic tools in my arsenal..

1. mr. clean magic eraser. I slice them in half (making them thinner) and using them with my magfloat.
2. "white scotch brite" aka...https://premiumaquatics.com/products/premium-acrylicglass-scrub-pad.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwlID8BRAFEiwAnUoK1ZiaAhfcC6kcEimEZrZwLmfogNowOZQnMN9pm_Qa6wNsJE81igPPphoC3lwQAvD_BwE
3. plastic pot scrubbers like you get at the dollar store.
4. I also use a gas station window washer thingie majig on my frag tanks. It was like $4 at home depot. Soo easy.

If you pushed me into a corner and demanded that I chose one cleaner I would have to go with the magic eraser.

With magic eraser inside the mag float (do you have a pic?) are you able to remove coralline algae? And what i saw cleaning the tank is that i still have to use a sponge on the inside to make it perfectly clean (Just like when you wash the Windows glasses: you have to use a sponge to make them bright)

 

[Thaxxx]

I basically have 3 acrylic tools in my arsenal..

1. mr. clean magic eraser. I slice them in half (making them thinner) and using them with my magfloat.


If you pushed me into a corner and demanded that I chose one cleaner I would have to go with the magic eraser.

Magic Eraser now has thin sheets

 

[Seanb1]

I think the biggest mistake i ever made in any type of aquarium keeping was to purchase a acrylic tank.
They are way to fragile and end up lookin like crap.
You will scratch it up either by getting sand on it while cleaning, it takes 1 grain of sand to scratch it, or a rock will scratch it or you will scratch it removing coraline.
Some tanks these days you cant even wipe them with a paper towel because it leaves marks.
Show me a acrylic tank and ill show you swirl marks or scratches.
Glass tanks are perfect for years.
As far as the weight issue goes, are we really going to quibble about 200-500 pounds when a measly 100 gallons weighs 800 ?
Build a stand that will support it easily and use your head where you sit it at.
I wouldn’t suggest having a 500 gal tank on a second floor with big time support underneath it, you get the idea.
Acrylic sucks.

 

[iLMaRiO]

Magic Eraser now has thin sheets

Where? Any link?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I think the biggest mistake i ever made in any type of aquarium keeping was to purchase a acrylic tank.
They are way to fragile and end up lookin like crap.
You will scratch it up either by getting sand on it while cleaning, it takes 1 grain of sand to scratch it, or a rock will scratch it or you will scratch it removing coraline.
Some tanks these days you cant even wipe them with a paper towel because it leaves marks.
Show me a acrylic tank and ill show you swirl marks or scratches.
Glass tanks are perfect for years.
As far as the weight issue goes, are we really going to quibble about 200-500 pounds when a measly 100 gallons weighs 800 ?
Build a stand that will support it easily and use your head where you sit it at.
I wouldn’t suggest having a 500 gal tank on a second floor with big time support underneath it, you get the idea.
Acrylic sucks.

Says the guy who does not have a big aquarium....

Yeah its a good thing that sand and rocks won't scratch glass... wait..what?

 

[Thaxxx]

Where? Any link?

I saw the T. V. commercials

 

[White Monkey]

They buff them out and polish them with hand sanders.

How do public aquariums maintain the condition of their acrylic walls then?

 

[Rjramos]

My first 55 gal reef tank was acrylic, that was 25 years ago. Never went back to acrylic since. What happens is, if your a GOOD reef keeper and your CORALS and everything are doing GOOD, then CORALLINE algae is also THRIVING. Not only on your ROCKS, but also on the CLEAR windows you look THROUGH, everyday. So, you end up cleaning the easy algae with anything, but the CRUSTY CORRALINE algae doesn’t come off that EASY. Then, you either spend a lot of time every 2 days Scrubbing every little PINK dot, or you let it go for longer until it starts to get ahead of you. Metal blade on glass works great and gets the job done quicker. Nothing on plexiglas works great, and nothing guarantees a scratch free PLEXIGLAS tank over the years!

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Where? Any link?

I dont have a link but here is picture of them

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Novus 1 works great for the outside.

Yes I have novus 1. What kind of towel do you use ?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Microfiber. When i am done cleaning the inside i use one microfiber cloth to get all the water off. And most of any smearing. Then i spray the novus and use a new microfiber to wipe it off. I have a dedicated cloth for that last step.

 

[blackgate]

Coraline algae on acrylic is my most hated of all chores. I mean I can spend almost an hour scraping that stuff off on a tiny 80 gallon tank. With glass it took 5 minutes, but other than that, I love my acrylic tank! THERE MUST BE ANY EASIER WAY OF GETTING CORALINE OFF ACRYLIC