At what point is acrylic 'better' than glass?

[SY2932]

Lowell Lemon I sent you a message regarding two items on my acrylic aquarium. I would appreciate your input if you have a moment .

 

[Mechanic907]

Plus.. you can build a 600 gallon 4x8x30" 1" thick plexiglas G acrylic tank in your garage for $2,200.

i was looking at building a tank this exact size as an upgrade to my 230g i've watched tons of videos on "gluing" the acrylic did you use weld on #4 or something different is there something better to use?

 

[N.Sreefer]

Umm I work for ford 24 years now and you cannot sand glass to make it clear and scratch less that’s why we replace windshields and side windows when scratched because it can not be fixed. Just like you would a tank. Also with all the acrylic and glass tank conversation you are first person to ever suggest being able to sand glass. PLEASE NO ONE TRY THIS ON YOUR GLASS TANK IT WILL PERMANENTLY DAMAGE IT

Agree on the sanding but regular old toothpaste will get scratches off the outside of a glass aquarium. Its also alot harder to scratch glass. Cerium oxide can also remove scratches from glass.

 

[slythy]

I just paid $2100 for my planet aquarium 180gal glass which is right at the price where acrylic is close to the same. I broke my 180g moving it. Feel like acrylic wouldnt have .
I think very large aquariums are easier and cheaper to manufacture out of acrylic.

 

[albano]

Agree on the sanding but regular old toothpaste will get scratches off the outside of a glass aquarium. Its also alot harder to scratch glass. Cerium oxide can also remove scratches from glass.

Have heard that story many times… but have never seen any glass scratches actually fixed!
I still have some acrylic tanks from the early 90s, that are still in use and looking good!

l’ve posted it before (probably on this thread)… that most ‘acrylic haters’ have never actually had an acrylic tank, but the ‘acrylic lovers’ have had glass tanks, and have no desire to get another!

 

[Cabinetman]

Oh, Really. Would that be with water or no water. If with water, your adding micro plastic to your system. Without a buffing composite? I’d like to see how easy that is. Elbow deep or some kind of an underwater buffer that no one has.
Without water? Have fun breaking down your system, removing scratches and building back up. No THANKS.

I use 6000 grit Velcro disk on my mag float to remove scratches on the inside. In fact I just removed a few scuffs I made cleaning a while back. Took minutes. No draining the tank I’m sure the skimmer will remove the micro dust. All the while…My buddies glass tank with the scratches are still there.

 

[Pistol Peet]

Have heard that story many times… but have never seen any glass scratches actually fixed!
I still have some acrylic tanks from the early 90s, that are still in use and looking good!

l’ve posted it before (probably on this thread)… that most ‘acrylic haters’ have never actually had an acrylic tank, but the ‘acrylic lovers’ have had glass tanks, and have no desire to get another!

This is clearly all speculation there is no way to prove v that all people owning acrylic tanks have had glass. And that there is zero people owning glass that have never had acrylic .. every one needs to do there own resurch on both acrylic and glass and decide on what best suits there own individual needs and situation.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

I prefer acrylic over gas for a number of reason, weight is one , then clarity and I feel they will last longer and never need resealing.
As far as scratching not really an issue if you don't get carried away while cleaning even with sand, My tank is 28 years old and i had a 17 year old 240 along with others. give me a choice between two tank with the same dimensions and I will tank the acrylic and not have to think about it.

 

[jasonrusso]

This is clearly all speculation there is no way to prove v that all people owning acrylic tanks have had glass. And that there is zero people owning glass that have never had acrylic .. every one needs to do there own resurch on both acrylic and glass and decide on what best suits there own individual needs and situation.

I had a 75G glass. Then I had a 150 acrylic. Now I have a 210 glass. I'll never have an acrylic again. Does that help your statement?

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I use 6000 grit Velcro disk on my mag float to remove scratches on the inside. In fact I just removed a few scuffs I made cleaning a while back. Took minutes. No draining the tank I’m sure the skimmer will remove the micro dust. All the while…My buddies glass tank with the scratches are still there.

This is exactly what I do

 

[BoneDoc]

All arguments here have validity to them, both pros and cons. So instead, let's talk remedy. If you go with acrylic and get a scratch there is no need for a hours long work out to buff it out. Just work smarter, not harder. Magnetic scraper, melamine foam (Magic Eraser), a little bit of velcro strips to hold in place, a routed out block and a drill. Quick and easy.

Edit, should have added that there are products on the market that you could put in place of the melamine foam for buffing out larger scratches. You can do it without emptying the tank.

Love this video. The CBB response was hilarious

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I will put up a $1,00 to see someone take out scratches in glass with toothpaste or cerium oxide for that matter. I spent over an hour straight trying to polish out a scratch in my glass tank with a drill based buffing wheel, a commercial polisher and diamond paste and cerium oxide. Nothing.

I really don't understand how the myth that you need to drain acrylic tanks to polish them, take scratches out of them is still around. anyways... beyond caring.

Acrylic is 6x stronger, more optically transparent, lighter, scratches can be removed and they don't degrade over time like a tank held together with silicone. Plus you can't bunge up the seams while cleaning like you can with silicone. Small tanks? Sure glass. Above 200 gallons? Acrylic all day every day.

@Mechanic907 I will PM you the formula to make acrylic solvent that is a million times better and stronger than weld on.

 

[Rjramos]

A scratch on glass usually happens when a rock scrapes against it. Pretty easy to avoid.
Both tanks require regular cleaning of the glass, in this case, the acrylic will scratch easier. Why?
Because if you’ve been doing this long enough and good enough, CORRALINE everywhere including the edges and corners goes hand in hand with success. I think we can all agree, When the reef aquarium is looking nice, the corraline is everywhere. They sell corraline in a bottle imagine that!
Corraline does not come off gently, it must be scraped, and when you do so with whatever on plexiglas (plastic or metal blade), plastic blade being garbage after 1 use, you end up with lots of tiny micro scratches.
My 1st tank in 1995, was a plexiglas Tenecor 55 gal. What I describe above, is what happened. It got to the point that I just stopped scraping the corraline to avoid adding more scratches. Every pane had a frame of corraline on the corners and edges.
Since then, it’s been glass. My current set up, a 120 gal glass, has no scratches on it since 2006. I don’t think this would be possible if it was acrylic with all the corraline I’ve scraped off.
And so what if scratches are easier to get off on acrylic, I don’t want to deal with any scratch removal wet or dry. Enough said.

 

[Timfish]

Having had both glass and acrylic I much prefer glass over acrylic. However, referring to the OP's title I'd say acrylic is definitely better when building unique shapes like this one:

 

[albano]

Corraline does not come off gently, it must be scraped, and when you do so with whatever on plexiglas (plastic or metal blade), plastic blade being garbage after 1 use…

If you like your glass tank, then I’m happy for you… but I do feel the need to comment on things that I think are not exactly correct.
Plastic blades do wear down, but they can easily be sanded or ‘planed’ level, and continue to be used.
I also have used the metal blade scraper for coralline on my acrylic tanks. The reason that I’m able to use them (and an occasional razor blade) is that I’ve rounded off the 2 corners of the blades with my dremel. IME, it’s those sharp edges that could cause scratches. (Which, did I mention, can be sanded off/ unlike glass)

 

[Miami Reef]

My tank would have shattered a LONG time ago if it was glass. It’s very hard to aquascape in a 250 gallon with the middle completely blocked off from the cabinets.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

If you like your glass tank, then I’m happy for you… but I do feel the need to comment on things that I think are not exactly correct.
Plastic blades do wear down, but they can easily be sanded or ‘planed’ level, and continue to be used.
I also have used the metal blade scraper for coralline on my acrylic tanks. The reason that I’m able to use them (and an occasional razor blade) is that I’ve rounded off the 2 corners of the blades with my dremel. IME, it’s those sharp edges that could cause scratches. (Which, did I mention, can be sanded off/ unlike glass)

I’ve been using my old driver’s license for the last two years to scrape and haven’t scratched the tank yet.

 

[DJKNOX]

Hi! I worked at one. Periodically we would empty the tanks and buff out the scratches. Some can’t get buffed out but most can. After about 5 years a tank needs a good buff.

Thanks for the valuable input. So for a 1600 gal aquarium, what should I do with all the sensitive lifeforms during this drain and buffing? I presume at a public aquarium you had alternative homes for them but at my home what would one do with 10s of thousands of dollars of livestock?

 

[Tired]

Buckets. Big ones.

(Seriously though- rubbermaid tubs or similar. Fish and other mobile organisms go separate from rocks and corals. Put a source of flow in each one, or an airstone if it's the fish tub, and put a lid over any tub containing something that can jump. Heaters may be required if it's particularly cold or you take a long time, though personally I would only worry about heating the fish tub. Corals and live rock shouldn't be harmed or even notably distressed by a brief stint at room temperature. Fish shouldn't either, but as they get stressed by being caught in a way corals don't, they might benefit from the extra babying of the heater.)

 

[DJKNOX]

You can fix scratchs in glass by sanding as well lol. I work in automotive.

Glass doesnt scratchs unless you drop a rock on it or have a gravel substrate. Ive scratched acrylic with a plastic handle on a scrubber i had one time.

Another reason i hate acrylic are how the tops are glued on most of them. They have these rediculousymly small openeings. And for a 24 inch tall tank it makes cleaning the upper sections of the tank near impossible with standing on a chair and reaching your arm in and up.

Alot of people hate the center braces on large glass tanks.. imagine if they had the typical acrylic tank where 50% of the top is covered by this

The excessive bracing on the top is because the acrylic tank is not using thick enough panels, just to keep the price down. A properly designed acrylic tank should not have any more bracing blockage than a glass tank. But then it will cost a LOT more.