Acrylic and Glass Tank?

Has anyone here ever seen an acrylic tank with an interior glass liner? I'm curious as I've read that acrylic will scratch if you breath on it funny. Glass from my experience doesn't scratch two easy but has the tendancy to attracted young children's tonka trucks.

I'm planning on building a reef tank at my office (240+ gallon) and if I'm going to invest in a custom setup I would like to get the best of the best.

Anyone seen one? Or have comments about the idea of having one built?

 

Thats a new one to me never herd of a glass lined acrylic tank.

 

I think an acrylic lined glass tank would be smarter. Glass on the outside because when little kids tonka trucks come runnin up to the acrylic they leave big scratches behind. Acrylic on the inside so if you rock shifts and falls it may save the glass from breaking or at least hold the water while you replace the glass.

Ooh I like this idea. Nobody saw this...

 

There's a company called Acrylic and Glass Exhibits (AGE) who I'm told makes outstanding custom tanks. Most of their tanks have acrylic bottoms and glass sides. The custom tank that I just ordered form another company is an all glass tank that has a half-inch sheet of acrylic laminated onto the bottom for protection and to make it easier to slide the tank into position. It has another half-inch thick sheet of acrylic that is perfectly cut to fit down into the bottom of the tank and is laminated to the glass bottom. This is good insurance against rock falls and eliminates the need to put a protective sheet of egg-crate under your rock set.

If you are going to have acrylic on the outside of your tank, it will definately get scratched by tonka trucks or possibly even stray dust specks. If you have acrylic on the inside of your tank, it will probably get scratched when you are cleaning the glass.

Since you are already thinking of making the investment in a custom tank, you have the option to go with thicker glass. Depending on how big a tank you get, it may necessarily be made from some pretty thick glass. My 550 gal is deep enough that it's made with half-inch thick glass (I think) and I'm assured that this should stand up to tonka trucks or maybe even a baseball bat.

 

Maybe I'll check to see how much it costs for inch thick glass then, as weight isn't an issue. Inch thick glass would be a alot stronger than the 3/8 or 1/2 I'm accustom to using. But like I said, if I'm going to bite the bullet I want to make sure it'll last a super long time (I love the idea that arcylic is chemically sealed and can't spring a leak from the silicon). I've already got designs to earthquake proof the tank and such, just need to deside which material to go with for the main tank.

Thank you guys for the responces!

 

I don't think any of the magnetic clamp type power heads will work on an inch. So you'll have to work around that.

 

Rare Earth Magnets... I use em at work, they'll bite and hold several lbs when their over 1.5 inch apart But I didn't think about that before, good advice!