Please Reply ...Glass VS Acrylic

Im upgrading my 30g glass to a 36g acrylic several weeks from now. Ive spoken with several lfs in my area about this ....2 are against acrylic, 1 was neutral. The 2 guys against it said glass is much stronger and allows the light to penetrate better. (the other lfs was simply indifferent). Im aware that acrylic scratches easily, but its popularity is strength, weight, and light enhancement OVER glass .....is my research incorrect?? :-/

 

You are definite correct on weight, strength as advantages and scratching as a disadvantage. Never heard about a difference in light.

Personally though, I would look at the problem differently. On a 36 gallon tank, do you really care about a few pounds weight difference one way or the other?? Probably not. Thus, weight is not an issue and not in your trade space.

Lighting. I would venture that 99% of the light entering my tank is from the lights above the surface of the water... my tank lights. Thus, whether or not there is a difference in what light penetrates the glass/acrylic does not really matter either and exits the trade.

That leaves us strength and scratching. Glass is more brittle, no question. Acrylic scratches easier, no question. I am going to convert these into durability and maintainability. Acrylic is more durable. Glass is more maintainable.

Which are you more afraid of... dropping the tank or banging it? or scratching it during maintenance??

The two things I would have added to your list are viewing clarity and cost. I have been researching Starphire Glass for a DIY Tank I am building. The difference in viewing clarity is what I was concerned about but there is a cost hit to get the improvement. I wonder if there is a difference in clarity/cost for acrylic?

Hope that thought process helped.

M

 

jmo i have a acrylic tank and the scraches drive me up a wall.

 

For that size tank go with glass. Acrylic outweighs glass only for very large tanks (> 125 g) when weight (carrying it into the house) is an issue. Thick acrylic is clearer than thick glass. However the glass thickness for a 36 gallon is not an issue. This is only an issue for very large tanks. So for your size tank you are left with the disadvantage of acrylic scratching easily and no advantages. Go with glass.

 

For that size of tank, I'd go with glass because weight is not the issue unless you want round corner which is another advantage of acrylic over glass.

 

I will add that I agree with this conclusion completely. I was trying to pose a thought process and not give what I thought the answer was because I am very biased against arcylic. On the 285gal, I am planning, I went plywood and starphire glass.

 

JMO, but I like the look of glass a lot better. It's clearer and won't scratch as easily. Acrylics always looks a bit hazy to me.

 

All of your opinions have been very helpful and interesting. Im not concerned about scratches and I am neurotically careful (my 4yr old glas tank has none ...and for the first novice year i re-aquascaped every few months). The strength, clarity over glass and rounded corners were my most important factors. I love the sense of continuity that rounded corners portray.

For those that may be unaware ...microfiber is an excellent product to use on your glass or acrylic inside and out. I have the magnetic cleaner wrapped in it ....works great. My final step is to use my fingers to wipe the bottom where the substrate is ...no scratches and no debris caught within your cleaning cloth.

 

Good cell cast acrylic is clearer than regular float glass and colorless, no green tint.

Good glass (Starfire is a PPG brand for low-iron glass) is clearer, but still has some color.

Glass CAN scratch, acrylic WILL scratch.

... I say go with glass for a 36g tank.

 

These LFS's sell glass tanks. They are going to try and persuade you into their thinking and wallet. I've had both. The acrylic is clearer to look at, it is lighter, it's said to be stronger but it scratches easier, is harder to work on and clean as the top is restricted. I have always preferred an All Glass tank and have the biggest predrilled tank they sell. IMO