Acrylic Tank

[taggart2004@ukonline.co.uk]

Hi all

I am looking for a new custom tank (42" x 22" x 22"). Just had a good quote for an Acrylic tank.

It is meant to be lighter and stronger than glass but unsure if it will be better than glass.

Has anyone got an acrylic tank of this size that can give me advise if it is worth going for?

Thanks

 

[Truck]

the pros and cons of acrylic and glass

glass:

pros:
easy to clean
hard to scratch
cons:
hard to get scratches out
cant be drilled easily
heavy
and isnt as clear as acrylic.


Acrylic:
pros:
light
clearer than glass
stronger than glass
easy to repair scratches
cons:
scratches easily
can be hard to clean algea from as tools are limited (incase of scratching)
expensive

 

[taggart2004@ukonline.co.uk]

Thanks, that is really helpful.

Interesting point how Acrylic is clearer than glass, i didn't know this.

So biggiest downside is that it will get scratched easier, but they are easy to repair.

I will have to get a good algea eater so I don't have to use any tools to get rid of it.

As for the price, I was quoted just over £200 which I don't think is bad. Will be difficult getting a glass one cheaper.

Thanks

 

[Truck]

thats the beauty of acrylic you can get it in a few different colours, which is nice because a subtle blue tint, is sometimes applied which IMO looks very nice.

 

[ben1987]

You can scratch acrylic with a cloth though. Maybe look into Opti-white glass. Still scratches quite easy but no-where near as bad as acrylic.

 

[Hawkins]

i wouldn't recommend an acrylic tank, however i think the more expensive ones are better quality. i had a small one which was cheap and compared to my glass tanks it wasn't very clear.

i haven't looked at other ones since though, maybe there are better ones out there!

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, as mentioned, biggest downside of acrylic is the easy scratching. The clarity is amazing and with larger tanks (500g+) it's almost a requirement since it's stronger than glass. 200 quid is a great price for a tank that size no matter what it's made out of. If it were me, I'd probably try it but then I can tolerate imperfections