Glass Vs Plastic?

[Miles_hot]

I am about to commission a custom tank and wonder which is best - optically clear glass (opti glass etc) or plastic?

The tank will be freshwater tropical with a few plants in.

Many thanks

Miles

 

[Realtree]

I am about to commission a custom tank and wonder which is best - optically clear glass (opti glass etc) or plastic?

The tank will be freshwater tropical with a few plants in.

Many thanks

Miles

Interesting question
I have found a place where they would be willing to make a tank in acrylic so will be following this post with interest
My main worry is that plastic would scratch easier than glass

 

[Ed Green]

I am about to commission a custom tank and wonder which is best - optically clear glass (opti glass etc) or plastic?

The tank will be freshwater tropical with a few plants in.

Many thanks

Miles

Interesting question
I have pound a place where they would be willing to make a tank in acrylic so will be following this post with interest
My main worry is that plastic would scratch easier than glass

Optiglass is very pretty but acrylic made tanks can have nice curved edges and look quite modern. They also retain heat a lot better than glass, scratches can be polished out and weigh significantly less than glass. I think they are much stronger too.

 

[boost]

glass is alot cheaper tho

 

[Ian H]

What size tank? i would use glass for most tanks personally and only use plastic if its a monster sized tank

 

[Miles_hot]

What size tank? i would use glass for most tanks personally and only use plastic if its a monster sized tank

about 34"x17"x24" (deep)

Miles

 

[bae1994]

id use glass my 9x3x3 is made from glass

 

[Miles_hot]

Thanks for that - I was going to use glass (in that the three companies I'd found with good reviews / responses used glass) but I wondered if I needed to expand my search.

Miles

 

[Defiance]

Miles,
I assume you're here in the UK ??

I found ND Aquatics
AC Aquatics
Poseidons Palace

I went with AC, If on schedule it will be here the start of april, until then i can't say anything good or bad lol

Went with 6x2x2 (largest size for the space i have)

I went with glass as they're all i'm used to really, read obviously scratches can be made fairly easy in other materials, did also read about opti-white so went with standard pilkington (really am in two minds whether i can ammend my order to front/sides in opti)

Also the bracing put me off using anything but glass too, i read they use many more bracings which would hinder what i wanted to do

Then again, as long as you respect whatever material is used i can't see problems

TTFN

Tony

 

[Miles_hot]

Miles,
I assume you're here in the UK ??

I found ND Aquatics
AC Aquatics
Poseidons Palace

I went with AC, If on schedule it will be here the start of april, until then i can't say anything good or bad lol

Went with 6x2x2 (largest size for the space i have)

I went with glass as they're all i'm used to really, read obviously scratches can be made fairly easy in other materials, did also read about opti-white so went with standard pilkington (really am in two minds whether i can ammend my order to front/sides in opti)

Also the bracing put me off using anything but glass too, i read they use many more bracings which would hinder what i wanted to do

Then again, as long as you respect whatever material is used i can't see problems

TTFN

Tony

Tony, how was your experience with AC?
Miles

 

[§tudz]

I bought my 4x2x2from nd and it's great. Done me well for like 4yrs.

If going for plastic and u have the cash don't go acrylic, it's nit as tough as glass, instead go for polycarbonate which is 290x stronger than glass and also very light. I priced up the sheets to make a tank and it was expensive but could be worth a go.

 

[Geoff-]

plastics can also develop a haze from oxidisation over time. it yellows the surface. can be polished out but you'd need to strip the tank down.

some plastics more affected than others, and the problem generally only starts after a few years so it might not be worth worrying about.

 

[Miles_hot]

Interesting stuff on the plastic tank idea - one thing that stands out for me is the scratching issue. With two small children I suspect that I need to go for glass to minimise this (though I'm guessing that if I put sand in there they can still manage to scratch it if someone buys them one of the magnetic cleaner things

Has anyone got any experience of Aquariums UK - so far they've been quite fulsome in their responses to my beginner questions and their website has a lot of explanation around their specifications etc however there's nothing to beat actual experience.

Many thanks

Miles

 

[Destination Doha]

hi miles i had a tank made by aquariums ltd it is a 7x3x3 iv had it for about 6-7 yrs now and not one problem very happy with it thay built it on site the guys wer great tho the house did stink for a few days after lol. just one point if you do scach glass its not going to be easy to remove it
good luck on you new tank hunt fella
doha.