Glass or Acrylic Tanks?

[Ronald Marcelo]

Starphire has a nice look, but maybe it tricks me since most of the people who own starphire tanks have beautiful established SPS dominant tanks. So maybe it's the corals that make the tank beautiful, not necessarily the glass.

Good point the corals do add beauty, taking attention away from any scuffs and or discoloration. However, someone mentioned above that he can't even tell the difference between his acrylic and his regular glass tank, both established. So there you have it lol. i would't know because i'm comparing my starphire to a 5 gallon glass that i use as a small quarantine. There is a difference in tint but i also believe that once the tank is beautiful and you add colors, clean the glass, and keep great water quality. It will look amazing regardless. Lighting makes a big difference too.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

I picked up this 135g acrylic tank for $125. It was on Craigslist and I new I wasn't ready to set it up but I got it because I thought of was a steal. Buffed out the scratches. Here's a pic. Before and after.

Awesome work! Great deal! I look for those often but I hardly see them in my area. Usually outside the state so it makes the price not worth it. I almost did travel to Chicago for a 150 gallon once!

 

[obscurereef]

I picked up this 135g acrylic tank for $125. It was on Craigslist and I new I wasn't ready to set it up but I got it because I thought of was a steal. Buffed out the scratches. Here's a pic. Before and after.

Wow that looks like a huge project! Did a good job. How long did it take?

 

[obscurereef]

That reminds me of an old local aquarium company that made a standard 975 gal glass tank. It was the only tank that was built in place. Each pane of glass took 5 guys at a minimum to move into place. Talk about weight I can definitely see the advantages today of using Acrylic for larger tanks for sure. Even if it wasn't the clearest

That's insane! For big tanks it doesn't make much sense to use glass anymore w/ the weight and higher potential to leak.

 

[obscurereef]

Good point the corals do add beauty, taking attention away from any scuffs and or discoloration. However, someone mentioned above that he can't even tell the difference between his acrylic and his regular glass tank, both established. So there you have it lol. i would't know because i'm comparing my starphire to a 5 gallon glass that i use as a small quarantine. There is a difference in tint but i also believe that once the tank is beautiful and you add colors, clean the glass, and keep great water quality. It will look amazing regardless. Lighting makes a big difference too.

Agreed. Lighting is a huge factor.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

Sheez... I wish I could afford more than 90% of the aquarium products i browse through daily. My wife keeps me in check and trust me when I say... Rightfully so! Lol

I too want to know how long it took to buff that tank?

 

[obscurereef]

Sheez... I wish I could afford more than 90% of the aquarium products i browse through daily. My wife keeps me in check and trust me when I say... Rightfully so! Lol

I too want to know how long it took to buff that tank?

A lot of things companies sell for the reef aren't necessary, but they make them sound so important. Things are crazy expensive when most things can be DIY projects. I just saw a new product: A 6 ft LED fixture on marinedepot for over $4000! I don't see why people would go with such expensive lights unless they bathe in gold.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

This is true. I built my light and i use two strips, 6 white Led on each strip. Each strip is 4200k. It is good for now, What do you think? I have live rock , inverts and fish. I added a sand sifting star at the recommendation of a co worker. I was having a detritus problem...it seems contained. I put in work lol! However, I didn't do my homework and apparently the sand sifter will eventually starve if I don't do something about it. He seems to enjoy the DSB. Does this have anything to do with him eating my live sand? Are the colors i see red, green, black on the side of my sandbed cyanobacteria? I can post pictures Friday. When i get corals i was planning on buying a marineland 10k with blues and timer... The reef ready
My banana wrasse enjoys the DSB also.

 

[obscurereef]

I PM'ed you. Didn't want to get too off topic.

 

[Jonnypro]

Wow that looks like a huge project! Did a good job. How long did it take?

It only took me like 3 hrs. Started with 800-1000-1500-2000. The inside was kinda tricky but it got done. There are still some scratches in it but when there is water in it i think it will be fine. I seem a post with someone saying algae will get in the scratch and then you will see it more.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

I PM'ed you. Didn't want to get too off topic.

Cool, thanks.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

It only took me like 3 hrs. Started with 800-1000-1500-2000. The inside was kinda tricky but it got done. There are still some scratches in it but when there is water in it i think it will be fine. I seem a post with someone saying algae will get in the scratch and then you will see it more.

Nice man, thanks! The algae inside the scratch sounds legit. Great work

 

[obscurereef]

Not bad. Thanks. I've read that several times too. Don't have an acrylic tank, but that does seem like a truthful downside.

 

[Andy Sager]

A lot of things companies sell for the reef aren't necessary, but they make them sound so important. Things are crazy expensive when most things can be DIY projects. I just saw a new product: A 6 ft LED fixture on marinedepot for over $4000! I don't see why people would go with such expensive lights unless they bathe in gold.

If I can interject, companies make a lot of products that are necessary for reefs. The thing is they are not always necessary for your water in your area. For example, Florida's tap water ( not from a well) is almost perfect for reefs. Just add salt. No need to add buffers and alkalinity cause it comes out hard and alkaline. Water up North, say in NJ, comes out of the tap Soft and acidic and needs changing to make it reef safe.
Sometimes stores have to buy a whole selection of products to get that brand's line of goods into their store even tho they don't need some of the product. (I know this from experience ) I liken it to plant seeds in my local Home Depot. They sell seeds for plants that can't survive south of VA. I am in Central FL so what are they doing here in my local store?

I could also tell you why light fixtures cost $4000.00 but that would be giving away trade secrets

 

[obscurereef]

If I can interject, companies make a lot of products that are necessary for reefs. The thing is they are not always necessary for your water in your area. For example, Florida's tap water ( not from a well) is almost perfect for reefs. Just add salt. No need to add buffers and alkalinity cause it comes out hard and alkaline. Water up North, say in NJ, comes out of the tap Soft and acidic and needs changing to make it reef safe.
Sometimes stores have to buy a whole selection of products to get that brand's line of goods into their store even tho they don't need some of the product. (I know this from experience ) I liken it to plant seeds in my local Home Depot. They sell seeds for plants that can't survive south of VA. I am in Central FL so what are they doing here in my local store?

I could also tell you why light fixtures cost $4000.00 but that would be giving away trade secrets

That's true, they do make quality products that are necessary. I wouldn't recommend using tap water for sw b/c of the dissolved metals, not whether the KH and calcium levels are good or not. There's got to be a substantial difference besides design that would make someone buy a $4000 fixture opposed to several $600 led fixtures, or $300 or $100. Quality shouldn't have to come at such a high price.

 

[Andy Sager]

That's true, they do make quality products that are necessary. I wouldn't recommend using tap water for sw b/c of the dissolved metals, not whether the KH and calcium levels are good or not. There's got to be a substantial difference besides design that would make someone buy a $4000 fixture opposed to several $600 led fixtures, or $300 or $100. Quality shouldn't have to come at such a high price.

That's just my point, not all tap water in all areas of the country have dissolved metals that make it unusable in a reef tank. (I was just using the KH and PH as an example not as a specific.) But I think you get my point

 

[obscurereef]

That's just my point, not all tap water in all areas of the country have dissolved metals that make it unusable in a reef tank. (I was just using the KH and PH as an example not as a specific.) But I think you get my point

Ideally, a TDS reading of 0 is best. That's why so many people use RO/DI systems. Tap water never has a reading of that. There's always a risk of using direct tap water if it has traces of copper or other metals. Tap water works, but can cause problems, especially in the long run. I'm arguing too much though. Sorry. We're close enough on our opinions.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I like to know what's going into my tank and even with water changes, evaporation can concentrate the materials in the tap water. Remembering that a trace of copper from a qt tank can nuke a reef, those copper pipes my tap water flows thru concerns me. You would never use any metal fittings on your system, so not using tap water is a sound decision.

 

[Gti_Leo]

I like big tanks, period! Some of the tanks you mentioned have to be built in place. Concrete, and wood, depending on the size (I don't think anyone is going to make a wood 30 breeder...lol). I wanted a tank that I could keep fish until they were full grown in. I haven't been able to accomplish this and even this 300 is quite limited. I believe my 5" vlamingi tang has already outgrown this tank.
It seems he really wants to take off and as soon as he get's going, he's got to turn around...

HOW TO: Build A Large Aquarium 1/6 - YouTube

here you got, half plywood half glass and big enough for your needs

i actually like uarujoeys DIY channel, some of the stuff i would never use but still like watching how creative the DIY world can actually be

 

[Andy Sager]

I like to know what's going into my tank and even with water changes, evaporation can concentrate the materials in the tap water. Remembering that a trace of copper from a qt tank can nuke a reef, those copper pipes my tap water flows thru concerns me. You would never use any metal fittings on your system, so not using tap water is a sound decision.

The point of my comment was to show that not all water is the same. Here in FL we have houses with all pvc plumbing so copper piping is not an issue. But again, the comment was directed at the differences in water from different places and why there are so many different items on the market that many of the reef keepers might or might not need NOT that I was advocating the use of tap over RO/DI water or vice versa.