Acrylic vs. Glass for Reef Aquarium

[L2]

Hey guys, right now I have a 12 gallon Nano cube and I want to upgrade...of course! I'm totally hooked and my fish need more room to swim! I have coral.

I'm looking at 75 - 100 gallons. And I'm debating acrylic (Tenecore) vs. glass from Oceanic. Any thoughts? Advice? I love the way the acrylic looks but I'm concerned about the scratching? Can anyone give me some advice/has experience with these tanks? Or should I just stick with old fashioned glass?

I'm also debating whether or not I should invest in MH lights or stick with power compacts... I've got mostly soft corals. Of course I wouldn't mind getting a clam or two eventually... And lastly... Do I need a chiller? And if so... Which brands do you guys trust to be the most quiet? JBJ?

Thanks!
Lloyd

 

[Marc118]

The thing I like most about acrylic is the tanks are frameless. But for the price....I cant see myself buying one. $400 for a good sized tank isnt my cup of tea. Not really a need for MH if your going to be doing all softies, but if you want a clam you will want to go with something like the Nova Extreme if you dont want MH. You wont need a chiller until you get something that will produce large amounts of heat like MH....unless your room temp is above 80.

 

[ellisz]

Only thing I can say about acylic is I would hate to have to clean it. A local guy in my area hates the fact that he went from glass to acrylic since cleaning the corraline off the wall is a lot tougher to do. Maybe he is in the minority but he is the only one I know of with an acrylic tank.

Also, having MH does not mean you have to have a chiller. I do think it will depend on what you want your tank temp to be. If you are shooting for 76-78 F then it will be tough. If you shoot for 80-82 or 82-84 it will be alot easier to maintain. Having your sump in a cool place or placing fans on the sump can help with temps as well.

I have MH with T5 suppliments and I love it. I would hate to have to replace 8 T5's very often vs. 2 MH. I know T5's last longer but that is a lot of bulbs.