Acrylic versus glass

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Woody1

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
8
:bowl: I am getting ready to set up a new system, in the neighborhood of 75 gallons. Before making the investment I was wondering if there are any recommendations of acrylic or glass. I know this topic has been discussed before but after reviewing the threads it seems the last post was three and a half years ago. I am wondering if in that time if there has been any improvements that may of changed some of the opinions. I would appreciate any thoughts regarding this matter. Thanks
 
My preference is for glass, mostly for price (around $90 during boxing week for a 75) and scratch resistance. I don't care much for the bracing necessary on an acrylic tank either.
 
My only problem I `ve heard is that the acrylic scratches too easy. Glass you can scrape away but you have to be very careful with acrylic. BTW welcome to AA
 
I've got both myself. While the acrylic is crystal clear and much lighter.....the glass is much more durable. I constantly worry about scratching the tank. If I had to do it differently I would go with the glass.

Oh, and by the way....why did I go with acrylic? I wanted a shallow tank for clams and I could easily have one made to my specs.

HTH
 
Though I don't have one, I've read that the acrylics tend to yellow over time as well
 
Although I have the 5 gal acrylic for only 2-3 yrs, it is pretty scratched up (completely hazy looking due to fine scratches). It was my kid's tank & she used only a sponge to clean it, no scrubbing pad (not even the acrylic safe ones.) OTOH, I can keep glass looking new for years ....
 
acrylic is lighter. when you get into larger tanks, they are nicer to your back when you have to move them.
 
For a tank that size go with glass. Anything bigger than 300gals, maybe even 240gal or bigger Acrylic is usually a better choice. I did help a guy and 4 of his other friends move a 8x3x3 glass (bottom was sealed wood) tank, that wasn't easy. I have a acrylic 300gal and if (more like when) I replace it with a larger tank it will be acrylic.
 
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