Recently I added a 75 gallon Aqueon to my home and already owning a 75 gallon Marineland I wanted to just give a quick comparison in case anyone was trying to decide between the two. Some people prefer on or the other, All-Glass / Aqueon or Perfecto / Marineland, and honestly I don't know that there's a significant difference.
I've read that Aqueons have better glass and chip less when being drilled, but as that's not something I have experience with I can't comment. However the two most noticeable differences are the rim and the silicone. The rim on the Aqueon seemed less refined than the Marineland and it looks like it has "roller" marks from however it was manufactured. The Marineland looks much cleaner and has a better presentation, there weren't any marks or different shades of black. The width of the center brace on the Aqueon is also about 1/2 inch thicker than the Marineland. The Marineland does have one thing I don't like about the center bracket and that's the injection molding nub that I never felt like sanding or filing down.
The silicone on the Marineland is black and the Aqueon has white / clear, but Aqueon does use black silicone on their bow front tanks. I think this would be a deciding factor between the two tanks, either what someone prefers or what would look better where the tank is going. I have the Marineland in a darker room and I think the black silicone looks great with darker ambient lighting. Likewise, I have the Aqueon in a well lit room and I think the white is complementary the the appearance the aquarium.
The one problem I did have with the Aqueon is their silicone job was a bit sloppy. The edges of the silicone are consistent. In some spots it's kept very much to just the corner and clear cut, and in other spots its very thin for about 1/4 inch away from the bead. This I can live with, I'm just being picky about it, but I was less than content that there was silicone smeared on the glass itself that I had to scrape off with an aglae cleaner / glass scraper. I think that should have been taken care of at the factory.
So if anyone was really wondering what the differences are between Marineland and Aqueon, it's really just the color of the silicone. The manufacturers' websites list the weight of the tanks to be a pound apart, which could just be a rounding error. So besides black or white silicone, I would let price be the dictating factor of which I will buy in the future.
I've read that Aqueons have better glass and chip less when being drilled, but as that's not something I have experience with I can't comment. However the two most noticeable differences are the rim and the silicone. The rim on the Aqueon seemed less refined than the Marineland and it looks like it has "roller" marks from however it was manufactured. The Marineland looks much cleaner and has a better presentation, there weren't any marks or different shades of black. The width of the center brace on the Aqueon is also about 1/2 inch thicker than the Marineland. The Marineland does have one thing I don't like about the center bracket and that's the injection molding nub that I never felt like sanding or filing down.
The silicone on the Marineland is black and the Aqueon has white / clear, but Aqueon does use black silicone on their bow front tanks. I think this would be a deciding factor between the two tanks, either what someone prefers or what would look better where the tank is going. I have the Marineland in a darker room and I think the black silicone looks great with darker ambient lighting. Likewise, I have the Aqueon in a well lit room and I think the white is complementary the the appearance the aquarium.
The one problem I did have with the Aqueon is their silicone job was a bit sloppy. The edges of the silicone are consistent. In some spots it's kept very much to just the corner and clear cut, and in other spots its very thin for about 1/4 inch away from the bead. This I can live with, I'm just being picky about it, but I was less than content that there was silicone smeared on the glass itself that I had to scrape off with an aglae cleaner / glass scraper. I think that should have been taken care of at the factory.
So if anyone was really wondering what the differences are between Marineland and Aqueon, it's really just the color of the silicone. The manufacturers' websites list the weight of the tanks to be a pound apart, which could just be a rounding error. So besides black or white silicone, I would let price be the dictating factor of which I will buy in the future.
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