180g acrylic with stand

[roydooms]

For $350. It is used with minor scratches. Should I take it?

 

[roydooms]

Anyone? I don't want to buy this if I can get a better one for the same price. Thanks

 

[roydooms]

Plus, its an hour and a half drive..

 

[Jason7894561230]

yes go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[roydooms]

yes go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm doing some research.. Is Acrylic really better than glass?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I don't know if I'd go for it or not... That is a good price on an acrylic tank, but still pretty pricey IMO. FWIW, I paid $225 for my 150g on craigslist.. and I see 125's on there all the time for $200-300. Granted, those are glass. Acrylic scratches very easily, so I would be hesitant to buy one. JMO

 

[Keylo901]

350 is a steal if you ask me.. The scratches can be easily buffed out with a little work. I'd go for it

 

[fort384]

I wouldn't want an acrylic because of the ease with which they scratch. I would hold out for another glass tank. It is enticing though...

 

[jsoong]

That is a good price IMO.

You would be getting a good deal for glass at $1 a gallon, and double that for acrylics. And that stand looks pretty good too.

Now, the main thing is how scratched the tank is. If it is in reasonable shape, it is worth it.

Pros of Acrylics:
Light weight - much more important in big tanks ... a 180 gal glass will need 4 guys to lift!
Easier to work with - you can drill returns, etc. easily.
Doesn't shatter - acrylics may crack & leak, but doesn't shatter like glass. So you have less chance of getting 180 gal of water on your floor. It will also take more of a beating than glass before cracking ... and even when cracked, you usu. have time to spot the small leak. That is one reason acrylics are used in public aquariums.

Main con:
Acrylics scratches & you tank eventually has the clouded look. It is a pain (or impossible) to remove scratches in acrylics.

 

[roydooms]

I don't know if I'd go for it or not... That is a good price on an acrylic tank, but still pretty pricey IMO. FWIW, I paid $225 for my 150g on craigslist.. and I see 125's on there all the time for $200-300. Granted, those are glass. Acrylic scratches very easily, so I would be hesitant to buy one. JMO

The 150g for $225 is that acrylic? I have a 125 that I bought on craigslist for $150 with everything(stand, canopy, filter, lights, skimmer) on craigslist but it's glass. Did yours come with the stand? 125-150g are very common size tank.

 

[roydooms]

I wouldn't want an acrylic because of the ease with which they scratch. I would hold out for another glass tank. It is enticing though...

How easily can you scratch it? I like the dimension. It's 6'x2'x2'. Perfect for a jardini arowana. The only thing I don't like about it is how small the opening on top(2-23"x7") to do aquascaping and stuff. Big driftwoods won't fit.

 

[roydooms]

That is a good price IMO.

You would be getting a good deal for glass at $1 a gallon, and double that for acrylics. And that stand looks pretty good too.

Now, the main thing is how scratched the tank is. If it is in reasonable shape, it is worth it.

Pros of Acrylics:
Light weight - much more important in big tanks ... a 180 gal glass will need 4 guys to lift!
Easier to work with - you can drill returns, etc. easily.
Doesn't shatter - acrylics may crack & leak, but doesn't shatter like glass. So you have less chance of getting 180 gal of water on your floor. It will also take more of a beating than glass before cracking ... and even when cracked, you usu. have time to spot the small leak. That is one reason acrylics are used in public aquariums.

Main con:
Acrylics scratches & you tank eventually has the clouded look. It is a pain (or impossible) to remove scratches in acrylics.

Is acrylic like glass that when filled up all minor scratches are barely visible? I thought you can buff it even with water in it? I need to take my time researching about acrylic tanks.

 

[fort384]

I had an acrylic tank years and years ago. I didn't like it at all. It seemed like if you looked at it wrong it would scratch. I could see having small acrylic tanks... but for such a big tank, I just wouldn't want to have something that easy to damage. One false move could put a large blemish on the tank that is almost impossible to get rid of.

 

[mfdrookie516]

The 150g for $225 is that acrylic? I have a 125 that I bought on craigslist for $150 with everything(stand, canopy, filter, lights, skimmer) on craigslist but it's glass. Did yours come with the stand? 125-150g are very common size tank.

Yes, mine came with stand, lights, heater, two mag floats, he even offered about 3" of live sand but I didn't need it since I was going fw with it. To make the deal even better, I got a fluval 305 and 405 for $25 more. And mine's glass. Mine's 60x24x24, so its not the most common 150g size, but I like it

 

[roydooms]

I had an acrylic tank years and years ago. I didn't like it at all. It seemed like if you looked at it wrong it would scratch. I could see having small acrylic tanks... but for such a big tank, I just wouldn't want to have something that easy to damage. One false move could put a large blemish on the tank that is almost impossible to get rid of.

I'm having second thoughts now. It's a good price though.. I might pass on this one.

 

[fort384]

well, it is just my opinion, fwiw. I was pretty young when I had mine and pretty irresponsible

Maybe with proper care, it isn't as bad as I remember it.

 

[jsoong]

I had a small acrylic tank and it scratched so bad in 6 months that it is barely usable. <OK, it was my daughter's tank & she was not too careful with it ...>

It might be a cheaper grade of acrylic in my tank. <You want cell-cast dense acrylic for durability ... not all acrylics are equal.> But she got it scratched up with just normal algae removal (even with an "acrylic" scrubber.) And the fine scratches did not go away when filled with water .... it might be a bit better, but there is always a hazy look to it.

 

[roydooms]

Yes, mine came with stand, lights, heater, two mag floats, he even offered about 3" of live sand but I didn't need it since I was going fw with it. To make the deal even better, I got a fluval 305 and 405 for $25 more. And mine's glass. Mine's 60x24x24, so its not the most common 150g size, but I like it

That's a good deal. But isn't acrylics more expensive than glass? So a 180g acrylic and a 180g glass probably has a big difference in price. My 125g is glass as well.

 

[roydooms]

well, it is just my opinion, fwiw. I was pretty young when I had mine and pretty irresponsible

Maybe with proper care, it isn't as bad as I remember it.

The thing is it is used and you can't really see if there's any scratches. I don't want to have to drive for close to 2 hours and see it full of scratches. I'll check it out. I can say no if I don't want it. :sigh:

 

[roydooms]

I'll probably just look for a 180g(or bigger) glass tank. The only thing is it's just too heavy. I like the top of glass tanks though. It's a lot easier to do aqua scaping and such. I'll pass on the acrylic. Thanks everyone!