The ONLY advantage I see to acrylic is its drillability.
The Durability of glass is unsurpassed, however when engineering a system pre planning is needed when choosing a glass tank. Getting the holes right for your application takes some forethought. Factory Pre-drilled or "ReefReady" tanks might not be adequate for all applications- custom factory drillied can get pricey but for me well worth the cost and effort.
One greatly overlooked draw back to acrylic is that even the highest quality tanks can have a hazy look, due in part to lighting effects either improper lighting or the "Fibreoptic effect" to properly lit tanks. This problem is not to uncommon and seems to be a tank by tank thing.
The temprature stability of acrylic can hinder you as well as help you depending weather you are trying to cool a hot tank; heat a cool tank or hold a tank a certian temp. (thats 2 losses and 1 win)
I have one acrylic 160 propagation utility tank and a slew of acrylic sumps for that application especially sumps I really like acrylic but for the main show tank I only use Glass and prefer Starfire glass for all viewing panels.
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ReefDoctor
"Bringing Marine Art To Life" tm.
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This whole thing is driving me nuts! I'm looking into upgrading to a new larger tank (150g-200g). I really like the look of taller tanks, 60x24x30 seems ideal to me. I'm watching for a used tank to pop up, hoping to get one for a good price. How does that play into things? Any major concerns I should watch for regarding a used tank, glass or acrylic?
I also thought that a 60x24x30 would be the ideal size but found out that it isn't a common size. Finding a used one will be difficult at best.
I believe I only found Oceanic to make a glass one and Tenecor to make an acrylic and personally, I would stay away from acrylic (scratches too easily).
I'm settling on 48x24x30 - glass
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150 gal Custom. Born 5/7/07. 50gal, 29gal, 20gal Sumps. 30gal Frag Tank. ETSS 800 Skimmer, Deltec APF600 Skimmer. PFO Solaris Lighting on Display and Frag Tank
No matter how you dress it, it comes down to one thing. The last thing an aquarist want to see is a scratch. You spend all that money to SHOW OFF your prize and then have to worry about it sctatching. All the cons in the world against glass is not worth that one dreaded scatch which is like buying a new car and then a week later someone hits it. Yes it may be able to look like new but YOU know its not especially since it wasn't your fault.
I have an acrylic tank and soon will have another one.
I'm not afraid of scratches.
You just have to becareful not to get sand in your algae scraper/pad while cleaning to tank. Its not that hard!
I prefer the no-seams look of the acrylic.
__________________ 55G NOW PLAYING staring TBS LR/LS
1 1/2 + YEAR OLD 12g nano
1st livestock added Jan. 22 `06
The appearance of acrylic plus insulating properties and lighter weight outweigh the scratching problem for me my 135 bow is georgeous and I was able to buff out the couple of scratches! The strenght is also a good point Yes you do have to be more careful.
Each one has it's own set of advantages and disadvantage. They tend to balance out unless there are special circumstances. If you are building anew public aquarium, go acrylic. If you live in an earthquake zone or in an apartment building, go acrylic. If not go with glass.... Unless you have a strong preference for one or the other. In that case no one is likely to change your mind and don't let them. You will be happier dealing with the drawbacks of whichever in order to have the tank you want.
All my tanks have been glass from my 1st 10 gal fw to the present 120 gal wall tank.
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125 gal center overflow 65 gal sump/ refug two 400 watt mh and two pc 65 watt aqua c 240 ev skimmer. mag 1800 return and mag 1200 for skimmer scwd wave maker 200lbs live rock.
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