JaceR Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Hey guys, I'm looking to get some feed back on acrylic tanks, I recently bought a tank before I went off to college. And I plan to set it up when I get back, however it is an acrylic tank and I've never had an acrylic tank before. I was just wondering what your guys experience with acrylic tanks have been. I'm now starting to have second thoughts on purchasing this acrylic tank. Link to comment
1.0reef Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I had one a long time ago with frogs, scratched up soooo baaddddd, and even warped a bit. Link to comment
Pwnm30rdi3 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I have an acrylic 100 gallon. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It scratches extremely easy. If you accidentally drop a rock, scratch. If you get sand in between the magnetic glass cleaner, scratch. Some people have even reported scratches from specific urchins! The only real benefit to acrylic is the strength because it is chemically bonded together. This really only becomes important with tanks larger than 400 gallons! A starfire glass tank is by far the best option. Link to comment
JaceR Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 Jesus, I wish I would of asked you guys before I bought it. Maybe I'll make a FS thread here. Link to comment
Pwnm30rdi3 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Jesus, I wish I would of asked you guys before I bought it. Maybe I'll make a FS thread here. Some people really enjoy acrylic. Why? I have no idea... I don't think you will have troubles selling it. If it's small and shippable, use ebay and the for-sale section on the forum. If it's large, use craigslist. Link to comment
JaceR Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 It's a 20ish gallon custom cube with a built in back AIO, kind of like those new pico's. I also have a metal halide light that could go with it. Link to comment
Red_Blenny Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I have an acrylic tank and I love it. I get the piece of mind that someday, one of my cousins won't throw their balls around and hit the tank. Also, don't have to worry about the silicone seams slipping, even though it's a rare event. IME, it's hard to scratch the tank. You have to be super clumsy to scratch it. I use Mr Magic Eraser and Kent Acrylic Algae Scraper. Link to comment
JaceR Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 I really do like the dimensions of this tank, I'm just scared that like snails and what not that get sand attached to them will scratch the tank and the next thing you know the tank is full of scratches. Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 my frag tank is acrylic and i don't really mind that it's not glass. i don't use a magnet cleaner, but i use a scrap piece of acrylic to clean the glass. the only issue i have with it is i had to add a eurobrace since it bowed. otherwise i like the tank. and i have snails and crabs, and they haven't contributed to any scratches. Link to comment
Kauai Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Acrylic is supposed to have better visability as well. I wouldn't worry about it. Appreciate what you have. Especially if you love the dimensions. Don't cause yourself any unnecessary headaches with things like regret. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Not owned one but looked at a few in person, one was a 125 reef, scratched up real bad and had a good amount of bow to the front panel, looked like ass. Then another two are at my lfs, not scratched too bad considering they are old but they both are bowed out real bad, another 10 years and you could sell them as bow fronts lol. Ive scratched my glass easily enough theres no way I'll ever chance an acrylic. I had a lexan windshield on a kawasaki teryx and one frosty day I scraped it with an ice scraper and totally trashed it. Link to comment
Pwnm30rdi3 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 At the end of the day you still have two options Acrylic and Glass. They are both good. If they weren't, companies wouldn't still be building them both. Personally, if you aren't a particularly careful person when it comes to cleaning go with glass. Or if other people will be cleaning your tank (i.e. parents, friends, and/ or significant other) Other people don't understand or care to understand exactly how fragile acrylic is. Link to comment
nevermore1701 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Having worked at Petsmart with almost 200 acrylic tanks to take care of, I'll never own one. Hell, I've managed to scratch my glass NC12 pretty good over the last three years. Link to comment
Tochtli Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Acrylic is alright. I like the visibility, and although it scratches, it takes something big (like a rock) to make a very noticeable scratch. Just like glass. On the plus side, you can buff out the scratches on acrylic, but it's a huge pain. I also really like how much lighter it is, and how resilient they can be, like Red_Blenny said. Both glass and acrylic are fine, stick with what you have, be careful with it, and enjoy it! Link to comment
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