Crystal clear: What is your opinion of acrylic reef tanks?

[Lowell Lemon]

It doesn't affect it's structural integrity however prolonged UV use has been shown to stain the acrylic yellow over time.

Not correct at all since proper cell cast for aquariums is UV stabilized. This is a common misconception spread by people who never owned one long enough to know better. I have aquariums that are over 20 years old using everything from HQI to VHO light systems that never yellowed. We do not have enough history for LED yet but so far the same results.

 

[sandmanfd]

I’ve never owned acrylic but I remember seeing an older post here a few yrs back about this same topic and for the most part I do agree with what someone said, that most people that knock acrylic tanks have never owned one ( myself included ). I’m getting back into the game after a long break and I’m kind of considering it.

 

[o2manyfish]

My Dad still has my 60g Tall Glass aquarium that I got for my Bar-mitzvah - It's been up and running for 41 years. It's had to be resealed once. I've had acrylic tanks since 86. I love acrylic cause I can fix scratches, and if I get a crazy idea for some kind of new flow I can always drill a hole and plumb something new.
After having my 400g for 20+ years one of the seams started going bad. It started to turn white - it didn't leak a drip of water, or blow up, but it was clearly giving signs of failure.
The wife and I had planned on upgrading and had purchased a dissassembled 750g starfire tank. But last March a 1 year old 340g sump tank I had split a seam and cost us our entire coral collection. And that's when I remembered why I like Acrylic better than glass. The number of stories of acrylic tanks coming apart is just a small fraction of the number of glass tanks (of all sizes) that blow a seam or a panel. For that reason alone with the 750 starfire sitting in a box in our back yard we ordered the exact same sized tank in Acrylic from Titan Aquatic Exhibits - 1.5" acyrlic - Not a hair of a bow in a 10' long panel. And when I scratch it I can always polish it out.

Dave B

 

[JGT]

Not correct at all since proper cell cast for aquariums is UV stabilized. This is a common misconception spread by people who never owned one long enough to know better. I have aquariums that are over 20 years old using everything from HQI to VHO light systems that never yellowed. We do not have enough history for LED yet but so far the same results.

I agree with this as well. My UV is down in my basement sump. Ain’t gonna do a thing to my tank 1 floor up.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Wasn’t the Aquadom aquarium that burst in Berlin a few months ago acrylic?

Yes with several seams bonded on site. The base was not acrylic nor the top. So possible flexpoints in the base could have caused the failure. I do not believe any insurance company would underwrite a glass tank of that size. I doubt there is a manufacturer who could build those two cylinders out of glass. That does not even address the difficulties associated with moving and not chipping the glass at any point in the manufacturing or delivery.

I have some knowledge of the company that installed the Berlin Radisson. They use an acrylic material that is very difficult to weld properly. It is often that cylinders are made with thinner materials for some reason.

Almost every public aquarium uses acrylic due to clarity, impact resistance, and ability to bond panels at the site of construction. There are panels more than 12" thick at various public aquariums around the world. You could never do those projects with glass from an engineering standpoint.

 

[jsker]

I’ve never seen anyone get ‘visible’ scratches successfully removed from a glass tank.

It can be done, you just have to know the right glass company.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Would never run a tank without UV so I would never use an Acrylic tank.

what does using UV have to do with having an acrylic tank?

 

[Derrick0580]

Small portable frag swap tanks should be acrylic for ease of transport and really large tanks are cheaper with acrylic, everything else glass all day long!

 

[iLMaRiO]

My back thanks for me using acrylic...it is worth the money. I have even fixed scratches with fish in the tank (FW) with Novus 2 & 3 with some 1000-2400 grit sand paper. Most scratches are invisible and not permanent like glass. Most newer acryic tanks are stronger and better viewing imho. What gets the most mileage out of acrylic over the years has been using melamine foam to clean algae...otherwise known as Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (original non treated). A year supply for 5 bucks...love the stuff...perfect for cleaning acrylic.

novus 2&3 inside the water???

 

[mrjoe]

so I have had both glass and acrylic.... I like them both equally but acrylic can and will scratch which would drive me crazy.. yes you can buff out acrylic but you would have to tear the tank down and 99% of the people couldn't buff it out correctly and would probably ruin it... So right now I have a IM 25 AIO and like it so I don't see the need to upgrade at this time.. if they had a smaller acrylic tank I would consider it tho.. whatever you like is what you should buy..

 

[JGT]

so I have had both glass and acrylic.... I like them both equally but acrylic can and will scratch which would drive me crazy.. yes you can buff out acrylic but you would have to tear the tank down and 99% of the people couldn't buff it out correctly and would probably ruin it... So right now I have a IM 25 AIO and like it so I don't see the need to upgrade at this time.. if they had a smaller acrylic tank I would consider it tho.. whatever you like is what you should buy..

Not true. Can buff with everything in it. Wet/dry sandpaper attached to your algae magnet. Start with 3000 grit and go down to about 12000-15000 grit. Comes out like new.

 

[AydenLincoln]

*Scratches have entered the chat!

 

[Troylee]

novus 2&3 inside the water???

Nope! Micro mesh and elbow grease.. it will fix any scratch in water with a full blown reef and no ill effects.

 

[italquam]

i might use acrylic but.... i would rather use low iron glass them acrylic because acrylic absorbs water and dings easily. i also don't want it to bow so i prefer low iron if was doing it for clarity

Bowing is minimal if you have proper thickness of acrylic

 

[italquam]

so I have had both glass and acrylic.... I like them both equally but acrylic can and will scratch which would drive me crazy.. yes you can buff out acrylic but you would have to tear the tank down and 99% of the people couldn't buff it out correctly and would probably ruin it... So right now I have a IM 25 AIO and like it so I don't see the need to upgrade at this time.. if they had a smaller acrylic tank I would consider it tho.. whatever you like is what you should buy..

Don't have to tear down tank , I posted video showing it done under water with mighty magnets

 

[malacoda]

It doesn't affect it's structural integrity however prolonged UV use has been shown to stain the acrylic yellow over time.

1) Unless you have some type of weird, non-shielded UV light that you're sticking right into your DT, the light from a UV unit ... such as Pentair, AquaUV, etc. will never come in contact with the DT walls.

2) As far as natural UV light goes, as Lowell Lemon pointed out, good modern cell-cast acrylic is UV stablized. No yellowing with age.

what does using UV have to do with having an acrylic tank?

Nothing. (see above)

 

[unchaotic]

Nope! Micro mesh and elbow grease.. it will fix any scratch in water with a full blown reef and no ill effects.

Micro mesh is awesome stuff. I finish hand made wood pens with super glue and it looks like a glass coating after the micro mesh.

 

[rogersb]

I had an acrylic tank as a display for a couple years. I would never have one for a display again but if I wanted a large frag tank I would consider it for the weight advantage.

 

[Matt1997]

You can tell by the responses the people who have owned acrylic tanks and those who have not.

Acrylic is superior. 3 of my 4 tanks and my new build will be acrylic.

It’s lighter, clearer, stronger, more impact resistant, a better insulator, more machinable, you can buff out scratches, and a well built acrylic tank looks nicer. The seams are perfectly clear, top/bottom and all sides are polished and they look professional.

I’ve owned glass tanks from 5-300 gallons, acrylic tanks from 30 to 500 gallons. I will take acrylic every time!

 

[FishTruck]

I have had both. Had a 300 gallon acrylic which was bullet proof and no worries about kids running around with bats and other flying items. It did scratch due to rocks getting into my scrapers - but that would be avoidable with the tunze style scraper which can't easily trap rocks. My main gripe was dealing with coralline algae where it was hard to reach - least favorite task.

I am really enjoying my current glass tank. So much easier to keep the panels clean with metal scrapers and not worrying about scratching. For a smaller tank, which I might empty out and buff from time to time acrylic might be a consideration - but for now glass is my choice. I don't appreciate any loss in clarity. For my 1000 gallon glass... the silicone seams are not really noticeable but that would be different for a smaller tank.

I say it depends on the application.