Glass-vs-acrylic tank

Dr.DiSilicate

Great White Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#1
Love to hear from people who have had both. Making some decisions about a build. I've kept both as well as starfire glass but would love to hear from the community. Moving into my basement is part of the equation.

Opinions welcome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

MuralReef

Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
MASC Vice-President
#2
I think it's a matter of what you'd rather deal with. Both can scratch. Glass is harder to scratch and generally easier to clean but the scratches are permanent. Acrylic is clearer, a better insulator, and light by comparison. Acrylic scratches easily. The scratches can be buffed out but it's a lot of work and if you mess it up it can be a big mess. I've had both crack.
All that said if I were to set up a new tank and were not worried about budget or weight, I would get starfire glass and be really careful not to scratch it! I've never had one but they seem much clearer to me.
 

whyamisofly

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#3
I have had both glass and acrylic, and there is absolutely no way I would have anything but glass going forward! I have never had starfire (quoting it for my new tank though), so can't comment on that side of things.
 
#5
Try this again... I've had both. I had several acrylic tanks and had the seams pop, and they seemed to always get scratches just like a new car always gets a scratch. However, the glass tanks I've had have been pretty solid and I don't recall ever scratching a glass tank.
I would think anything over 90g is a definite consideration for acrylic due to the weight.
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
I had acrylic and it would bow out. That always made me nervous. I never trusted the seems with it bowing. I will always stick with glass going forward.
 

SkyShark

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
I've had both and no matter how careful you are, the acrylic always seems to scratch somewhere. The newer high clarity glass tanks (like starfire) are really appealing! I think acrylic is perfect for frag tanks are lots of other uses, but I'd have a tough time convincing myself to get acrylic for a display. I think over a certain size acrylic does start to make sense though.
 
#8
I have had both. I will never buy another acrylic tank. Acrylic scratches easily and you can't use a razor scraper. If I ever get another tank it will be starfire glass.
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
If the acrylic is thick enough, it can stop a bullet if you like to target shoot near your tank. Acrylic holding in heat is a rounding error... and you don't move a tank a lot. The only actual upside to acrylic is that it is easy to drill.

It all boils down to scratches... and this is significant.

I will never have acrylic again unless I want a tank over 12 feet where they don't make glass large enough.
 
Top