# Glass vs. Acrylic



## hobbeslax (Nov 22, 2005)

When building your own tank are there any advantages of building with glass vs. acrylic? Pro's Con's?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

The main thing is a trade-off between weight, and durability. 
glass is heavier but hard to scratch. 
acrylic is lighter than glass, generally cheaper but scratches pretty easily. Also this cracks, whereas glass would usually shatter.

I always go with glass. It's worth spending a couple extra $$ to know i wont get a large scratch. It is also more durable and doesn't need a support frame around the top.


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

I like acrylic

very easy to move
and the scratches are easily buffed out if you have a car polisher 
also glass can't beat the look of a clear acrylic tank imo


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## Agridion (Sep 8, 2010)

malady said:


> I like acrylic
> 
> very easy to move
> and the scratches are easily buffed out if you have a car polisher
> also glass can't beat the look of a clear acrylic tank imo


As glass increases in thickenss it displays a greener tint. Now-a-days you can get the front panel of a tank in starfire glass which is much clearer then normal glass. this is still not as clear as acrylic.

+1 for acrylic is much easier to buff scratch out. Glass is a pain in the rear to buff out scratches and requires a lot of hard labor and the proper materials to get them out. With a glass tank you also have to worry about the silicone seams. They can sometimes break apart and can leak on you. With Acrylic NEVER put isopropyl alcohol on it as it will cause crazing and cracking in the acrylic. Hard lesson learned.

I currently have 185 gallon glass tank which takes 3 - 4 people to move with difficulty. An acrylic tank of that size you could move easily with 2 people.

An acrylic tank you need to support the whole bottom of the tank, I.E. sitting on plywood. A glass tank you only need to support the sides with 1 or 2 braces in the middle.

Acrylic will warp when in contact with water. (Tanks are usually designed with a top rim to prevent a lot of deflection

In a glass tank if a panel breaks you can tear down the tank, replace the panel and resilicone the tank back together. With Acrylic depending on the extent of the damage to the panel you can try to glue/weld the crack, solvent weld another panel over it.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Acrylic- for the reasons already listed.

One of the biggest advantages of acrylic is that if the joints are sealed correctly, they should last a lifetime. Silicone will get old and can eventually leak over a number of years.

I've never worked with acrylic but I have seen co-workers working with the materiel and it does take practice.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Learn to work with acrylic and it opens up a lot of possibilities. You'll soon be making your own sumps, etc. But, it does take more of an investment in time and money to get started than working with glass. Acrylic is also expensive, but not sure how it compares to glass. I'd guess that glass is a bit cheaper. A combo plywood/glass tank is an option too and might be an easier way to do a DIY a tank.

Once you learn how to care for acrylic, it's easy to avoid scratches, but you do have to be careful. The good news is they buff out.


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

malady said:


> also glass can't beat the look of a clear acrylic tank imo


Low-Iron glass 










Normal on the left, LIG on the right, obviously


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

prov356 said:


> Learn to work with acrylic and it opens up a lot of possibilities. You'll soon be making your own sumps, etc. But, it does take more of an investment in time and money to get started than working with glass. Acrylic is also expensive, but not sure how it compares to glass. I'd guess that glass is a bit cheaper. A combo plywood/glass tank is an option too and might be an easier way to do a DIY a tank.
> 
> Once you learn how to care for acrylic, it's easy to avoid scratches, but you do have to be careful. The good news is they buff out.


+1 to all of it, he summed it up nicely.

I've never built a tank, but I almost did at one point. I was going to make it a 125G plywood tank, and I would have used acrylic in the front because of the superior transparency.


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## toxicmegakitten (Feb 18, 2014)

Anyone see/ hear of a large acrylic tank "blowing out" ? There are horrifying Youtube videos of tanks developing a crack, and then all of a sudden BOOOM! But they alls eem to be glass.


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

I recently started building acrylic tanks and it is addictive!!

cast acrylic machines so easily and it's so easy to glue because it sets so fast. If you live in a big city then you can usually find acrylic pretty cheaply.

I build an 80 something gallon 48×22×20 and a 40 gallon with all the dividers and lids for $300. I had enough acrylic left over to make test kit and food racks for the stand doors .


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