Acrylic Vs Glass - Which Is Best For My Salt Water Fish Tank?
I often get the question of which is better, glass or acrylic, for my saltwater fish tank? And my answer is, it depends.
It really does.
So here I am going to lay out the different pros and cons of glass and acrylic for your aquarium.
1.
Clarity And Aesthetics Acrylic is roughly 20% better clarity than typical glass aquariums, which are made with plate glass.
The only exception is for lead-free glass, also known by the brand name Starfire glass, which has the same clarity as acrylic.
And of course this special lead-free glass is significantly more expensive than the normal plate glass.
20% Sounds like a big difference, and the truth is you can really only tell the difference if you had a normal glass tank sitting right next to an acrylic tank.
So, it is really only makes sense to pay the extra cost for the lead-free glass (same clarity as acrylic) if optimal clarity is a high priority for you.
Otherwise most people would not notice the difference.
One other benefit of acrylic tanks over glass, is that acrylic tanks have nearly invisible or see-through seams, while glass tanks use unsightly silicone seams.
2.
Resistance To Scratching While glass is more resistant to scratching than acrylic is, there is a trade off to consider.
Glass is less likely to scratch, but any scratches that occur in a glass tank are permanent.
And while acrylic scratches quite easily, it can be polished out.
Although, if you've never polished an acrylic tank before, even just a small scratch, it's a lot of work (not fun).
One caveat is that glass tanks have become preferred for reef tanks.
Because of all the algae the grows on the glass in a reef tank (especially coraline algae), reef tanks need their glass to be cleaned more often and so you are better off with glass which is more resistant to scratching.
One way I know this is that for many years in my aquarium installation company, we used acrylic for most of our custom reef tank installations.
And after several years, most of them needed to be polished to remove scratches caused by cleaning glass.
No matter how careful you are when cleaning glass, if you have an acrylic reef tank or even a fish only saltwater tank, you will eventually have scratches with acrylic.
3.
Weight Acrylic is significantly lighter than glass.
This is an important consideration for shipping costs (freight) and load bearing ability of your home or office to support the weight.
And, of course, when it comes time to lift the tank into position, the lighter the better.
And the thicker the panels, the heavier the tank.
4.
Durability Glass is more brittle than acrylic.
Acrylic flexes when under stress.
This flexibility allows an acrylic tank to handle temporary stresses well.
However, acrylic tanks are only as durable as the quality of their seams and the thickness of the panels.
Over time, acrylic seams tend to weaken.
So while glass may be more brittle than acrylic, glass tanks are actually more durable than acrylic over the long term.
5.
Ease of Drilling By far, acrylic is much easier to drill or customize than glass.
For example, if you want to drill a hole to install a bulkhead fitting or glue in an internal overflow box, then acrylic is the easiest.
It is possible to drill glass, however the pane that is being drilled must be horizontal (parallel to the floor) because glass drills use a water/graphite powder slurry to cut through.
And there is also the risk of cracking the glass if too much pressure is applied during drilling.
6.
Cost Depending on the size of the tank, cost between acrylic and glass varies.
For standard tanks under 200 gallons, glass is cheapest.
For tanks over 200 gallons (standard or custom), acrylic is often cheaper.
The reason I say 'sometimes' is that acrylic is a petroleum-based compound and thus its cost is dependent on the price of oil.
And, of course, lead-free glass (i.
e.
Starfire brand) is typically for custom tanks and is often far more expensive than normal plate glass.
7.
Custom Shapes If you are looking for a custom tank, it used to be that custom glass tanks were only available in square or rectangle shapes.
And now, in 2011, curved shapes are available in standard glass tanks off the shelf.
However, acrylic is still the most customizable, with the widest range of options.
It really does.
So here I am going to lay out the different pros and cons of glass and acrylic for your aquarium.
1.
Clarity And Aesthetics Acrylic is roughly 20% better clarity than typical glass aquariums, which are made with plate glass.
The only exception is for lead-free glass, also known by the brand name Starfire glass, which has the same clarity as acrylic.
And of course this special lead-free glass is significantly more expensive than the normal plate glass.
20% Sounds like a big difference, and the truth is you can really only tell the difference if you had a normal glass tank sitting right next to an acrylic tank.
So, it is really only makes sense to pay the extra cost for the lead-free glass (same clarity as acrylic) if optimal clarity is a high priority for you.
Otherwise most people would not notice the difference.
One other benefit of acrylic tanks over glass, is that acrylic tanks have nearly invisible or see-through seams, while glass tanks use unsightly silicone seams.
2.
Resistance To Scratching While glass is more resistant to scratching than acrylic is, there is a trade off to consider.
Glass is less likely to scratch, but any scratches that occur in a glass tank are permanent.
And while acrylic scratches quite easily, it can be polished out.
Although, if you've never polished an acrylic tank before, even just a small scratch, it's a lot of work (not fun).
One caveat is that glass tanks have become preferred for reef tanks.
Because of all the algae the grows on the glass in a reef tank (especially coraline algae), reef tanks need their glass to be cleaned more often and so you are better off with glass which is more resistant to scratching.
One way I know this is that for many years in my aquarium installation company, we used acrylic for most of our custom reef tank installations.
And after several years, most of them needed to be polished to remove scratches caused by cleaning glass.
No matter how careful you are when cleaning glass, if you have an acrylic reef tank or even a fish only saltwater tank, you will eventually have scratches with acrylic.
3.
Weight Acrylic is significantly lighter than glass.
This is an important consideration for shipping costs (freight) and load bearing ability of your home or office to support the weight.
And, of course, when it comes time to lift the tank into position, the lighter the better.
And the thicker the panels, the heavier the tank.
4.
Durability Glass is more brittle than acrylic.
Acrylic flexes when under stress.
This flexibility allows an acrylic tank to handle temporary stresses well.
However, acrylic tanks are only as durable as the quality of their seams and the thickness of the panels.
Over time, acrylic seams tend to weaken.
So while glass may be more brittle than acrylic, glass tanks are actually more durable than acrylic over the long term.
5.
Ease of Drilling By far, acrylic is much easier to drill or customize than glass.
For example, if you want to drill a hole to install a bulkhead fitting or glue in an internal overflow box, then acrylic is the easiest.
It is possible to drill glass, however the pane that is being drilled must be horizontal (parallel to the floor) because glass drills use a water/graphite powder slurry to cut through.
And there is also the risk of cracking the glass if too much pressure is applied during drilling.
6.
Cost Depending on the size of the tank, cost between acrylic and glass varies.
For standard tanks under 200 gallons, glass is cheapest.
For tanks over 200 gallons (standard or custom), acrylic is often cheaper.
The reason I say 'sometimes' is that acrylic is a petroleum-based compound and thus its cost is dependent on the price of oil.
And, of course, lead-free glass (i.
e.
Starfire brand) is typically for custom tanks and is often far more expensive than normal plate glass.
7.
Custom Shapes If you are looking for a custom tank, it used to be that custom glass tanks were only available in square or rectangle shapes.
And now, in 2011, curved shapes are available in standard glass tanks off the shelf.
However, acrylic is still the most customizable, with the widest range of options.
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