Tropical Fish and Aquarium Information

Go Back   Fish Lore Tropical Fish and Aquarium Forum > Freshwater Aquarium Fish Forum > Freshwater Tank Equipment

Freshwater Tank Equipment Forum - Aquarium Equipment Articles

Online Aquarium and Fish Stores: MarineDepot.com | PetStore.com | Big Al's Online! | ThatFishPlace.com | PetMountain.com

Search Fish Lore:


Aquarium Forum
General
Welcome To FishLore
Using the Forum
General Discussion
Members Fish Tanks
Photos and Videos
Member Photos
Member Videos
Freshwater Aquarium Forum
Freshwater Beginners
Freshwater Equipment
More Freshwater Topics
Freshwater Fish & Inverts
Ponds
Saltwater Aquarium Forum
Saltwater Beginners
Saltwater Equipment
More Saltwater Topics
Saltwater Fish & Inverts
Member Blogs
Member Blogs
Misc. Topics
Reviews
Aquarium Fish Clubs
Buy, Sell, Trade
Fish Profiles
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
Fish Forum Archives
Closed Thread
 
Fish Forum Thread Tools
Old March 4th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Whats the diff between Glass and Acrylic?

I don't know if this is where this goes, but I would like to know. Which one is overall better? What are the pros and cons of each, and whats the difference?
momo9700 is offline  
Old March 4th, 2009  
Fish Addict
 
Glass is glass and acrylic is a type of plastic. The glass tends to be clearer and easier to clean but acrylic is stronger and won't fracture as easily. Acrylic is also cheaper. Alot of smaller tanks are acrylic so that they can be sold cheaply and in a variety of differnt shapes since glass can really only make cubical tanks. Acrylic can be scratched easily and can stain if exposed to a corrosive compound of some kind. Glass can be easily shattered or cracked if it takes a blow but glass is easy to clean, clearer and is generally preferred for larger tanks.
shadowavenger is offline  
Old March 4th, 2009  
Moderator
 
Glass = much heavier than Acrylic and not as easy to scratch. If it does scratch there isn't much you can do.
Acrylic = can be seamless and less likely to leak or have a blow out, has come along ways over the years, much lighter than glass, scratches can be fixed.

I prefer glass...however I haven't owned an Acrylic tank before. I would like to try one some day though.
aquarist48 is offline  
Old March 4th, 2009  
Fish Master
 
basically, if you can afford it and are planning on getting a tank that is larger than 75 or 120 gallons, go with acrylic since its lighter and can handle more pressure, anything smaller than that it's not really worth it, so i'd just stick with glass
agabr123 is offline  
Old March 4th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
I'm hearing that glass is better for big tanks, and acrylic is better for big tanks.... which one is it?

And, does it make much of a difference in small tanks? like, anything less than 10gal?
momo9700 is offline  
Old March 4th, 2009  
Fish Master
 
here's some more info, more well put together than mine!

http://www.firsttankguide.net/tanktype.php

honestly, for a 10 gallon i would just go with glass
agabr123 is offline  
Old March 14th, 2009  
Fish Lore Newbie
 
I have both, but I'm not particularly partial to either. I have a small 12 gallon acrylic. I have to be careful not to scratch it with the gravel or decorations. Make sure not to clean acrylic with windex or something! But it has a pretty curved shape. My bigger one is glass.
prozackat is offline  
Old March 14th, 2009  
Fish Addict
 
Glass
Pros
~Easier to clean
~Not too prone to scratches
~MUCH cheaper
Cons
~Can shatter
~Doesn't hold as much pressure as acrylic
~Heavier than acrylic

Acrylic
Pros
~Holds more pressure
~Consisdered to give clearer and less morphed image.
~lighter
~Can be molded into different shapes
Cons
~Scratches very easily (very annoying)
~Will yellow over time if under certain lightings or with the use of certain substances. (incandecent lighting may stain it)
~Way more expensive!

In my opinion, glass works great and gives you great results. Plus it is usually about half as much as acrylic. I prefer glass anyways.
David593 is offline  
Closed Thread

Fish Forum Thread Tools

Fun Fish and Aquarium Games!
Fish Tycoon
Fish Tycoon
Insaniquarium - Insane Aquarium
Insaniquarium
Insane Aquarium
Jenny's Fish Shop
Jenny's
Fish Shop
FishCo
FishCo!


Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads
Thread Fish Forum
Glass vs Acrylic? Saltwater Aquarium Setup
Acrylic vs Glass General Discussion
acrylic or glass Freshwater Beginners
New aquarium, glass or acrylic? General Discussion Archive
Acrylic v Glass General Discussion Archive



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.2.0 © 2008, Crawlability, Inc.
© 2008 FishLore.com - Aquarium Fish Information