Acrylic vs glass tanks? Should I go acrylic?

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jjohns

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Sep 26, 2003
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I posted this in the freshwater DIY section, but I thought I would post it here since there are always more viewers. I had a 90 gallon glass tank that leaked on me overnight last night and leaked 20+ gallons into the floor. The flooring was brand new 2 months ago, so I am not pleased to say the least. I think a silicone seal on the bottom of the tank let loose. That is where the leak appears to be coming from. Now I am freaked out about leaks. I am thinking of going to an acrylic 75 or 90 gallon tank instead because they are more leak proof from what I have read. But, can be more expensive and can scratch more easily than glass...so it's a trade-off. I want people's opinions about acrylic and if it is worth it for someone like me who probably won't be able to sleep at night knowing there is a chance of another tank leaking on me. I must not handle stress well, because I just about had a melt-down when I saw that this morning. I am trying to calm myself down now and figure out what to do next. Some fish got moved to a 30 gallon and to a 10 gallon tank, but a few of the too big ones are in a huge rubbermaid tote container with heater and air pump. They might have to stay there until I can figure out where to go from here. If I got another glass tank, I think I would have to move the set up into the basement to be safe. The floor is vinyl over concrete so it would be really sturdy and water wouldn't really hurt it if it leaked--plus a floor drain would be a few feet away in another room.

Is an acrylic tank the way to go if you are super paranoid about leaks? Can an acrylic ever leak at any seams? The seams are chemically welded from what I understand so it doesn't sound like that is a risk with them like it is with silicone seams on glass tanks. Other drawbacks?

And has anyone bought an acrylic tank from glasscages.com? How is their construction and quality? They are alot cheaper than many other sites, which makes me question their quality and reliability. I need some advice!
 
I love glass cages, glass or acryllic.
 
Well, the only two drawback about acrylic that I have seen are the ability to scratch easily and it also doesn't give you a realistic look to the tank as it sorta magnifies the fish (or was it demagnifies) so the fish don't really look as big as they actually are.

I don't know how often seams break on a glass tank, as I currently own my first one.
 
I don't know. But to me, it would seem that stronger and more leak proof are more important than scratching (after what happened to me, you can see why I would think that). Can you be careful during cleanings and using the appropriate tools that you won't get alot of scratches?

One person under the DIY section commented that acrylic tanks will still have seams since they are put together in pieces. The tanks from glasscages.com that I was looking at, appear to have black seam braces at the back edge seams and around the top and bottom of the tanks. They are chemically welded seams according to them, which I think is like an epoxy or way of melting the two pieces of acrylic together to get a chemical bond seal in the edges. From what I have read, acrylic is 50% lighter than glass, 17% stronger, but can be "readily scratched" and are usually 2x more expensive than a glass tank of the same size. Not sure why the cost difference is that huge just because it is acrylic. I just wonder if my current maintenance and habits are okay for glass, but I would just mess up an acrylic badly by scratching. I guess I wouldn't know unless I had one. I would still like some more opinions from current acrylic tank owners and people who have bought tanks from glasscages.
 
chemical welding is where they use a solvent to actually disolve the plastic, and when it evaporates, the plastics harden together. it is strong, but can be brittle.

in terms of scratching, nearly everything scratches acrylic over time, paper towels, tools, gravel... you can scratch it with the buttons on your shirt. infrequent cleaning with acrylic polish on a shammy can help on the outside.
 
Buy a glass tank from a reputable manufacturer, Oceanic for instance, and you won't have that problem. In 35 years, I've had at least 100 or more different glass aquariums and not a single one had a seal problem. Some of the tanks were over 10 years old.
 
I guess another concern of mine is the sheer weight of the glass tank and stand. Even empty, I cannot help my husband even move it. There is simply no way that I can lift it up. He has had to get at least one other big burly man to help him the 2 times that we have moved with it. And, it has involved carrying it up stairs so that is another thing. The acrylic tank is more appealing in that manner so that if we did decide that we wanted to move it to a different spot, it wouldn't require an act of god to do so. The lightweight would be a big plus in that department. That along with the welded more leak proof seams, makes it start to look better and better...until I think about the scratching and possible undesirable appearance of acrylic over time. Also, if we want to get rid of this glass tank now, we have to get someone to help us move the bugger again to either the garage or the main floor if we want to see if anyone wants to take it. Another challenge.

Here is a good question: has anyone had an acrylic tank actually leak or crack on them? And if so, what size tank? I know that many have had it happen in a glass tank, so this would be a good way to weigh some of it out. I hear about glass leaks all the time, but not so much acrylic leaking?
 
By the way, the 90 gallon I did have was an older Oceanic with no center braces. We inherited it as a display tank that was no longer being used and had sat dormant for some time. The seals had dried out, so we resiliconed all the seams 7 years ago when we got it. It was fine until now. The no center brace thing also scared me a little. So, it is an older glass tank, which may be part of the problem. It is an Oceanic and had really thick glass and seemed to be well constructed. I might list it for sale just to see if anyone wants it who would be willing to do the resealing again themselves. I was probably due for a new tank, but the riskyness of going with another glass aquarium is really turning me off. I am trying not to jump into anything and may take some time to re-evaluate what I should do and/or what kid and where a new aquarium should be placed in our house.

We don't have any children yet, but probably will in the future. Is that something to consider as far as having children around a glass tank where they could possibly break it compared to an acrylic?
 
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