Glass vs. Acrylic

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#1
Sep 7, 2008
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#1
As some of you know, I want (and according to some) need a nice big tank.

THinking 50g or so.

Now as soon as I heard about the chouce betwen glass and acrylic and with my have kids and all - I figured acrylic is the way to go.

WHat do you fine people say.

Keep in mind I have 3 kids - all fairly young and all fairly crazy (wonder were they get that from?)

So.... what would you do? WWYD?

huh? Huh? C'mon now speak up.
 

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#4
Sep 7, 2008
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#4
You two and someone in another thread all said glass....

An acrylic ad I read and a LFS person said acrylic....

Interesting...


I must say, I am a bit surprised - but so far inclined to believe you all.
 

DesignsOnYou

DesignsOnYou

Large Fish
#6
Jun 21, 2008
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#6
Not to be too cynical here...but of course the acrylic ad said acrylic. Also, the acrylic tanks are cheaper, so the LFS might be more likely to do that. Although, in their defense, my LFS is great and doesn't sell me things just to make money. But, acrylic does scratch very easily, so I think that the kids would be an argument for glass.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#7
May 16, 2003
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#7
Acrylic is nice because glass is so darn heavy but glass holds up a fair amount better to scratches etc. It is also a lot easier to find large glass tanks and small acrylic tanks...so the amount of money and time you want to spend finding it could also be an issue if you want a big tank. I'd say with the kiddos if you got a big acrylic tank unless it was out of their reach it'd probably be scratched almost instantly...so I'd say glass.
 

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#8
Sep 7, 2008
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#8
FroggyFox said:
Acrylic is nice because glass is so darn heavy but glass holds up a fair amount better to scratches etc. It is also a lot easier to find large glass tanks and small acrylic tanks...so the amount of money and time you want to spend finding it could also be an issue if you want a big tank. I'd say with the kiddos if you got a big acrylic tank unless it was out of their reach it'd probably be scratched almost instantly...so I'd say glass.
Click to expand...
From a safety standpoint...

Which would you recommend.

I have heard about people breaking their glass ones.

Read a post here too about a guy with as glass tank that is bowing out from the weight of the water...
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#9
May 16, 2003
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#9
Glass WILL bow, thats not uncommon. The biggest thing is that the tank needs to be level and have good seals and all of its trim/braces intact...all of those pieces are there for a reason.

I wouldn't worry about glass from a safety standpoint as long as you arent planning on putting it next to a pool table or somewhere that it has a good chance of getting hit with something that will break it. A fishtank is pretty thick and will stand up to a fair amount. Acrylic will break too...
 

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#10
Sep 7, 2008
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#10
FroggyFox said:
Glass WILL bow, thats not uncommon. The biggest thing is that the tank needs to be level and have good seals and all of its trim/braces intact...all of those pieces are there for a reason.

I wouldn't worry about glass from a safety standpoint as long as you arent planning on putting it next to a pool table or somewhere that it has a good chance of getting hit with something that will break it. A fishtank is pretty thick and will stand up to a fair amount. Acrylic will break too...
Click to expand...

Thanks froggy.

I just picture glass being ready to shatter and one good bump away from cutting my kids and flooding my house with bio-load.

Probably part of the reason I have always thought about getting fiosh but never did.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#11
May 16, 2003
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#11
Yeah, I understand that people think glass=breakable and of course that is true...but when you realize that a 55 gallon tank is like 600 pounds, its a little easier for me to recognize its not exactly flimsy ya know? Buy a stand that is meant to hold that weight, put it somewhere sturdy, take care to make sure its level and somewhere that you can reach a python to it from a sink! :D You'll just have to be sure the kiddos know it is not a toy.
 

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#12
Sep 7, 2008
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#12
FroggyFox said:
Yeah, I understand that people think glass=breakable and of course that is true...but when you realize that a 55 gallon tank is like 600 pounds, its a little easier for me to recognize its not exactly flimsy ya know? Buy a stand that is meant to hold that weight, put it somewhere sturdy, take care to make sure its level and somewhere that you can reach a python to it from a sink! :D You'll just have to be sure the kiddos know it is not a toy.
Click to expand...


python... ok i am pretty sure he knows that i do NOT keep a snake like that in my house when I have small children and a fear of snakes that can kill me so I suppose I need to do more searching....brb
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#13
May 16, 2003
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#13
LOL! Yes, in this case a Python is a tool that hooks to your sink so you dont have to carry buckets to do your water changes. You put one end in the tank and the other in the sink...best invention ever IMO :D Although I need to get an extension for mine since all my tanks are in the basement now and one I can't quite reach with the25 footer :D
 

Lotus

Lotus

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#15
Aug 26, 2003
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#15
I think the kids probably would scratch the acrylic. It can be buffed out, but it's kind of a pain to do. All it takes is a hard object (a ballpoint pen, a piece of cutlery, a stone, even hard plastic) moved across it, and it will scratch.

If your kids are at the climbing stage, you might want to get some of those velcro bookcase braces to help prevent it from falling, should the kids decide to all climb on it. There's a lot of weight in a tank, and it would be hard for them to pull it down, but if they get silly one day, it's better safe than sorry.

Also, make sure you have all chemicals and foods out of the kids' reach. If possible, make the lid inaccessible to them. I've read many stories of kids putting stuff in the tank (books, a whole can of food, Cheerios, Kool-Aid, etc.). Sharing is nice, but the fish don't really want to share a box of Cheerios :D
 

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#16
Sep 7, 2008
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#16
Looks like the glass outweighs the acrylic in benefits and weight!


Froggy...did some searching here and on google for the python.. wow..nice! I was starting to scale back on my 50g idea now that I learned about water exchanges but the python makes that process alot easier.

WHo is the guy here with the 210?? a 20% change for him is just over 40 freakin gallons!!!

I hope he has a python. I know I will.

Lotus, goodpoint on the safety straps. I use them for furniture and bookcases too. I even think I have an extra set laying around.

as for the food in the tank... yea... I could see one of my kids trying that!
 

TAL

TAL

Large Fish
#19
Sep 7, 2008
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#19
jediinthedark said:
Pythons are almost necessary when you get above 20/30 gallons.

And even though I'm late I'm throwing my hat into the Glass ring too.
It may be counter-intuitive, but your kids will have a harder time messing up the glass.
Click to expand...
Once I learned about water exchanges I started picturing all these 5 gallons buckets if I had a really big tank which scared me off the idea but the pYTHON makes it all seem possible again!

Yea...the glass / acrylic thing seems to be counter intuitive amd I am leaning towards the glass now.

I wonder what the real attraction is to the acrylic...
 

jediinthedark

jediinthedark

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#20
May 5, 2004
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#20
There are no seem lines in acrylic. If you get a bow front I think distortion is less too (not sure on that though).
At some size point it's cheaper to go acrylic then glass, but I'm not sure how big that is.
They weigh less, although that's not too big of a deal considering how much the water weighs, and you're only moving it once...
 

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