acrylic or glass?

[honeybee105]

I'm totally confused here. I'm reading books and I'm getting a bunch of mixed opinions. I'm planning on getting a 20 gallon tank soon. And I had friend tell me that glass was much better than acrylic tanks. But then I was reading a book Aquariums for Dumm*** (don't wanna get sued) and they suggested acrylic over glass. I want a pretty tank that will be tough and last a long time, yet still provide a nice home for my fish. So my question is, which kind of tank is truly "better?" Acrylic or glass?

                      ~*Katie*~

 

[dattack]

Glass is much cheaper than acrylic.  However, some of the important things about acrylic is that it's usually unbreakable, has better clarity in terms of viewing, lightweight, and you can drill holes for overflows etc easier.

However, acrylic can scratch very easily!  It's a pain in the butt sometimes to clean acrylic without scratching the glass.  You have to be extra careful.  THis is the biggest downfall of acrylic.  However, there are some kits that can buffed down scratches but usually the tank has to be emptied in order to get rid of the scratches.  Also, you have to find materials that are acrylic safe when cleaning acrylic.

So you have to decide what's most important for you!