Acrylic or Tapered Glass for fish tank?

[eugene_syh]

as above. Which is better and those tanks usually on sale at lfs.. are those glass or tapered glass or acrylic??

[stormhawk]

By tapered you mean tempered glass? I don't think anyone makes tanks out of tempered glass, but I might be wrong.

The tanks sold at the LFS are usually either glass or acrylic. Glass is heavier but less resistant to scratching as compared to acrylic. Acrylic is lighter, but oddly it seems acrylic tanks cost a little more than glass.

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

[vinz]

My 6 footer was tempered glass, but I bought it second hand. You will probably have to have it custom built. People speculate that the danger with tempered glass tank is that if it ever breaks, it will explode into thousands of small pieces... much like a shot gun. You wouldn't want to be in the same room when that happens.

The suggested solution is to stick on a film used to protect car surfaces.

[BFG]

My personal opinion is to stay away from off the shelf tank especially 3ft and upwards. You do not know how long the tank has sit with the silicone drying up. Custom tank from reputable manufacturer who would guarantee the workmanship with warranty are preferred.

Difference between acrylic and glass is as different between an orange and an apple. Acrylic has the best clarity and are lighter than glass if you compare them with exact same size. The best glass to use if you would want to have much more clarity but not exceeding acrylic clarity is to use starphire glass. But acrylic will still win hands down in term of clarity. The acrylic achilles heel is that it scratches very,very easily, even if you use acrylic safe wipes.

Hope this helps!

[ervinelin]

My personal opinion is to stay away from off the shelf tank especially 3ft and upwards. You do not know how long the tank has sit with the silicone drying up. Custom tank from reputable manufacturer who would guarantee the workmanship with warranty are preferred.

Difference between acrylic and glass is as different between an orange and an apple. Acrylic has the best clarity and are lighter than glass if you compare them with exact same size. The best glass to use if you would want to have much more clarity but not exceeding acrylic clarity is to use starphire glass. But acrylic will still win hands down in term of clarity. The acrylic achilles heel is that it scratches very,very easily, even if you use acrylic safe wipes.

Hope this helps!

One of my first fishtanks was an acrylic tank. Looks great new, but once it starts getting scratched up (which it will) it looks just horrible. Also there are different grades of acrylic, some yellow with age.

The best solution is as some said, starphire glass. Only problem is the cost, that's why there are people who have tanks with only the front glass made of starphire, the rest is regular glass.

[bettafantastic]

Acrylic is lighter hence, cost more