Reef nutrition

Those of you who own an Acrylic tank...

Gonzo

Gonzo

Guest
BARcard
I'm thinking of going Acrylic for my tank upgrade mainly because they are not as heavy as glass. However, I'm worried about the scratching.

For those of you who own an Acrylic tank, how easy do they scratch? Any horror stories to share?
 
They scratch easily, but if you are smart about things from the beginning, you can mitigate a lot of the common screwups.
Three I can think of would be:

1) do not clean your tank at all for the first month (outside) or couple weeks (inside). Acrylic "hardens" with water/humidity exposure
2) use appropriate cleaning supplies on the outside. Papertowels will scratch your tank. I like microfiber cloths.
3) products like the mighty-magnets sock lets you have sand with a significantly lower risk of sand induced cleaning scratches.
 
EXTREMELY easy to scratch.

Shortly after getting married, when Bryan was over I wiped some smudge off the acrylic with left hand... saw some scratches I didn't notice so did it again... whoops my wedding ring scratched the glass. I don't have a sand bed, but there are some Zorro type horror stories with that as well. Also if you're making frags and using I-C-Gel near the tank be careful... a splotch on the acrylic and you're stuck.

The upside is acrylic is easy to sand, however it is labor intensive, glass you're pretty much screwed if you scratch it, but you have to try to scratch it.

Weight really is only an issue when putting the tank into position, and if you have enough friends (or BAR members) it's less of an issue. The weight of the water in the tank (with a some exceptions) more than outweighs the weight of the tank, so stress on the floor IMO isn't an issue, and if it is any issue then you're really living on the edge as it stands with an acrylic tank on that floor (i.e. buff up your floor!). And the "they're light" fable depends upon the tank. I had a 100g tru-vu that I could easily move around by myself sure, however that was VERY thin acrylic, a tank made out of beefier acrylic can get to be quite heavy.
 
Thanks for the three tips.

That sock looks awesome. Better than my Mag-Float which sucks.

I'm also assuming you don't put the live rock near the sides/back of the tank?
 
Mike, I'm more worried about total volume weight. Chances are I'll be moving to a 2nd or 3rd floor apartment in SF. I really don't want to ask the landlord if I can have a 125-150 gallon aquarium because I know they'll just say no. However, I don't want to come home one day and find a hole in the floor of my apartment and some old lady screaming/dead under the tank :)
 
I prefer glass but find acrylic totally acceptable and not as easy to scratch as said above IF you pay attention. My frag flat is coming up on 4 years (or is it 5 now?) and it's got two scratches which I can remove rather quickly if I cared about it.
 
My acrylic tank is going on (recently migrated to a glass tank) 6(?) years and all any significant scratch were because I was stupid with something. Most scratches are easily avoidable.
 
rgonzalez said:
Mike, I'm more worried about total volume weight. Chances are I'll be moving to a 2nd or 3rd floor apartment in SF. I really don't want to ask the landlord if I can have a 125-150 gallon aquarium because I know they'll just say no. However, I don't want to come home one day and find a hole in the floor of my apartment and some old lady screaming/dead under the tank :)
Click to expand...

Well that's what I'm saying, a 150g acrylic tank will weigh quite a bit less than a glass tank, but even the glass tank's weight is nothing compared to the ~1200+ pounds that the water will weigh that's inside the tank. So if you're floor can just barely hold the weight with an acrylic tank, I would seriously reconsider having a tank of that size at all.

That said, you're on your own with dealing with your landlord, and making sure the floor is sturdy... however if the place is relatively new, I wouldn't worry too much, just put the tank perpendicular to the floor joists, and if possible as close as you can to a load bearing wall in the old lady's apartment below you :D
 
houser said:
Your first few acrylic tanks are just practice for the ones you really care about. Just be careful.
Click to expand...

:lol: very true. Acrylic care is learned by making mistakes, dumb mistakes, but mistakes none the less :)
 
GreshamH said:
houser said:
Your first few acrylic tanks are just practice for the ones you really care about. Just be careful.
Click to expand...

:lol: very true. Acrylic care is learned by making mistakes, dumb mistakes, but mistakes none the less :)
Click to expand...
And every suggestion I mentioned.....all learned the hardway :p
 
Having been the owner of two larger acrylic tanks (220g for 8+ years and 600g for 5+ years) I have a few words of advise. If I were to do things over again I would really rethink about going acrylic for the 220g system. My original 220g tank top cracked a few years ago and Tru-vu had to build a new one. The original one was in use for 5+ years and barely had any scratches. The replacement has now been setup about 3 years and it looks 2x worse than the old one that was in service for nearly twice as long. I can look funny at this tank and it scratches. What I have found out since then is its all a matter of quality of the acrylic. I found out the old tank was built of a much higher quality acrylic vs the new one which was made out of cheaper acrylic.

If my 220g SPS tank needed to be replaced tomorrow I would most likely go Starphire. If my 600g FOWLR tank needed to be replaced tomorrow I would still go with an acrylic tank. Living in earthquake country I just do not feel comfortable with a glass tank much over 200g. In addition the added weight difference is a complete nightmare to deal with when moving the tank in. If you decide to go acrylic make sure to pick a quality tank builder. I would avoid Tru-vu at this point as their quality seems to have dropped off considerably over the last few years both in workmanship and in materials. In addition make sure the builder uses only Polycast, Acrylite GP or PlexiGlas G. All other acrylics cannot touch these 3 in terms of quality, longevity and scratch resistance. Expect to pay more but it is worth it. Good luck.
 
Also, if getting a large tank, do not dismiss weight so easily.
My new acrylic tank is 300 pounds, and needs to go through some doorways, and be upended at one point.
Difficult, but reasonable for 4 people with a cart.
But if that goes up to 600+ pounds, some of those moving choke points become a real issue.
 
I have acrylic now, and ordered a new one.
Scratches happen, yes. Although rare after the first few. You learn.
But on the inside they barely show, due to water, and on the outside you can repair them.

Easy to drill into acrylic. Easy to glue on new pieces, tweak the overflows, etc. So good for DIY types.

One negative with acrylic is that they can limit what you put in the tank. Urchins, and other cleanup crew can scratch acrylic.

+1 on the earthquake concern.
It is quite possible for a stand to flex in a quake, and that can crack the glass.

Note: I think most people are assuming quality NON-TEMPERED glass.
Not like the small cheap tempered glass tanks that can detonate if you drop a rock.
 
chicken said:
I would avoid Tru-vu at this point as their quality seems to have dropped off considerably over the last few years both in workmanship and in materials. .
Click to expand...

I would have to disagree on that. Since their move and retooling I have seen some incredible work come out of their shop.
 
I have not seen any new custom tanks of theirs in 8-12 months. At that point I would not recommend them to anyone and I have bought multiple large tanks from them over the years. So its good to hear that things are better now but I would still shop around and check out price, material used to build the tank and quality before I choose a tank builder.
 
I've seen great tanks from TruVu for the last 15 or so years I have been selling them to customers. I have seen a couple I didn't like, but having a good relationship with them I got those replaced. I've done probably over a quarter million in business with them and I have found their track record just as good as the rest (far better then a few but I won't go into that). Everyone has a bunk one now and then, you have to look at the over all numbers to really be able to pass judgment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top