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Who owns an Acrylic Aquarium?

MarcosDelgado0

MarcosDelgado0

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So I’m in talks with Tenecor Aquariums for an acrylic tank. The dimensions I’m looking at are 60”L x 24”W x 20”H. They don’t offer this standard so it would be custom dimensions. One of their tanks they offer is 60”L x 24”W x 24”H but I feel like this is too high for me because I’m short lol. One thing he mentioned was if I lowered the height to 20” then it could be made with 1/2” acrylic instead of the 3/8” for the 24” height. Does 1/4” seem too thin? I’m thinking they know what they’re doing but I’ve always had glass so not sure. Also, of course everyone says acrylic scratches so easy but realistically, being careful, how much of a problem really is this?
 
I have a 72x30x24 acrylic tank. I passed on the tenecor tanks because their peninsulas have a funky design that make it impossible to mount flow pumps on the overflow end.

As for scratching - it will get scratched. I’ve managed to keep mine limited to mostly hairline type scratches but it is a constant battle. Cleaning the glass must be done regularly and carefully or you’re going to have a bad time.

They bring a lot of peace of mind not having silicone seals to worry about - and they are a lot easier to move around.

If I was building another peninsula, it would be glass. It’s too much surface area to keep clean for acrylic. If I was building a traditional tank with one main viewing pane - acrylic all the way!
 
SepToob said:
I have a 72x30x24 acrylic tank. I passed on the tenecor tanks because their peninsulas have a funky design that make it impossible to mount flow pumps on the overflow end.

As for scratching - it will get scratched. I’ve managed to keep mine limited to mostly hairline type scratches but it is a constant battle. Cleaning the glass must be done regularly and carefully or you’re going to have a bad time.

They bring a lot of peace of mind not having silicone seals to worry about - and they are a lot easier to move around.

If I was building another peninsula, it would be glass. It’s too much surface area to keep clean for acrylic. If I was building a traditional tank with one main viewing pane - acrylic all the way!
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Do you know how thick your acrylic is?

Mine would be against the wall so really only the front view would be mainly visible. To the right of it there will be a wall so wouldn’t really be able to see from that end and the left has a cabinet next to it.

The piece of mind is what I really want. After having a seam starting to split on a Red Sea tank, anxiety has been at a high with the rest of my glass tanks lol. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable going for a big tank again with it being glass.
 
MarcosDelgado0 said:
Do you know how thick your acrylic is?

Mine would be against the wall so really only the front view would be mainly visible. To the right of it there will be a wall so wouldn’t really be able to see from that end and the left has a cabinet next to it.

The piece of mind is what I really want. After having a seam starting to split on a Red Sea tank, anxiety has been at a high with the rest of my glass tanks lol. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable going for a big tank again with it being glass.
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Mine is 1” thick in the long panes and bottom. And 3/4” thick on the ends. It’s beefy!

And yeah I had a Red Sea tank fail also - F that. If I do go glass again it will absolutely not be RS.
 
My previous big tank was acrylic. Great that they're lightweight and are inherently extremely clear. Scratching is a b****. Can't use the sharp razor blades to clean it, nor anything tough like that. I think even some urchins can.

Good and bad
 
over the years. I’ve had them all. They all scratch. Plexi scratches the easiest but you can also buff it out if you want. Starfire scratches pretty easy. The green glass is the hardest but I’ve managed to scratch that too. Glass you can’t buff out. Well you shouldn’t.
 
phc567 said:
over the years. I’ve had them all. They all scratch. Plexi scratches the easiest but you can also buff it out if you want. Starfire scratches pretty easy. The green glass is the hardest but I’ve managed to scratch that too. Glass you can’t buff out. Well you shouldn’t.
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I was amazed how soft starfire was when I got my first one :(
 
You will scratch acrylic tanks. I’ve never seen one in great condition older than a year or so.
Glass tank for a reputable builder is fine imo. Cda seems pretty damn good. If you don’t care about scratches then no worries on acrylic.
I think you for the thicknesses confused above. 3/8” would be for the shorter tank and 1/2” for the taller. Not sure why you care about the thickness unless you want to use mp10s in there?
 
Coral reefer said:
You will scratch acrylic tanks. I’ve never seen one in great condition older than a year or so.
Glass tank for a reputable builder is fine imo. Cda seems pretty damn good. If you don’t care about scratches then no worries on acrylic.
I think you for the thicknesses confused above. 3/8” would be for the shorter tank and 1/2” for the taller. Not sure why you care about the thickness unless you want to use mp10s in there?
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I set up a frag tank with a bunch of snails (turbo and Trochus), abalone and a few urchins. After a year you could see rasp marks!

 
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