If its an "in between tank" then stop being so picky and just deal with a few scratches until you move.

I like DIY as much as the next guy but I also know when its time to just buy new instead of ghetto rigging something. The amount of work to swap in a new piece of glass justdoesnt make it worth while over buying a new one.

I figure make it look nice that way after I move I might just set it up as a freshwater tank full of cardinals and Plecos

Front glass is simple to replace, I figure 1hr tops to replace it with some fancy hammer work. 4hrs to do all 4 sides. I'm on a "budget" and if I buy a new tank, build a new stand, etc etc I won't have enough for the skimmer and LEDs I want

You realize to do this properly you will need to take the tank right apart and reseal the entire thing right. Silicone will not stick to dry silicone and eventually the tank will leave if you just do the front glass.

The conversation seems to have drifted a little but here's my take on the original question.

Clear silicone is sort of better in theory than in practise, because you might mentally associate "clear" to mean "transparent" ... but in the end it's hardly invisible. Black on the other hand gives a nice contrast and is easier to blend in to things because overflows and trim are most often black, and very often a tank stand can be black too so it all ties together.

I prefer a black background too nowadays. It makes the colours pop. I put blue on my big reef tank and it looks OK but black would have looked so much better.

So black silicone totally gets my vote.

As far as where the conversation is now ..... my take on it is a tank is a tank. They all get scratches. The question is whether you can live with the scratches. If not, and there really are no good alteratives in the used market, then I don't see the harm in looking into what a new tank would cost you. If the cost differential is really huge and you're comfortable with DIY'ing in a new pane then go for it but to be honest I sort of see the point the others are making .. there would have to be a fairly significant cost difference for ME to consider it (knowing full well everyone's groove is different so ultimately, whatever works for you is cool, of course). To me the glass box is generally not too hard to replace under a small budget, a tank with a stand already is worth way more in my opinion so personally that's probably what would sway me one way or the other..

I agree with Delphinus, the contrast definitely makes a tank look classier with black silicone.

Yes I do, isn't the first tank I've done and won't be the last

Good on ya IMO I replaced a broken pane on my 180 and it was a huge price difference than buying new. As fr the topic I thought of going black but in the end I cover the corners in wood moulding so I dont see either of the clear or black. But I do agree the black looks nice. Always wondered what white would look like... I may test this out on my frag tank since I accidentally bought some

Black wins

I'm gonna start a tank journal for this one