Need opinions on this acrylic cube

spikehs · #1 10-28-2009, 02:31 PM

I heard of this guy off of ebay from the people at RC. I was hoping someone here who has some acrylic experiance could chime in.
http://cgi.ebay.com/16X16X14-RIMLESS...item2c5043b4a8

The tank is 16x16x14 (15.5gallons), Rimless with bent corners. The acylic is 3/8 of an inch. I'm curious if that is thick enough to prevent bowing. From what I've read on acrylic one of the main reasons they get scratch up is because there is bowing when you scrape the tank, leaving two pressure points to cause scratches.

Thanks!

Myka · #2 10-28-2009, 02:52 PM

Acrylic was all the rage in the early 2000's because of their light weight and super clear panels. Then we all found out that the lightweight only counts when you move it which doesn't happen often, and the lovely clear panes get all scratched up super easily! I know of a couple people that had sand-sifting fish in their acrylic tanks, and just from them blowing sand around the acrylic got teeny little scratches that gave it a hazy look. It was awful. Glass is once more far more popular than acrylic. I wouldn't buy an acrylic tank.

sphelps · #3 10-28-2009, 03:06 PM

It may bow a couple mm but nothing too drastic, it also depends on the quality of acrylic. The cell cast is the hardest so it shouldn't bow at all if that's the case although the price is pretty low for that type of acrylic. There is also continuous cast acrylic which is common for 3/8" thickness and is still good stuff but it's cheaper than cell cast and not quite as strong. Either way it's a great deal, I couldn't purchase the material for much less and if the manufacturer took the time to bend the corners it means they know what they are doing so the seams should be solid.

If you're OK with an acrylic tank and like the size and look of this one I would say go for it. You won't get a better deal and besides the overflow box being a little small it looks really good.

I wouldn't worry about the scratches, nanos are easy to clean carefully and you can always buff them out if you make a mistake. They don't scratch as easily as Myka mentioned, they won't scratch from sand blowing around

unless it's in a sandblaster

Mrfish55 · #4 10-28-2009, 03:09 PM

I used to swear I would never own another acrylic tank (had a 40 gal one about 20yrs ago, scrached up real easy and looked terrible in about 6 months) and then I just picked up my 750gal monster (used) This tank is 5 years old and has no more scratches than a comparable glass tank the same age, only difference is you can polish a scratch out of acrylic far easier than glass. I think the key to acrylic is to buy a high end tank, there are many grades of acrylic and the saying "You get what you pay for" is certainly true here. Whatever you do make sure it is cell cast and not extruded, extruded is not as strong and is softer making it easier to damage.

sphelps · #5 10-28-2009, 03:21 PM

It's not likely extruded because the heat from bending the corners would have caused stress cracks when the solvent was applied. Extruded also isn't much cheaper than continuous cast when it comes to thicknesses of 3/8" or more.

Mrfish55 · #6 10-28-2009, 03:40 PM

The listing does state it is cell cast but looking at how tight the radius is on the corners I would suspect they are glued up and then machined to give the rounded edge, my old tank was 1/2" bent and the corners were nowhere near as tight as those look. Perhaps an e-mail to the seller could clarify the construction of this cast cube

Ryan · #7 10-28-2009, 03:45 PM

14" deep with 3/8 glass and there will be bowing??? I dont think so.

spikehs · #8 10-28-2009, 03:46 PM

domestic cell cast it is. I'll ask him about the construction and see what he says. A few people over at RC have his tanks and are very impressed with them. The price seems reasonable to me.

mike31154 · #9 10-28-2009, 04:15 PM

I don't own an acrylic tank, but have always been curious about buffing out or removing scratches on them if you do end up making an error. Sounds like a great argument that this can be done, but for the scratches on the inside, near the bottom, who's willing to empty their tank in order to do this? Especially on a very large one. Not a big deal on a nano, or maybe it is. Still stress on the inhabitants and then trying to figure out how to keep the mess to a minimum.

I've also never been a fan of any bow front or bent corner tank, glass or acrylic. Looks kind of pleasing with the round contours, but there's generally a more distorted view through that part of the tank.

sphelps · #10 10-28-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

14" deep with 3/8 glass and there will be bowing??? I dont think so.

It's acrylic, pay attention