Acrylic vs Glass

[BackPackHunter]

Originally Posted by mark

well now that you decided glass, what type?

Starfire is great just my experience is a dogs nails can scratch it (I'm agreeing with other posts out there it's seems softer that regular glass).

ive been doing a lot of reading of glass also...
and a lot of people are saying that the starfire scratches very easy, and some say they never had a problem...
I read a post that someone used a low iron starfire glass thats not normally used in aquariums, because of its cost being a lot more then normal starfire, and it was very hard and scratch resistant , im going to look into that a lot more, as for the other sides i dont care to much if they scratch up, im going to be painting them black and probably letting them grow out
the tank is going to be built into the living room wall, and want to keep it very clean looking , like its just a living picture ...

[untamed]

That was my trigger that scratched up my acrylic tank. That fish was crazy, however, swimming back and forth along the same spot endlessly. He would only stop this behavior to eat. Regardless, I have to polish the panels every year or so.

As for acrylic vs glass...it is just a tank size issue. Beyond a certain size, acrylic is a must...in spite of its challenges. Big=thick. Even thick starfire glass imparts a green hue compared to acrylic. Btw, my tank is 1" acrylic, euro braced 6' x 4' x 28" and there is no panel bowing.

At what size does glass become unacceptable/unmanageable? Opinions vary. I think it happens around 300-400 gallons.

[BackPackHunter]

Originally Posted by untamed

That was my trigger that scratched up my acrylic tank. That fish was crazy, however, swimming back and forth along the same spot endlessly. He would only stop this behavior to eat. Regardless, I have to polish the panels every year or so.

As for acrylic vs glass...it is just a tank size issue. Beyond a certain size, acrylic is a must...in spite of its challenges. Big=thick. Even thick starfire glass imparts a green hue compared to acrylic. Btw, my tank is 1" acrylic, euro braced 6' x 4' x 28" and there is no panel bowing.

At what size does glass become unacceptable/unmanageable? Opinions vary. I think it happens around 300-400 gallons.

Yes it was your trigger, I really enjoyed reading your thread, it gave me lots to think about
I pretty sure I'm going to do a 8'x3'x3' , 19mm glass
The work involved with acrylic just isn't worth it to me

[untamed]

I should also mention that I can stand/sit on top of my tank. Acrylic is stronger and that gives me a maintenance advantage.