acrylic tank?

[Mike-fish]

im thinking of having a large tank built 340g . either acrylic or glass. so what are the drawbacks of an acrylic tank?

[Proteus]

Glass is über heavy. Acrylic is soft

[subman]

acrylic scratches easily. Glass is heavy and not as clear as acrylic.

Acrylic is a real pain in the *ss to clean.

Glass is heavy indeed, but way better for a big tank. The only thing I would build for acrylic would probably be a sump.... no need to clean it as well as you would clean an aquarium.

[MarkoD]

i've heard acrylic will yellow over time

[reefme]

I have a 280g acrylic tank you are welcome to see.

[Reef Pilot]

One of my display tanks is acrylic, and I would never get one again. Besides scratching easy, it is very difficult to clean off coralline algae. In contrast, I have new glass display tank downstairs, and it is almost a joy to clean.

[reefgirl189]

Originally Posted by Mike-fish

im thinking of having a large tank built 340g . either acrylic or glass. so what are the drawbacks of an acrylic tank?

Acrylic can be easily scratched would be the biggest con in my opinion.

Of course having said that the scratches can be buffed and polished out when the tank isn't running.

Acrylic generally becomes cheaper than glass on the large tank (like 300 gal and up) but not always.