# Acrylic tank shopping



## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi folks:
I'll be looking for an acrylic tank this fall for my ever growing wild discus collection  Can't be more than 130 gallons. Would prefer length and width over height. If you've had any experience buying an acrylic tank or suggestions, especially any "I wish I had know this before I bought my acrylic tank" kind of thing, please pm me. Also interested in where you purchased and $$ paid. My preference would be to buy new since it's for the discus, but may be willing to consider a used tank depending on condition.
Thanks; I appreciate it 
Shelley


----------



## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

I've had a few used acrylic tanks before. 

I didn't realize how easy it is to scratch acrylic until I had an acrylic tank. Sure you can buff it out, but that gets to be a pain especially if the scratch is on the inside.

Go for thicker acrylic and make sure it's cell-cast acrylic. Much less likely to warp and yellow over time.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

As fkshiu said, acrylic scratches very easily. It will also yellow over time. They sure look pretty when new though. Any reason not to go glass? I think until you go to 200 or so, glass still makes economic sense, and the weight is still manageable. If you keep the height to 18" or so, you can get a 150 that's 6 foot long and 24 wide.

Edit: More like 20" high.


----------



## target (Apr 21, 2010)

A new 130g eh? Should be room for some more discus.


----------



## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Any reason not to go glass? [/QUOT
> 
> Yup - best reason of all ..... FEAR!!! Had some folks over for dinner last week and crazy malamute decides to throw her brontosaurus size bone up in the air and it hit the tank front and centre. Everyone in the room collectively held their breath and didn't move. It was pretty tense.
> 
> ...


----------



## target (Apr 21, 2010)

LOL, always go for 2. And that would have been nerve-wracking. I shattered a 10 gallon and what a mess. I couldn't imagine having a blow out in a huge tank.


----------



## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

Glass tanks get stronger as they get bigger: thicker/tempered glass, more silicone.


----------



## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Lisa (Ibenu) just got a custom made acrylic, ask her she might b able to help  Sorry Lisa i gave your secret away but is not the bf


----------



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

how "hard" is acrylic, or rather, how hard does something need to be in order to scratch acrylic.
and how hard is it to buff out?

is it just UV light that causes acrylic to yellow? if so keeping it in the basement or a room without a window so it doesn't get direct sunlight might prevent it somewhat? (or likewise if you plan to have it in the front room with a huge window you might choose not to get acrylic if that were the case)

i hear acrylic has better thermal properties so you could conceivably have a more stable temperature in the tank during heat waves or night/day?


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Acrylic is a much better insulator than glass. Theoretically should be a much more efficient heating setup than with a glass tank. Think a glass drinking glass versus an acrylic drinking glass. Fill it with boiling hot water and you'd probably burn your hand if you were holding the glass versus the acrylic.

I've never seen a good quality cell cast acrylic tank yellow. The small nano type acrylic tanks I've seen yellow but I'm guessing those are not made in the same way as a cell cast acrylic tank.


----------



## H . (Apr 23, 2010)

tony1928 said:


> Acrylic is a much better insulator than glass. Theoretically should be a much more efficient heating setup than with a glass tank. Think a glass drinking glass versus an acrylic drinking glass. Fill it with boiling hot water and you'd probably burn your hand if you were holding the glass versus the acrylic.
> 
> I've never seen a good quality cell cast acrylic tank yellow. The small nano type acrylic tanks I've seen yellow but I'm guessing those are not made in the same way as a cell cast acrylic tank.


good point! specially for discus tank.

I'm running 500W heater in my 450 gal acrylic tank, and 300W on my 220 acrylic tank. Water temperatures are all on 29C steady.

only "plastic" tanks turn yellow, good acrylic tank will not turn yellow.


----------



## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

Rocks and sand will most definitely scratch acrylic. Rock and wood formations must be extremely secure. Aquascaping becomes quite the PNE midway game as you try to place things ever so gingerly. The greatest danger is getting a grain of something stuck between the acrylic and the algae scraper. So easy to do inadvertently but leaves horrific scratches. 

Fish with teeth that can gnaw will scratch. A friend had his custom 400+ gallon acrylic tank shredded by a nervous triggerfish. 

Kids are a huge risk to scratch as they tend to rub all sorts of things against the tank. Jewelry like rings will scratch. I found out the hard way that belt buckles and metal buttons will also scratch - pretty much anything metal.

Scratches are relatively easy to buff out with stuff like Novus but as I said it becomes a royal PITA especially on inside scratches.


----------



## Guest (Jul 9, 2010)

I bought a 100 gallon acrylic tank from King Ed's Pets in December 2006. It cost $470 (acrylic tends to be more expensive than glass).

The dimensions are 48" long, 24" wide and 20" high. The brand is TruVu.

I set it up in Fall 2007; it is in a room with lots of windows and skylights, and the first summer (2008) it was receiving some direct sun for part of the day and I got a lot of green water, but the acrylic does not look yellowed at all. Since then I have blocked the skylights so that the sun does not hit the tank anymore, and that got rid of the algae problem.

Last time I was at King Ed's (which was a few months ago, since I do not go there very often), I noticed that the section of the basement where the acrylic tanks used to be looked quite empty, so may be they do not carry them anymore.

I am quite happy to have switched to acrylic; I also have a 20 long, a 20 hexagonal and a 10. My main reason was weight. The acrylic 100, for example, can be carried by just one man with relative ease, instead of two guys struggling with the equivalent size in glass.


----------



## hondas3000 (Apr 22, 2010)

Acrylics is also good if you have young kid in the house. Especially young boy.


----------

