[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[APD] Re: The tank I have always wanted
Hello Everyone,
I have recently decided to purchase a 370+ gallon
acrylic tank or a 300 gallon all glass tank ( same dimensions but acrylic
is 5 inches taller ). Either of these tanks will I be happy with, but I
have never had nor
known anyone who has had, an acrylic tank. Glass tanks hold no mysteries
for me but I have a number of concerns regarding the acrylic. I imagine a
lot of aquatic plant folk have experience with acrylic so I am hoping
someone will put my fears to rest or save me from a very expensive
blunder. Both tanks are over $1000 with the
Remember that the costs for all the support equipment (lights,
filtration/circulation, maybe heating) will be substantial -- not only for
the up-front purchase of the equipment but also the ongoing electrical
costs. I've looked at building a 450 gallon marine tank several times and
the ongoing support costs are always surprising (which is why I haven't
done it... Yet :-)
[snip]
>a houseplant last more than a month ) At any rate, I am wondering if
otos, SAE, or >plecs will gnaw their way through in their constant search
for algae. I wonder if >anyone has noticed whether or not light is hindered
by traveling through 3/4 inch >of acrylic top, or how badly algae forms on
underside of top. Or for that matter, >how
You will loose less light through 3/4" of acrylic than through 3/4" of the
usual soda-lime glass that most tanks are made of (starfire is an
exception). There is also much less noticeable color shift caused by the
acrylic (which is bluish) than the glass (greenish). Go to a fish store and
look through some thick tanks at a bit of an angle to see what I mean. Some
people notice the glass, very few notice the acrylic. I wouldn't worry with
either too much in terms of light lost though. Most acrylic tanks will have
a top brace that your lights must pass through while many glass tanks have
minimal top bracing. The result is that while the glass looses more light,
there is less glass for your light to pass through compared to the acrylic
tank's bracing.
No fish is going to chew through an Acrylic tank, don't worry about that.
You'll probably get more scratches right above the edge of the substrate in
an acrylic tank from the gravel moving around over time, but that's about it.
>difficult is it to get algae off acrylic, how hard to clean, hazing etc.
I realize >that it will be harder to plant and prune etc. considering the
top of the acrylic ( >any horror stories? ) I am hoping that the acrylic
might hold temp better than >glass? Does acrylic stain? These and other
worries have plagued me. I would prefer >the acrylic because it will be so
much easier to move if nessasary, including >getting it in the house and to
its resting place. Plus, who wouldn't want an extra >70+ gallons. Any
advice on this matter will be much appreciated.
Acrylic is *much* more susceptible to scratching than glass. It's also a
*lot* easier to polish the scratches out of the acrylic. Scratches inside
the tank tend to be wetted by the water and not be noticeable, and the
scratches on the outside can be polished out without much trouble. There
are even polish kits that are safe to use inside an active tank for larger
scratches. You will want to be more careful cleaning an acrylic tank
however.
Don't ever clean an acrylic tank with any ammonia-based cleaner since that
will make it haze. When I've cleaned acrylic I always just use water and a
soft cloth, I've never used any of the special abrasive pads made for
cleaning acrylic tanks.
Acrylic tanks will be significantly lighter than glass tanks, especially in
the larger sizes. Don't let that fool you though -- a 300+ gallon acrylic
tank will weigh several hundred pounds. You'll need at least several people
to move it around, and it's best to use braces and warehouse-style
equipment like pallet jacks to move the larger tanks.
I don't think you'll find an acrylic tank to hold heat any better than a
glass tank but I've never really thought about it and can't say for sure. I
wouldn't use that as a factor in deciding which tank to get in any case. In
terms of staining, it is possible to stain acrylic since there are solvents
that will penetrate the polymer (certain permanent markers come to mind),
which doesn't happen with glass. I haven't heard of any acrylic tanks being
stained by the inhabitants though.
-Bill
*****************************
Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator
_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants