acrylic vs. glass

in the market for a new 100 gal tank for saltwater.... What's better, glass or acrylic tanks? Hit me with the pros and cons of each, cuz i don't know. I have never had an acrylic tank, if that helps...

acrylic is lighter, cheaper than glass, but scratches more easily. I'd opt for glass, especially if considering salt water.

Actually acrylic is more expensive than glass. Oil is used to produced acrylic.

Acrylic
=====

Expensive
Light
Easily scratched but can be buffed out
Almost impossible to fix when it leaks
will not break or shatter
Easy to seal with silicone

Glass
====

Heavy
Cheaper than acrylic
Hard to scratch but can be scratched
Once scratched it is almost impossible to get rid of the scratch

I'll add more when I think of more . I have 3 big acrylic tanks 2x240 and a 180.
I would never setup tanks bigger than 150 if they are not acrylic.
can break or shatter

I agree. Generally acrylic is much more expensive then glass.

When you start talking about big tanks I love acrylic because of how light it is. My 280 could easily be picked up by one person if it was not so bulky. A comparable glass would weigh hundreds of pounds.

Scratches on acrylic are pretty easily buffed out but it is a decent amount of work to do.

The amount of custom designs with acrylic is really impressive. I have seen some crazy acrylic designs compared to glass that are much more standard designs. Bow front is about as crazy as it gets for glass.

So in short I 2nd what Khrister said hehe

lol ok, cuz i found a used 90 gal acrylic for 75 bucks, and your saying all scratches can be easily fixed to a brand new condition?

I like Glass because I use large paint scrapers (razors) to clean the glass.... acrylic wouldn't stand a chance. I wouldn't worry about large tanks "glass" heavy tanks for salt you don't set those up if you plan on moving anytime soon anyway! I would only consider acrylic if it was seamless anyway due to leaks that you can't fix. However to each is his own. You won't get diddly for either when you try to resale so really I'd go with the best deal $ wise.
JB

My personal opinion is if you have the extra money to dish go acrylic they look much nicer. Glass you can kind feel like your looking threw something to see your fish as where acrylic it seems like the water just stops and the fish are much nicer looking.

As far as maintenance I am always scared to clean my acrylic because I don't want to scratch it but my glass tanks I am so much less worried haha

Yeah that is a huge downside to acrylic. Cleaning can be much harder and you must use things designed to work with acrylic.

Heavy is heavy to me though. If I don't have to call four+ people over to move an empty tank I call it a good day. It is true that you won't likely be moving it around very often but... when the time comes it will matter.

I agree seamless acrylic is the way to go. To my knowledge the solvent used to put two pieces of acrylic together chemically bonds them and makes two parts essentially one. The joints on an acrylic tank are suppose to be much stronger then the rest of the tank which in comparison to a glass tank where they are the weak spots.

Sorry but I'm an ex technical plastics geek, so here's my penny's worth.

Chemical Resistance data
http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Plastics_Library/Chemical-Resistance-of-Plexiglass-Acrylic

shows just how good it is around the home.

Being a Plastic, other factor would be evaluated.

Weather Resistance: Despite heat, cold, sunlight, and humidity our acrylic sheet maintains its original appearance and color.

Safety: Shatter-resistant, earthquake safe, and burglar-resistant. Increase safety with windows glazed of acrylic.

Light Weight: Even with its strength and durability, our acrylic sheet is only half the weight of glass.

UV Light Resistance: Clear acrylic sheet resists ultraviolet light degradation. Each acrylic sheet has a ten-year-limited warranty against yellowing and loss of light transmission.

Chemical Resistance: Acrylic sheet resists many chemicals, including ammonia, dilute acids, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. A chemical resistance chart is available upon request.

As I see it, only cleaning/scratching is an issue. As in many metal welds, the weld is stronger that the base material.

acrylics do scratch easy but they can also yellow in time but the brite side is you probably wont notice the scratches as much due to the yellowing. acylic is a lot easyier to drill and lighter weight than glass but aqua scaping is a pita see picture for example. you can buff out any exterior scratches but if the scratches are on the inside the buffing agents are toxic.

One thing I haven't really enjoyed is the small opening in the top of mine but if your creative you can get pieces in the tank that you wouldn't think would fit haha

Here is a picture of my tank as a example of big pieces I fit threw it.