[j_man]

What are the pros and cons of acrylic vs starphire glass aquariums?

[Samper]

Acrylic scratches but is lighter
Starphire is very clear but heavy..more for show tanks or just overall viewing pleasure

[Reefland]

Acrylic tanks are generally cheaper and can be built in a multitude of shapes and sizes. They are also much more available. The downfall to acrylic is that they are more difficult to maintain scratch free. A small piece of sand between a cleaning magnet can cause real havoc.

Starphire (or low iron glass) is just asclear as acrylic but is not as readily available and is more expensive. The durability (more difficult to scratch) can make them worthwhile though.

[scubadude]

Alot of ppl that live in earthquake prone zones also tend to lean a bit more to acrylic because of the flex that acrylic gives is a little bit more forgiving than glass. Also on a side note of regular glass versus starfire glass, the starfire does not have any iron in it which does if memory serves me correctly degrade the structural integrity just a tad...I think its very small though.

Ninong,
Can you confirm that for me?

[SeaMe]

acrylic - strong, light, flexible and drills real easy.

[j_man]

I'm thinking acrylic.

[j_man]

glasscages.com sells some cheap acrylic tanks.

[Reefland]

There are lots of others too. I have heard some good reports about Glass Cages though.

[dougc]

When I shopped for tanks, I found that acrylic tanks were MORE expensive than glass, not less. I ended up getting a glass tank, which, as some of you know, broke last weekend after being set up for a year and a half. Hindsight is 20/20 and I might make a different decision today.

[Reefland]

I always thought that acrylic was a bit cheaper... I still can't beleive that happened to you Doug. Were you able to salvage anything?

[SeaMe]

Glass tanks break more than most people would like to know, especially in the larger sizes.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by j_man

What are the pros and cons of acrylic vs starphire glass aquariums?

Starphire glass and acrylic are both very clear; however, there is a certain amount of distortion when looking through acrylic at an angle that is not apparent when viewing through Starphire glass at an angle.

Acrylic is much lighter than glass. Acrylic is a better insulator than glass, which can be either a positive or a negative depending on your particular environment. In a cold climate, acrylic will retain heat better than glass. Unfortunately it will do the same in a hot environment, too.

Acrylic is much less likely to spring a leak than glass. On the other hand, acrylic is much more likely to fail due to overheating from the lighting fixture than glass. One must always exercise caution in the placement of metal halide lamps over the top of an acrylic tank. More clearance is required for an acrylic tank than for a glass tank.

In spite of all of it's obvious advantages over glass, acrylic has one fatal flaw that most people just can't accept: It scratches! Easily! Just about anything will scratch acrylic. Over time, it will become dull from the abrasive action of cleaning coralline algae from it's walls. Even some fish will leave marks on the surface of acrylic. That doesn't happen with glass.

Acrylic tanks are more expensive than glass tanks in the smaller sizes but larger Starphire glass tanks are more expensive than acrylic tanks of the same size. You reach a point where Starphire glass just becomes prohibitive due to cost and weight factors. That hasn't stopped some folks from buying large, custom Starphire tanks in the 700+ gallons size range. Wayne Shang has a gorgeous 718-gal Starphire tank that was built for him by LeeMar in California. It was made with 3/4" Starphire (when they still made it) and it measures 96"L x 48"W x 36"H. It has a 4" Starphire glass perimeter euro brace and a single narrow Starphire glass cross brace in the middle. I'm sure it was quite expensive. He lives in Fremont, California on the east side of San Francisco Bay. He is definitely in an earthquake zone. He prefers glass over acrylic. In general, acrylic tanks are popular in the SF Bay Area than glass tanks. In the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, glass tanks were more likely to fail than acrylic tanks.

There is a thread on Reef Central of an 800+ gallon tank that has a 3/4" Starphire front pane that is 10' long. That tank measures 120"L x 45"W x 33"H (if I remember correctly). It was custom built on site about 10 years ago.

Whether you choose glass or acrylic, there are arguments to be made for or against either one.

[Ninong]

Here are a few pictures that show just how clear Starphire glass really is:

[Reefland]

Sure is a beautiful tank, Ninong. When you get water in a regular glass tank you think it is pretty clear but compared to Starphire or acrylic it is really green.

[Poseidon]

WOW! That sure is pretty...

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Sure is a beautiful tank, Ninong. When you get water in a regular glass tank you think it is pretty clear but compared to Starphire or acrylic it is really green.

Scott,

Do you remember when Paul (Ltdspd) first got his Starphire tank just a few weeks after I got mine? He set it up right next to his existing regular glass tank and then he took pictures of his corals in his regular glass tank before he moved those same corals to his new Starphire tank. After everything was moved into the new Starphire tank, he took some more pictures. The difference in coloration of the same corals when viewed through the different glass was obvious. This is very true when viewing clams through glass, even through the side glass. Regular greenish soda lime glass makes everything look different compared to Starphire or acrylic. And the differences are really apparent if the glass is 3/4" thick.

P.S. -- My glass is only 1/2" thick and there is a big difference but the difference is even greater if the thickness is 3/4" or 1".

[Reefland]

I was thinking when I posted that there used to be some comparison pictures here somewhere but haven't bothered searching for them yet since we lost a lot of pictures way back then. I might see if I can find them...

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Reefland

I was thinking when I posted that there used to be some comparison pictures here somewhere but haven't bothered searching for them yet since we lost a lot of pictures way back then. I might see if I can find them...

You won't find them. You "dropped" all of those pictures a long time ago. Believe me, I know.

[Reefland]

I was afraid of that. It's not too easy moving a couple of thousand pictures although I must say after as many times as I've done it I am starting to get kind of good at it. I think I only lost about 20 of yours during the last move.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Reefland

I was afraid of that. It's not too easy moving a couple of thousand pictures although I must say after as many times as I've done it I am starting to get kind of good at it. I think I only lost about 20 of yours during the last move.

I don't think you lost any pictures in the last couple of moves. You lost all those pictures about two years ago.