Glass vs Flexiglass

Hi,
I´m from Mexico City, and i have a dream.... Build a Reef Aquarium (sorry for my english, i speak spanish) and i want to know what is your opinion about to make an aquarium with clear glass or flexiglass (acrylic).

My base have a space to support an aquarium of 65" long, 20" high and 20" width
What do you recommend me?

If i build it with clear glass i need a thickness about 13 or 15 milimeters but i don´t know the thickness to use flexiglass.

I need you opinion and your´s tips.

Thanks,
Rudolph.

Rudolph!!

Here is a link to a custom tank build calculator. There is also a build guide there.

It says the acrylic should be 3/8" same as glass.

Rudolph

Im not a big fan of acrylic for aquariums just because of how easy it is to scratch. Acrylic is very easy to work with and makes nice aquariums but i dont think ive ever seen one that wasent all scratched up.

Are you going to be putting this together yourself?

Rudolph

Nice to have ya here. I prefer glass myself as well but even glass can get scratched but it is ALOT more resistant. Star fire glass is just as clear as acrylic but does cost more.

Good luck and keep us posted with your decision.

I would definitely use the glass. It's easy to work with also and will not scratch like the plastics.

Bienvenido al Club de Rudolph! Y para ser completamente honesto con vosotros he visto personas que sólo hablan Inglés hacer un trabajo peor que tú, así que no te preocupes por eso.

En cuanto a lo de usar, he construido dos tanques de vidrio y plexiglás. Mientras que usted puede comprar los paneles de cristal precorte me parece que el vidrio es mucho
más fácil de construir.

Con plexiglás hay muchas maneras para que pueda ir mal, las fugas pueden ser un verdadero dolor en el trasero para fijar, si te ocurre que se parte de la cola que es muy
líquida en el lugar equivocado puede arruinar todo el tanque, que es lo que hice. Y como ya se ha dicho que los arañazos con mucha facilidad.

Lo siento por mi español que hablan Inglés!

And for those engilsh speaking members

Welcome to the Club Rudolph! And to be completely honest with you I have seen people who speak only English do a worse job than you so do not worry about it.

As far as what to use, I have built both Glass and Plexiglas tanks. As long as you can purchase the glass panels precut I find that glass is so much easier
to build with.

With Plexiglas there are to many ways it can go wrong, leaks can be a real pain in the butt to fix, if you happen to get some of the glue which is really
runny, in the wrong place you can ruin the entire tank, which is what I did. And as it has already been said it scratches really easily.

Sorry for my Spanish I speak English!

bienvenidos a reef-geeks!!!! Great advice here so far nothing to add on my end, except, you guys in Mexico great some great deals on amazing wild caught fish & corals!!

well hello there rudoplh! welcome to reef-geeks! I think what it comes down to is easy care and personal preference have you seen acrylic and glass tanks? if so, which did YOU prefer? and while both are prone to possible scratches, acrylic tanks are easier to scratch .... so do you already know what you want to put in this tank?

Bienvenidos! Tambien quiero utilizar el vidrio, es mucho mas facil de construir con y no se raya tan facilimente como el acrilico. ?Hay tiendas de acuario ahi abajo? Hablo espanol mal, asi que pido disculpas si eso es dificil de leer





I would also use glass, it is much easier to build with and does not scratch so easily like acrylic. Are there any aquarium stores down there?

I would recommend glass, for all the reasons mentioned above. I'm getting ready to build a sump from acrylic, but for a display tank I like glass.

I have had acrylic tanks in my freshwater days, but scratched them, and now stay away. I have seen snails scratch acrylic.

But you can still scratch glass, it's just much harder to do.

so what's YOUR preference rudolph? .....and for the record, acrylic may be a bit "safer" but not so much so that it's "better" to use it rather than glass....your fish and other inhabitants will be safe with glass