Acrylic tank scratching question - Sand versus no sand

[memito]

I had a quick question regarding acrylic tanks….

Obviously acrylic tanks have all sorts of scratching issues mostly from rearranging live rock. I have also been told that even sand caught in the flow of the tank can slowly cause the acrylic to become dull due to thousands of micro scratches (also from removing criters from the walls of the tanks).

So, the question I have is the following:

If I decide to go with a bare bottom tank from the get-go and never introduce sand into an acrylic tank would I still run into this problem from detritus?

I am assuming that there still will be some scratches but less than an acrylic tank with a sand bed.

While I have read that most people would recommend a glass tank over a acrylic tank for a reef, I am thinking about using a tank as a room divider and would like to be able to see the tank from both sides. (Which brings up all sorts of algae maintenance issues, I know.)

Given that I am thinking of a larger tank and that most commercially available glass tanks have their overflows on the back of the tank, I thought I would give acrylic a second look – mostly due to the placement of an end or middle overflow. I am also considering an acrylic tank because of its reputation for being stronger and more leak resistant.

While a custom glass tank could solve these scratch issues, I am a bit worried of glass tanks over 200 gallons - the tank I am thinking about would be 6-8L / 3W / 2H.

All thoughts are welcome.

Thank you.

 

[jhale]

hey Bill,

over time the acrylic will get scratched from trying to
keep the coraline algae off two sides of the tank.

I would use a glass tank with the viewing side made of low iron glass.

I owe you a phone call , I can recommend some tank makers when we speak.

 

[memito]

Yeah... that's what I forgot - the coralline algae!

I am determined to finally get my apartment going now that I have been here for about 8 months now.

I really want to do something with the middle of the apartment - between the two pillars - as esthetically crazy as it might be!

I figured that if I wanted to do a fish only tank acrylic would be a no-brainer, but if I decided to go reef it would pose problems...

In any case, if something where to go in that space I would probably need so sort of display case, so we can talk about that as well.

Thanks and talk to you soon.

 

[2Sunny]

Flip flopping in my mind.

Hey Bill,

The room divider idea sounds fabulous, and I know how hard it is to come to a decision on these things. Personally I would prefer that all my future tanks be glass after my experience with scratching and buffing and scratching and buffing on my 280, BUT having said that I thought I would play devils advocate for a second and point out that some folks who are diligent about cleaning there acrylic tanks carefully and daily DO manage to keep pristine viewing even after years of sevice. As an example I offer the brilliant tank of Steven Weast. I had the undeniable pleasure of seeing this tank in person, and I can assure there was not a single scratch to be found anywhere. But Steve cleans the glass constantly, never allows coralline time to grow removes the magnets and pads after every use to prevent critters or crud from building up and even goes so far as to lay down a plate of acrylic on top of the sand bed when he cleans the surface of the glass near the bottom. I mention this simply to point out that if you feel you can be diligent in keeping the glass clean, acrylic can work with no wear at all. I'm not sure I buy the argument about "micro-scratches" from blowing detritus and sand. More likely than not what folks who came up with that theory were witnessing was crazing due to other factors like using windex or scubbing with pads that had a little too much detritus on them or some other misuse of the acrylic. Of course I could be wrong and that wouldn't necessarily be the first time :shocked: . Anyways best of luck with whatever you choose!


Joe

 

[memito]

Joe,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I highly doubt that I am that sort of super-diligent sort of guy. Given that my cats and I would turn my apartment into a war zone if I didn't have a house cleaner, I am going to say that I am probably going to skip a day or so of cleaning the tank walls. (Of course I don't skip out on taking care of my two terror kitties and my old freshwater fish... all of whom seem to be a breeze to take care of in comparison to the thought of managing a reef tank. *sigh* Why am I so scared of owning a reef tank?)

In any case, the pics of Steven's tank are beautiful! That guy certainly has his act together - from his tank to his kick-ass website.

Thanks again for the info and link.

Keep warm.

Bill