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Acrylic or Glass?: The dilemma of aquarium materials

© Winston Vaughan Schoenfeld

I often get questions from aquarists asking me what the best aquarium material is. This is inevitably due to the growing interest of building one's own aquarium. The bottom line is that there are two major materials which are generally used to make aquariums - glass and acrylic. So, which is better? The truth is that "it depends". In this article, I will give a brief list of the pros and cons or each, from which you should be able to determine what would be the better for you.

I will begin with glass. Glass is by far the most popular of the two materials. This is mainly due to cost. Relative to acrylic aquariums, glass is cheaper. Glass aquariums are held together by silicone sealant, which allows for a strong bond and more importantly, expansion when the aquarium is filled with water. In addition, glass aquariums are very scratch resistant, thus preserving the clarity of the aquarium sides.

The down sides of glass aquariums are basically the positive sides of acrylic. First, unlike glass, acrylic allows for a large number of shapes and sizes of aquariums. Thus, if you have a non-standard shape in mind, acrylic might be for you. In addition, acrylic allows for easy adjustments for filtration feed throughs. When one wishes to do the same for glass aquariums, special tools are needed to cut the glass so that it doesn't crack.

This brings me to the next point. In places, such as bars or other public areas, acrylic is by far the better choice. Glass has little resistance to the occasional bump, and thus poses a great amount of liability. Acrylic, however, can withstand many bumps and bruises without cracking. Acrylic is also lighter than glass. This is more important for larger aquariums, which can easily get very heavy.

So why is glass so popular? For two reasons: it is cheaper, and it is very scratch resistant, unlike acrylic. Removing scratches from acrylic can be a little tough, and requires sanding with decreasing grades of sand paper. Most aquarists don't require odd shaped aquariums, and are not worried about public display liabilities - thus, they choose glass. Those who require odd shapes, or are planning on displaying the aquarium publicly tend to go with acrylic.

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