Advantages of Glass Aquariums

One of the main advantages to glass aquariums is that glass does not scratch as easily as a Acrylic aquariums do . It's almost impossible not to accidentally scrape the inside of your aquarium
at some point when you're working on it. If you're moving corals around oftentimes you will scratch the front of the aquarium. If it's glass, most likely they won't scratch easily. The scratch will be more noticeable with acrylic as it is softer and scratches more easily and deeper. Not only is it more noticeable, but algae tends to grow in the scratch and if you want to try and correct it. You'll need to buff it out typically to get rid of it. In the acrylic aquarium you need to drain the aquarium in order to use a buffing kit.

Disadvantages of Glass Aquariums

Drilling a Glass Tank

A disadvantage to glass aquariums is drilling a hole in them is much more difficult than drilling an acrylic aquarium . Glass aquariums require special diamond bit saw blades which are somewhat expensive, and typically should be done by an expert. It is possible to break your aquarium while drilling it. But I must say that I recently started drilling my own tanks, and it is much easier than I thought. Its very important to go slow and be very patient. You will need a drill press and a diamond hole saw. Measure the size of your hole very carefully as you only get one chance. When you're drilling, you will need a push down very gently on the on the drill saw, not really applying pressure. Allow the blade to do the work for you, and run water over the bit and cut constantly to keep it cool. If the glass heats up too quickly it can crack.

Acrylic aquariums can be drilled more easily and dont require a diamond hole saw. You can drill them with a standard drill bit that you buy from a home improvement store a long as it is sharp. If you want more information on drilling aquariums, see our section on drilling aquariums.

I still prefer to use glass instead of acrylic, mainly because of the difficulty of keeping acrylic scratch free and clean. When you have the beautiful calcareous algae on the inside of a tank's, its very abrasive, almost like sand. By trying to clean off calcareous algae you're almost certainly going to scratch if.

Cleaning Glass Aquariums [ insert picture of hand using razor blade]

To clean the glass on your tank, it's really quite easy. Use a new clean sharp razor blade. You should get very little scratching if any, by using this method, and it's quite easy to clean the glass with a new razor blade. Every week or so should do it , and you will have a spotless aquarium. Acrylic tanks on the other hand, are more difficult to clean and we don't recommend you clean them with a brand-new razor blade. Use special aquarium magnets. But keep in mind it is harder to keep them completely clean.

Glass aquariums tend to weigh a little bit more than acrylic aquariums so you need to plan your stand accordingly, make sure your aquarium stand can handle the additional weight. But in truth on smaller tanks, say less than 75 gallons the weight is not that significant and most aquarium stands are built to withstand the weight of either type of material.