glass vs. acrylic

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[ Glass vs Acrylic ] [ Compare glass ] [ Compare stand ] [ Customer Reviews ] [ More ? ]

Compare weight factor: acrylic vs. glass

tank size (gallon)	acrylic tank weight empty (lbs) / laborer needed to lift (person)	glass tank weight empty (lbs) / laborer needed to lift (person)	acrylic tank weight full (lbs)	glass tank weight full (lbs)	weight difference between glass and acrylic tanks when full (%)
55	42 / 2	78 / 2	589	625	6.1%
93	88 / 2	170 / 2	993	1075	8.3%
118	120 / 2	215 / 2	1305	1400	7.3%
170	160 / 2	295 / 3	1845	1980	7.3%
230	200 / 2	370 / 4	2330	2530	8.6%
265	250 / 3	460 / 5	2690	2950	7.8%
500	600 / 5	1050 / 8	4900	5350	9.2%

Compare other factors: acrylic tank vs. glass tank vs. Aqua Vim seamless curved glass tank

	sighted seams from viewing	scratch concern	transparency and "aging"	forming styles	material cost	manufacturing difficulty	water holding strength	distortion
acrylic tanks	glue on seams is nearly clear but effects view	high, can easily get scratched from algae- cleaning	very clear when new but become foggy over time. Strong lighting and detergents could also make it "yellow" or "fogged".	highly designable because of plasticity of acrylic nature	high	not difficult, requires no sophisticated equipment.	strong because its seams are molecular bonds	Minimum
convention glass tanks	glue on seams is unclear and severely blocks view	low, less likely to get scratches	less clear than new acrylic but clear enough for viewing pleasure. Tank glass stay clear for life.	less designable due to lack of heavy equipment and technology	low	difficult, but requires no sophisticated equipment	fair. however its 8 seams depend on careful, highly skilled glue work	May slightly distorted but does not effect use and view
Aqua Vim seamless curved glass tanks	seamless, giving unobstructed view	low, less likely to get scratches	Stay clear life-long. It's standard tank glass is more clear than most other manufacturer's, and it's custom-made Ultra-clear tank glass is extremely clear	highly designable. Variety of shapes can be formed through Aqua Vim's glass bending technology	very high	very difficult, and requires large-scale equipment and extensive know-how	strong because of use of thicker glass and because its tanks have only 3 seams compare with 8 of other's.	Minimum. A few models with sharp-turn curves may slightly distorted but does not effect use and view

How clear is the glass of Aqua Vim aquariums?

The glass we use for our tanks is specially made to surpass our competitors, therefore is clearer than glass used by most other manufacturers. We can also custom-make using Starphire, or Ultra-clear glass to meet your perfectionism. See the difference below:

Shown above: Side views of three 1/2" thick panes of each of the three glass grades for comparison. The three dark green pieces in the middle are the standard glass used by most other aquarium manufacturers, the three pieces on the right are the standard glass used by Aqua Vim®; and the three pieces on the left are low-iron Starphire/UltraClear glass, which are not as tough as Aqua Vim glass, but the clearest.

Aqua Vim® uses either Aqua Vim glass in its standard tanks for most customers, or UltraClear glass for extreme hobbyists. Since it is difficult to bent low-iron UltraClear glass even in a digitally-controlled thermal oven, a tank built using curved UltraClear glass is usually about 3 times more expensive than a tank built using curved Aqua Vim glass.

* All weights, sizes, and other information provided above are based on approximate estimates of materials generally used in manufacturing of aquariums available on the market. Weights of aquariums may vary from one manufacturer to the other.

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