One of the first decisions you will have to make when you decided to start keeping fish is the kind of tank you will buy. This will depend upon what you can afford, what’s available and what you need. One of the questions you will be asked is whether you want glass or acrylic aquarium.

So what’s the difference?

Well the two materials have different properties which change what you can get. For a starters glass is a lot cheaper and a lot more common.

Acrylic is becoming more common but glass is definitely the major material used. This is probably because glass is cheap, easy and has been available for a lot longer. A glass tank will be a lot cheaper than an acrylic tank. Glass is a lot harder than acrylic and so is far more scratch resistant. Glass doesn’t have the same tendency to bow like acrylic sometimes can. Glass is more brittle so won’t withstand knocks as well as acrylic does.  

Glass is however significantly heavier than acrylic and will also bend the light more than acrylic. This means Acrylic tanks are lighter and clearer. They will scratch more easily and although it is possible it isn’t easy to buff out the scratches. In terms of repair, although tedious a glass tank is easy to repair you just need a new pane of glass and to break the tank down and reseal it. This is not as easy as it sounds always make sure to check for leaks before you put it inside and fill it with water.

What acrylic’s significant advantage is the ease of bending it over glass and so curved tanks are often acrylic and they won’t refract light as strongly as glass does. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get round glass tanks, they are just not as common. Acrylic tends to look nicer, gives sharper and brighter viewing.

Another bonus is it doesn’t weigh as much as a truck when you have a large tank. If you can afford it and it won’t get scratched (hard when you’re trying to clean algae off the wall) acrylic is definitely a good choice, otherwise glass is a great cheap way to go.