For many fish owners the pros of buying acrylic aquariums far outweigh the cons.
What is an aquarium?
An aquarium is a large fish tank that is used to display fish. Aquariums come in all shapes and sizes and can be used to house one fish or 20 fish. Aquariums have a long history and have been around for thousands of years. Before aquariums came around, aristocrats would keep fish in large ponds however, once the aquarium was invented, they were able to bring fish in doors and they were also able to import and keep rare fish from around the world. For most of those thousands of years the glass aquarium was the norm, but it’s now getting passed up for acrylic aquariums.
What do acrylic aquariums offer?
Acrylic aquariums are known as very lightweight, crack resistant fish tanks. As a material acrylic is simply lighter than glass. In fact, it weighs about half as much as glass. Acrylic aquariums are also more durable than glass in that they do not crack like glass aquariums do. Glass aquariums are pieced together with sealant and this sealant can crack, causing leaks in the aquarium. This does not happen with acrylic aquariums.
Acrylic aquariums also are more versatile because they don’t crack. You can actually drill a hole in an acrylic aquarium so that a plumbing can be placed in the aquarium. This is much more difficult to do with a glass aquarium because it’s more susceptible to cracking.
Acrylic aquariums also provide more insulation than glass aquariums. This is important because fish are very temperature sensitive and if they live in an insulated aquarium, the temperature of their water doesn’t fluctuate as much. Though acrylic aquariums are more insulated, this is not enough to prevent you from getting a tank heater.
But…they’re not perfect
Like anything, acrylic aquariums have their flaws. They don’t crack as easily as glass aquariums, but they do scratch much more easily than acrylic aquariums. Acrylic aquariums are also more expensive than glass aquariums however; acrylic aquariums do last longer so the initial cost might be worth it.
One other downside to acrylic aquariums is that they need to be supported on the entire bottom of the stand. Glass aquariums only need to be supported on the sides of the aquarium. This so-called con is really not that hard to deal with. You just have to make sure you have the proper stand to support your acrylic aquariums.
