The Right Material for Aquarium Tanks
Have you ever wondered what types of glass are used in building our Aquariums, or are there any other materials that we can use? In this article, we will be discussing the right material for aquarium tanks.
Table of Contents
The Right Material for Aquarium Tanks
Standard Glass
Low Iron Glass
Acrylic
Inspect Your Tank
Closing Remarks
Standard Glass
Regular glass is by far the most common material in making aquariums. Glass is actually manufactured by heating ordinary sand silica (silicon dioxide), the primary constituent of sand, to 1700 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the sand will liquefy. Glass is most often manufactured by the rapid cooling of the molten form after removing the bubbles.
Ordinary glass has a noticeable greenish tint, especially when viewed from the end of the panel. But it is cheap and represents a cost-effective solution for larger tanks.
It is also scratch-resistant – this is advantageous when you have all the tools to keep that glass clean. Be it scrubbing the algae in the glass or using a razor blade (be careful not to touch the silicon seams). You don’t have to worry about the glass being scratched. It will not discolor with age as well.
However, glass is heavy, twice the weight of acrylic of the same size. This could be a serious drawback on huge aquariums. Shape and sizes are limited too.
Standard Glass Panels
Low Iron Glass
It uses a small amount of iron to eliminate the blue-greenish tint of standard glass, and it cost more. Please see the comparison below between standard glass at the right and low iron glass on the left.
Low Iron Glass and Clear Glass Comparison
Acrylic
Acrylic is 50 % lighter than glass of the same dimensions. For large aquariums, a material that offers 50 % weight reduction while retaining strength and integrity is certainly an appealing option.
Acrylic is generally stronger than glass. Additionally, the joints between acrylic panels can be chemically fused. Glass aquariums and their silicon seams cannot match this level of strength.
Acrylic is customizable and can be molded to form any imaginable tank shapes like curved, bow front, octagon, cylindrical tanks, etc. You name it, and it can be molded like that.
However, as I said previously, acrylic is very easy to scratch. This means you are very limited on tools and cleaning materials to clean your acrylic tanks. But these light scratches can be removed by employing a buffing process. Deeper scratches, on both glass and acrylic, are permanent.
Acrylic is expensive, there is no getting around it, and some acrylic types can yellow in time.
Acrylic Tank
Inspect Your Tank
Carefully inspect the craftsmanship, joints, and silicon seams of your newly bought aquarium, if possible, while you are still in the store. Take pictures, and don’t be afraid to point out any flaws that you may find. You can bring a flashlight and magnifying glass to help you with inspecting.
Want to Explore More?
Closing Remarks
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have additional questions or want to share your experiences with the materials used in building your aquariums, please leave a comment below.
Next, we will be discussing the many Aquascaping Styles that will unleash your creativity and the artist within you.
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Hello Andre and welcome to my website. Thank you for the appreciation. Please watch out for more articles coming soon.
The right material for your acquarium. While constructing an aquarium it’s very important and essential that the right materials are used. I have been longing for my own aquarium for a long time. But haven’t actually been able to achieve it for some various personal reasons. I guess I will just have to start again, with this informational article i know that i am good to go.it will set as a standard for me getting my equipments/materials. Well done
Thank you Sheddy for the appreciation about my article. Indeed, the right material and also the craftmanship are essentials when we decide to buy our aquarium. Please watch out for more articles coming soon.
Should you not know, an aquarium is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic reptiles such as turtles, and aquatic plants. They usually add beauty to our homes so people temd to use the best glasses to make it strong and long lasting…
These materials look.really good so chose the best that suites your design…
Hello Evans, I agree aquariums, paludariums, terrariums, and ripariums are all vivariums and thank you for sharing your knowledge. I actually discussed all of these in the Paludarium style in my website.