Aquariums are composed or built with either acrylic or glass. Most people are confused regarding the difference between the compositions of an aquarium. What most people think is that one is better than the other.

Well, there are certain things that make one better over the other. There are also reasons why one isn’t as good as the other. Now, why don’t you look at how this two differ from one another so that you can make a smart choice in choosing the type of aquarium that’s best for you?

How Glass Aquariums Are Made

Glass aquariums are some of the most commonly preferred aquariums. Though it’s relatively cheaper than acrylic aquariums, it has some benefits and drawbacks that you should know about it. Well then, let’s go ahead and talk about that right now.

  • Glass aquariums are very difficult to be scratched. It’s relatively more likely to avoid being scratched. The only that glass might be scratched is through a relatively tough and hard material as well as with an excessive amount of force or pressure.
  • Cracking and breaking of glass aquariums is more likely going to happen due to a significant amount of force or inappropriate behavior. A harsh impact will crack a glass and in certain cases, shatter a glass aquarium, which leads into a terrible mess in your home.
  • A glass aquarium is much denser that one that’s made from acrylic. Therefore, this makes glass aquariums heavier than the other. More often than not, glass tanks weigh four to ten times heavier than acrylic aquariums even if it has the same amount of volume.

How Acrylic Aquariums Are Made

Acrylic aquariums are often known to be far more expensive than glass aquariums. Other than that, there are certain aspects of it that makes desirable. If you notice, acrylic aquariums offer a much clearer view compared to those that’s made of glass. Now, look at some of main characteristics of it.

  • Acrylic aquariums are prone to scratch. No matter how manufacturers tend to avoid this kind of an issue, there are instances where the packaging materials itself result scratches during shipping. Since it’s that prone to being scratched, you must use acrylic-safe algae scrubbers when cleaning this type of an aquarium. However, acrylic aquariums can be easily repaired when it comes to scratching. There are polishing kits that’s available for use in these cases.
  • When it comes to cracking and breaking, an excessive amount of force is needed to cause such damage to it. Although any type of impact may scratch an acrylic aquarium, it’s going to require a huge amount of force to break or crack one.
  • Compared to the heaviness of glass aquariums, acrylic ones are lighter. This gives you an easy time to move your aquarium from one place to the other, even if you have to do it by yourself. This also means that it presents lesser strain to the structure that’s supporting it.

There you have it, the main differences between a glass and an acrylic aquarium. With these things in mind, you should be able to decide as to what type of aquarium you’d get for your home. No matter which of the two you select, it’s going to give you certain benefits that you wouldn’t get with the other.