250 gallon acrylic

[kikoreefer]

ok i have the chance to purchase an inverted bow front acrylic aquarium. its a 1-3/4" thick 5 x 3 x 3 (roughly) tank that has a center overflow and MH lighting for 600. i was looking for a new tank because my 120 tall is a pain in the but to work on and im having issues with my center brace that is not making me feel comfortable. the tank is incredible. its the opposite of what i wanted though because it is so tall. what do i do!!! lol its amazing. and the price is right. i have glass now and have no experince with acrylic. should i get it? should i not? anyone have any experience or any pros and cons

[Reef264]

Acrylic is really easy to scratch, inevitable in my experience not to scratch it.It is. Really good deal, but there might be a reason for the spectacular deal, gotta really investigate before investing the dough.

-Ray

[dppitone]

I would go for it, just get a proper algae magnet. That sounds like an awesome footprint and a nothing price.

[ayionna06]

it is probably scratched up already. if not definitely a steal

[Indymann99]

Acrylic is actually pretty easy to buff scratches out of, more so when not full of water and fish

If it is scratched, I would look into the Novus products for scratch removal.

That said, you WILL get scratches in the tank from normal cleaning no matter how careful you are... most of the fine scratches that end up after a couple of years are hardly noticeable when water is in the tank.

I like acrylic tanks as the seams are "welded" together making leaks or failures "much less likely" (anything can fail).

I am slightly wary of 2 things you mention.
1. the "inverted bow" design may make cleaning with a algae magnet harder as the surface is convex/concave... I havent seen too many tanks with that design.
2. an algae magnet may not work on a tank that is 1.75 " thick....
The above cleaning concerns may be moot if you can clean without the use of a magnet, however 3ft tall is going to take a long arm...

my 0.02 (less after taxes)

[dppitone]

seems like that footprint is a good bit bigger than 250gallons, unless the inverted bow is extreme I suppose

[sabodish]

get one of these magnets and don't worry about it. its pricey, yes, but they are awesome

http://mightymagnets.com/floating%20...0floating.html

with that being said, I would make sure this tank indeed holds water before throwing down the cash. is it close enough to you that you could go visit it and fill it and observe for leaks?

I have had my acrylic tank for 7 years now, and yes it scratches. novus products are awesome but cannot be used when the tank is full of water. there are underwater scratch removal kits, haven't tried them personally but I have read decent reviews.

my advice...make sure it holds water and then clean it up real good before filling. sounds like a great tank.

[dppitone]

i think those magnets are made of gold, if not uranium.

[kikoreefer]

It is extreme and and on both sides. Thanks for the input guys but im passing. I checked it out it wasnt scratched, a little but so faint I couldnt get a pic. I just hate working on my 31 inch I camt imagine fetchkng a down coral 36 inches down, id need a scuba suit which may be fun but the tank is expensive as is lol

[Carpentersreef]

Good move.
I have a 1" thick acrylic tank and your water circulation choices are really limited the thicker you get.

[edmondspl]

I would never do it if it's for a reef tank. Cleaning acrylic is a pain.