Compare weight factor: acrylic vs. glass
tank size |
acrylic tank weight empty (lbs) /
laborer needed to lift (person) |
glass tank weight empty (lbs) /
laborer needed to lift (person) |
acrylic tank weight full (lbs) |
glass tank weight full (lbs) |
weight difference between glass and
acrylic tanks when full (%) |
55 |
42 / 2 |
78 / 2 |
589 |
625 |
6.1% |
93 |
88 / 2 |
170 / 2 |
993 |
1075 |
8.3% |
118 |
120 / 2 |
215 / 2 |
1305 |
1400 |
7.3% |
170 |
160 / 2 |
295 / 3 |
1845 |
1980 |
7.3% |
230 |
200 / 2 |
370 / 4 |
2330 |
2530 |
8.6% |
265 |
250 / 3 |
460 / 5 |
2690 |
2950 |
7.8% |
500 |
600 / 5 |
1050 / 8 |
4900 |
5350 |
9.2% |
Compare other factors: acrylic tank vs. glass tank vs. Aqua
Vim seamless curved glass tank
|
sighted seams from viewing |
scratch concern |
transparency and
"aging" |
forming styles |
material cost |
manufacturing difficulty |
water holding
strength |
distortion |
acrylic tanks |
glue on seams is nearly clear but
effects view |
high, can easily get scratched
from algae- cleaning |
very clear when new but become
foggy over time. Strong lighting and detergents could also make it
"yellow" or "fogged". |
highly designable because of
plasticity of acrylic nature |
high |
not difficult, requires no
sophisticated equipment. |
strong because its seams are
molecular bonds |
Minimum |
convention glass tanks |
glue on seams is unclear and
severely blocks view |
low, less likely to get
scratches |
less clear than new acrylic
but clear enough for viewing pleasure. Tank glass stay clear for life. |
less designable due to lack of
heavy equipment and technology |
low |
difficult, but requires no
sophisticated equipment |
fair. however its 8 seams
depend on careful, highly skilled glue work |
May slightly distorted but does not
effect use and view |
Aqua Vim seamless curved
glass tanks |
seamless, giving unobstructed
view |
low, less likely to get
scratches |
Stay clear life-long. It's
standard tank glass is more clear than most other manufacturer's,
and it's custom-made Ultra-clear tank glass is extremely clear |
highly designable. Variety of
shapes can be formed through Aqua Vim's glass bending technology |
very
high
|
very difficult, and requires
large-scale equipment and extensive know-how |
strong because of use of
thicker glass and because its tanks have only 3 seams compare with 8 of
other's. |
Minimum. A few models with
sharp-turn curves may slightly distorted but does not effect use and view |
View a video on how strong glass can be, by BBC Click on youtube.com:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_IuXltG0J0
How clear is the glass of
our aquariums?
The glass we use for our tanks is
especially made to surpass our competitors, therefore is clearer than glass used by
most other manufacturers. We can also custom-make using Aqua Vim® Ultra-clear,
or Starphire
glass to meet your perfectionism. See the difference below:

Shown above: Side views of three 1/2" thick
panes of each of the three glass grades for comparison. The three dark pieces in
the middle are the standard glass used by most other aquarium manufacturers, the
three pieces on the right are the standard glass
used by Aqua Vim®; and the three pieces
on the left are low-iron Starphire/UltraClear glass, which are not as tough as
Aqua Vim glass, but the clearest. Aqua Vim®
uses either Aqua Vim glass in standard tanks for most customers, or UltraClear
glass for extreme hobbyists. Since it is difficult to bent low-iron UltraClear
glass even in a digitally-controlled thermal oven, a tank built using curved
UltraClear glass is usually about 3 times more expensive than a tank built using
curved Aqua Vim glass.
What else should I look when
comparing glass aquariums? -- Get answer [ here ].
What is the difference between Aqua
Vim wood stands and its competitor's? --- Get answer [ here
]
All weights, sizes, and other information provided
above are based on approximate estimates of materials generally used in
manufacturing of aquariums available on the market. Weights of aquariums may
vary from one manufacturer to the other.
|