While keeping fish for both food and pleasure has been an interest documented to at least 4,000 years ago, keeping fish in aquariums is a much more recent development. Supposedly Madame Dubarry, a mistress to King Louis XV in France, invented the fish bowl sometime in the mid 1700s. In 1805, Robert Warrington is credited with developing the first sustainable glass aquarium.
During the Victorian period in England and in Europe, fish keeping as a hobby developed quite a following. At that time, hobbyists would use slate or steel bottomed tanks which were heated from underneath with flames! Their tanks were ornate affairs, glass enclosed in steel contraptions that were hardly waterproof. These glass tanks often were "caulked" with a putty to try to help "waterproof" the tank. While continuously improved upon, aquariums didn't really reach a true period of innovation until the mid 1960s where glass framed tanks were replaced with glass sealed tanks. Instead of using metal to frame the tanks, glass aquariums were sealed together using silicone based adhesive.
By the early 1970s, acrylic tanks were being offered to the public. For most of the smaller size tanks, you'll find just as many glass tanks as you will acrylic tanks. But as you get into the larger size tanks, you'll find that acrylic is a most popular choice for most people because of its lighter weight when compared to glass.
Pros of Acrylic Tanks
We'll first cover the positive aspects of acrylic tanks. There are many reasons that people prefer acrylic over glass to house their fish. Compared to glass tanks, acrylic tanks are:
Lightweight
Crack resistant
Easier to cut holes into to accommodate plumbing
Can provide better views because of curved front corners
Can come in many interesting molded shapes
Provide better insulation
In terms of weight, acrylic tanks beat glass tanks hands down. Acrylic tanks are about half the weight of their glass counterparts. A 20 gallon acrylic tank weighs about 17 pounds, which is about half the weight that a glass tank the same size would weigh.
Acrylic tanks are more crack resistant than glass. Some brand name manufacturers even claim that their tanks are 17 times stronger than regular glass tanks. Acrylic tanks will resist knocks and drops much better than a glass tank could ever hope to. Related to that is how easy acrylic tanks are to cut than glass tanks are. If you should want to customize your tank to accommodate plumbing, you'll need special equipment to make cuts in a glass tank. Acrylic tanks are easier to customize.
Acrylic lends itself to more interesting shapes because of the way it can be molded. Besides the regular rectangular shape that we're all accustomed to, you can also find acrylic tanks in hexagons, pentagons, bullets (tanks that are curved on one side and square on the other, they resemble firearm bullets in this fashion), columns, round spheres; the list goes on and on. Some acrylic tanks have a bowed front (curved front corners) which gives an interesting view of the tank from the front.
If you're keeping tropical fish, you might be interested to know that acrylic armoured combat vehicle* cater meliorate insularity than drinking glass tanks. Acrylic fiber is a dearer dielectric than glass. This may not matter if you deliver inhuman water fish but if you're holding a tropical army tank, you probably want to look at this element. Acrylic fiber tanks can retain heating system 20% dearer than deoxyephedrine armored combat vehicle*. This, however, may not embody such a Brobdingnagian plus stylish reef armoured combat vehicle* where you don't desire that much insularism (and have more difficulty keeping tanks cool).
Bunko game* of Acrylic Tanks
Although Acrylic tanks have a lot consenting them, there's always a flip side! The four largest cons regarding acrylic tanks (versus glass) involve:
Higher cost
Greater tendency to scratch
Chance of changing appearance over time
Need for increased support
Probably the biggest con that an acrylic tank will have to newcomers to the fish keeping business is cost. Acrylic aquariums will usually cost more than glassful armored combat vehicle* for the same size. For example, your canonic 20-gallon acrylate resin aquarium will run $130 to $140. A basal 20-gallon glass aquarium will run approximately $50. That's a big difference! You might find good deals on smaller tanks or bowls that are acrylic but overall, acrylic tanks will cost you two to three times the price that a glass army tank testament cost you.
