Article by Gary Speer
Showing off your prize fish? Or just looking for something new in beautiful home decor? Acrylic aquariums are the best buy for your money. Here are at least three good reasons to buy one of the newer “high-tech” acrylic aquariums:
1. Acrylic aquariums are much lighter weight than traditional glass aquariums. When you install one, or when you find yourself having to move one, the weight of a fully loaded aquarium may be more than you thought. Taking a 20 gallon aquarium as an example, a glass aquarium weights about 35 pounds. An acrylic aquarium the same size weighs about 17 pounds. When you add the weight of the water, the 20 gallon glass aquarium comes in around 225 pounds. The acrylic aquarium, then, would save several significant pounds in total weight. In addition, if you’re buying your aquarium via the Internet or as a catalog order, shipping costs are reduced significantly. Not only is the aquarium lighter to ship, it requires less packing and extra shipping charges which most supplies add to insure the more breakable glass models.
2. Acrylic aquariums, besides being lighter than glass, are virtually unbreakable and leak-proof. A quality acrylic aquarium is fused together by heat and molecular bonding. There are no degradable joints or seams, making it virtually leak-proof and unbreakable. Most glass aquariums are warranted against leakage and breakage for 1 to 6 years at most. Acrylic aquariums generally carry lifetime warrantees. In addition, the acrylics have improved in recent years so that they start out clearer or brighter than glass aquariums, and maintain their clarity and are unlikely to “yellow” with age. Although acrylic scratches more easily than glass, aquarium manufacturers sell cheap (about ) scratch removal kits. Careful cleaning with soft cloths eliminate the scratching problem from the start.
3. Acrylic aquariums offer aesthetic benefits for fish lovers and home decor. They come with safe, rounded corners and no sharp edges. They come in a full range of sizes to fit your current aquarium stand or allow you to customize your home decor by purchasing the combination of aquarium shape, size, and stand you want. And from a practical, safety standpoint, acrylics are also more flexible than glass, giving them a distinct “bend and not break” advantage around children, non-fish pets, and even natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes! They also are generally better insulated than glass aquariums, making them require less energy to maintain necessary water temperatures for the health and well-being of your fish.
Acrylic aquariums offer important advantages over glass, whether you already have an aquarium, or you’re just getting started. To beautify your home or just for showing off your fish, you should buy an acrylic aquarium when you make your next aquarium purchase.
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