Best Acrylic Aquariums in 2022: Reviews with Comparisons
Best Acrylic Aquariums in 2022: Reviews with Comparisons
Both glass and acrylic are commonly used in fish tanks. Although some glass aquarium fanatics will never use anything else than a traditional glass tank, the trend is to use acrylic tanks more and more. Let’s take a look at some of the best acrylic aquariums.
Best Acrylic Aquariums: Reviews
Comparison Chart
SeaClear Acrylic Aquariums
Quality-wise a SeaClear aquarium ranks as one of the best available. The SeaClear aquariums cannot easily be matched when it comes to quality. Their virtually invisible seams are one of their best features.
The SeaClear aquariums are all backed up by one of the most extensive warranties in the industry. If you are a connoisseur aquarist for whom nothing but the best will do, one of the SeaClear aquariums might be what you are looking for.
There are a variety of SeaClear aquarium models and you’ll definitely find one that will suit your requirements. All the SeaClear aquarium models offer a beautiful environment and home for your fish. They showcase your fish and decorations beautifully.
As the SeaClear aquariums are manufactured by North American Pet you can have peace of mind that your fish will be safe.
SeaClear Acrylic Aquarium Combo Set (20 gallons)
- Combo includes aquarium, reflector and electrical 15" light fixture
- Acrylic aquariums are clearer than glass, 17 times stronger, and only half the weight!
- More impact resistant and less prone to chipping or cracking than glass, making it safer around children and pets
- Safe for Salt or Freshwater
- You won't believe how your fish and decorations will pop when viewing this beautiful SeaClear aquarium
This 20-gallon acrylic aquarium comes in a beautiful cobalt blue. It is in the classic rectangular shape. The tank is 14-inches in length, 13-inches wide, and 16-inches high. It weighs only 20 pounds.
This small aquarium will give hours of joy whether it is placed in your home, office or a waiting room. You can choose whether you are going to use the aquarium for salt or freshwater fish. The tank works well with salt and freshwater.
The Combo includes the aquarium, the reflector and an electrical 15-inch light fixture.
Like other acrylic aquariums, this aquarium gives you a very clear view of the fish and ornaments in the tank.
SeaClear Acrylic Aquarium Combo Set (29 gallons)
- Combo includes aquarium, reflector and electrical light fixture
- Acrylic aquariums are clearer than glass, 17 times stronger, and only half the weight!
- More impact resistant and less prone to chipping or cracking than glass, making it safer around children and pets
- Safe for Salt or Freshwater
- You won't believe how your fish and decorations will pop when viewing this beautiful SeaClear aquarium
If you have a larger space available, this SeaClear Combo set is what you should go for. It is a very popular size. The tank is 30 x 12 x 18-inches and uses 29 gallons of water. It also only weighs 20 pounds. It is available in black and is rectangular.
This Combo also includes the aquarium, the reflector and an electrical 15-inch light fixture.
SeaClear Acrylic Aquarium Combo Set (15 gallons)
- Combo includes aquarium, reflector and electrical 12" light fixture
- Tranquil Hexagon design; You won't believe how your fish and decorations will pop!
- Acrylic aquariums are clearer than glass, 17 times stronger, and only half the weight!
- More impact resistant and less prone to chipping or cracking than glass, making it safer around children and pets
- Safe for Salt or Freshwater
This little aquarium is ideal if you have a small place you want to put your aquarium and you want something else than a rectangular tank. It is in a hexagon shape and measures 15 x 15 x 20-inches. It weighs only 16 pounds. You need only 15 gallons to fill the tank.
As with the other combos this combo also includes the aquarium, the reflector and an electrical 15-inch light fixture.
SeaClear Acrylic Aquarium Combo Set (30 gallons)
- Combo includes aquarium, reflector and electrical 24" light fixture
- Acrylic aquariums are clearer than glass, 17 times stronger, and only half the weight!
- More impact resistant and less prone to chipping or cracking than glass, making it safer around children and pets
- Safe for Salt or Freshwater
- You won't believe how your fish and decorations will pop when viewing this beautiful SeaClear aquarium
This is the largest tank in the SeaClear series we’re discussing. It is a 30-gallon rectangular aquarium. With its dimensions of 36 x 12 x 16 inches, it is a beautiful piece of living décor in your home or office.
The tank only weighs 20 pounds. It is large enough that you can do a lot of customization in the tank. By using a variety of ornaments and other decorations you can really make this aquarium unique
GloFish Aquarium Kit Fish Tank
- The blue LED light completely transforms your aquarium
- GloFish and fluorescent décor create a colorful, neon display
- GloFish Glass Aquariums are made in the USA and are built to last with scratch resistant glass
- The Tetra GloFish Kit includes: one 20 Gallon Glass Aquarium, one LED hood, one Tetra Mini UL Heater, one Tetra Whisper 20 Filter, one GloFish 13" LED Light Stick, three GloFish Plants, one GloFish Yellow Anemone. Add gravel and fish to complete your aquarium.
- Aquarium Dimensions: 24. 2" L x 12. 4" W x 16. 7" H
Although we are mentioning this GloFish Aquarium Kit Fish Tank last, we recommend this kit as the ideal beginners kit if you are a new aquatics hobbyist and want to have GloFish in your aquarium.
GloFish aquariums are a relatively new trend in the United States. GloFish is a trademarked brand of genetically engineered fluorescent fish. With the correct LED lighting they are beautiful to view in your aquarium.
A variety of GloFish are on the market. Zebrafish was the first GloFish available in pet stores. They are now available in bright fluorescent colors from red and green to pink, and purple
This GloFish Aquarium Kit ensures that you start your fluorescent fish experience right. It offers an easy-to-set-up aquarium kit.
Each kit includes a semi-circular acrylic tank with the GloFish filtration system. It offers optimized blue LED lighting. The LED aquarium lights are designed to create an optimized environment for GloFish. The blue LED lights highlight the fluorescent colors of the fish. The lighting enhances the fluorescent brilliance of GloFish. They are an ideal way to quickly convert any aquarium into a stunning GloFish home!
You can customize your GloFish Aquarium with brightly colored GloFish aquarium plants and fluorescent-accented GloFish aquarium gravel. There are also a variety of novel ornaments available.
This semi-circular aquarium measures 11.25 x 16.56 x 6.71 inches and weighs 6.71 pounds. You fill it up with 5 gallons of water.
Buyers Guide
Differences Between Glass and Acrylic Aquariums
There are differences between glass and acrylic, and thus between glass and acrylic aquariums.
Scratch Resistance, Repair and Weight
Some of the differences include that glass is scratch resistant while acrylic can scratch more easily. But the scratches on acrylic can be removed and polished away easier than on glass. Scratches on glass tend to be permanently visible.
Acrylic aquariums are not as heavy as glass aquariums and can be moved easier than glass tanks if you need to move your aquarium. Acrylic roughly weighs half the weight of glass.
Shapes
One of the great drawbacks of glass aquariums is that the shape of glass aquariums are limited. Acrylic tanks offer a variety of shapes. You get bowl form, hexagon and rectangular shapes, and cubes, to mention a few.
Strength
The impact resistance of an acrylic aquarium is much higher than that of a glass tank. The acrylic aquarium will not break as easily as a glass tank when your child or pet accidentally bumped into it. Acrylic is 17 times stronger than glass.
As acrylic is so strong, it is often used for aquariums without rims. Especially the smaller fish tanks nowadays come without rims as you need as much surface as possible to make all the fish and trimmings in your fish tank visible.
Clear vision
Acrylic tanks are also clearer than glass fish tanks. You can also use acrylic fish tanks for salt and freshwater fish.
GloFish
Acrylic aquariums are also popular with GloFish enthusiasts. Because they can be rimless it shows off all the colors of your GloFish from all angles.
FAQs
The short answer is anything from 5 to 15 years. Acrylic tanks don’t last as long as glass aquariums.
However, this is not necessarily true. If the structure is sound and you maintain your acrylic tank well, you should be able to get up to 15 years of use from one.
As with glass aquariums, you will not get long service from your acrylic tank if you don’t maintain it effectively. Treasure your aquarium and you will get many years of joy from your acrylic tank.
You will experience fewer cracks, chips or leaks with your acrylic tank than with a glass aquarium. Acrylic aquariums are often advertised as leak-resistant, because if a leak does occur, it can easily be fixed.
There are excellent acrylic glues on the market for you to use. You can repair the small leaks yourself.
Unlike glass tanks, acrylic versions are less prone to breaking or cracking. And an important feature is that an acrylic tank doesn’t require resealing as they get older.
If an acrylic tank is put together correctly, it may crack on the sheeting itself. But this will happen before a seam comes apart. So, they can develop cracks on the surface over time but will not crack on the seams to cause leaks.
Conclusion
The trend with aquatics hobbyists is to change to acrylic tanks. Acrylic aquariums are becoming very popular and you can’t go wrong with any of the options we have discussed.