# acrylic sheet or glass



## fowler77 (Apr 2, 2007)

as above which is best for the front of a viv, personally i would say glass to keep the heat in but what you guys think ?


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Acrylic is a much better insulator than glass. With the prices I've been given for toughened or laminated glass recently I'd go for acrylic which works out cheaper, only plate glass is cheaper than acrylic and some people don't recommend it because it's more easily broken.
Acrylic is virtually unbreakable, but it does scratch which might be a problem.


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## timh83 (Mar 16, 2007)

Glass all the way acryllics strong but it scraches really easy


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I guess it partly depends what you're going to put in there, if it's an animal that will constantly scratch with sharp claws then acrylic is probably out, but if it's something like amphibians for instance then acrylic is fine, just avoid scratching it yourself which isn't difficult.


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## pythonmorphs (Mar 13, 2006)

Glass as acrylic warps with the heat trust me I tried it.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> acrylic warps with the heat


Sounds like you may have used the cheaper extruded acrylic, cast acrylic of a reasonable thickness doesn't warp. I use it to make all sizes of display cases, many with lighting that gives off far more heat than the average viv, and they never warp. If they did I'd be in big trouble as I'd have clients all over the world complaining and demanding refunds!
I have no choice but to use acrylic for this purpose for public safety reasons, in the museums and other public places where they are usually displayed glass cannot be used.


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## skank (Feb 10, 2007)

i had to use acrylic in 1 side of my viv as an emergency because 1 of my doors cracked. Like some of the others said it does scratch easily but for an emergency from b&q on a sunday it did the job.i think if i had the choice tho i'd stick to glass


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## pythonmorphs (Mar 13, 2006)

Graham said:


> Sounds like you may have used the cheaper extruded acrylic, cast acrylic of a reasonable thickness doesn't warp. I use it to make all sizes of display cases, many with lighting that gives off far more heat than the average viv, and they never warp. If they did I'd be in big trouble as I'd have clients all over the world complaining and demanding refunds!
> I have no choice but to use acrylic for this purpose for public safety reasons, in the museums and other public places where they are usually displayed glass cannot be used.


Yes I got it from a local company it was 6mm thick like the glass we use, as for the rest your display cases how thick are they?and I bet they have corners which makes the acrylic stay in shape but a flat piece 450mm square warps. Would of used cell cast if I could of got it, as I have no experience of it Ill take your word it wont warp.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I generally use 4mm-6mm thick acrylic for cases, they have corners but they aren't built like vivs/aquariums with big silicone fillets, often the corners aren't joined at all, the panels just meet, sometimes held by clips like on some glass display cabinets .
I don't know anyone who uses extruded acrylic for this type of work because it's known to warp, under warm and especially warm/humid conditions, as many viv builders have learned to their cost when trying to save a few quid over cast acrylic.


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## pythonmorphs (Mar 13, 2006)

So how much is a standard sheet of 6mm thick cell cast?


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

acrylic, every time...,


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> So how much is a standard sheet of 6mm thick cell cast?


Hmm, that depends what you mean by a "standard sheet". 

I can get it in 6' x 3', 8' x 4', and 3m x 2m sheets. I normally buy 8 x 4 as it's the most economical, and a sheet of 6mm cost me around £70 the last time I bought it, so just over a couple of quid per square foot which compares favourably with ordinary plate glass.


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

i used acrylic for the windows in clydes viv (they're BIG!) purely for cost reasons. if you clean it properly it doesn't scratch, and i've had no trouble whatsoever with warping.
for sliding doors in snake vivs i'd prefer glass as it doesnt bend as much as acrylic, so less chance of an escape!


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## exoticsandtropics (Mar 11, 2007)

i would personally go for glass. doesn't scratch as easily, fairly cheap (depending what you need) easy to get hold of. and more rigid


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