Gibbiceps with Acrylic

[Divemaster]

I have the opportunity to buy (steal it seems like!) a used but in good condition 480 gallon (96"x48"x24") acrylic tank for only $2000, $1000 less than the original price. My concern is, one of the fish that I'm buying a bigger tank or pond for is a Gibbiceps Pleco (currently 9") that spends a lot of time sucking on the sides of his current 75G glass tank. I've heard from many people that plecos can severely scratch acrylic and I don't want to spend $2000 and drive a 10 hour round trip to discover the next morning that the pleco has scratched the sides to the point I can't see in the tank. The current owner said that they've kept Panaques and one or two other species in it with no problems but I'm not sure. Anyone have any experience with this? If this tank won't work then my other option would be to build a 900-1400 gallon indoor pond for around $1000 but in that scenario I can't see the fish from the side.

[Shane]

Your gibbiceps will destroy clear acrylic beyond repair over time. Trust me on this... I made the same mistake with a 75 gal acrylic many years ago and ended up having to give it away for use as a sump.

If you want a large pond with a window, just buy a fiberglass stock tank, cut a hole in the viewing side and silicone in a glass pane or buy a pre-made one.

http://www.underwaterwarehouse.com/Fibe ... -4845.html

http://www.aquaculturetanks.com/

http://www.dura-tech.ca/aquaculture-fib ... ster-tanks

-Shane