Hi Ray! Welcome to MASA! Good luck with the setting up of your tank! Hope you can find the right choice. Look - there's always the "looking good" factor. I have seen some REALLY nice looking acrylic and even glass tanks (e.g. Jebo, AquaH2O, etc) that have been imported into SA. With wrap-around front glass etc.... BUT, I think it's personal choice. As long as you take the following into consideration:
- for reef tanks, it's always better to go wider (front to back) than too deep.... the deeper the tank, the stronger the lighting needs to be to supply to the lighting needs of the corals.....
- the more water you have in your tank/sump, the better the tank's ability to buffer "for when things could go wrong" - i.e. it takes MUCH longer for the death of eg. a fish, to affect the tank's nutrient levels - pH swings are also not as bad in a tank with MUCH bigger water volume - temperature fluctuations, evaporation, etc. etc. etc.
BUT- you have to think of cost of the glass/acrylic/import cost of the imported tanks....
A plain custom-built glass tank with bracing, might cost you FAR cheaper than an imported factory built tank.... BUT - with a custom tank, you have more flexibality when it comes to closed-loops, or perhaps even lighting, and over-flow design.... where-as, with an imported tank, you could be limited in this sense....
So - there's a lot to go and think about....
Hoped I have not confused you too much!
Good luck in your-tank hunting.