Background Question

[Thaiboxer]

Hi all,

Due to lots of crazy circumstances, I will soon be taking down my 125 gallon aquarium and putting it back up from scratch about a month later. I'm keeping my substrate and rocks, and will be adding new lights and making it a planted tank.

I do have a question on tank backgrounds. Up until now I've been using a bright and happy background I bought at an LFS, but I'm constantly frustrated with these. It's a lush looking planted print with driftwood, but it's always pulling away from the back. I've decided to pitch it in favor of a plain background.

The question is: How would you do a flat-color background? What color? I'm thinking either:
a) black
b) a shade of blue, probably darker.
c) dark green?

How would you apply it? I'm thinking of using spray paint on the outside of the tank on the back. Has anyone done that?

Thanks for your ideas!

 

[czcz]

I have seen pics of people spray painting the back of their tanks. Also garbage bags + water squeeged to the back pane is popular. Grab construction/wrapping/etc paper and tape and you can try lots of colors.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You can spray paint, but it is more perminant. It can be scraped off later, but I wouldn't do it unless you plan on always keeping the paint. OceanVision makes a background that you peel off the top layer and stick the background directly onto the glass. It will come off if desired, but will stay in place and you don't have to worry about it falling off. We just got one for our 150 but haven't put it on the tank yet. Also, water will not run between the background and the glass.

 

[rich311k]

The draw back to paint is it is hard to change the color if you change your mind.

 

[mrsmarsig]

I spray painted the back of my tank and I really like it. It stays put - doesn't peel off or get wet and it looks really nice. I painted black, but you could probably do blue, too.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

What works better for a background, a darker color or a bright color? I had a print on the back of my 26G but the tank always looked so dark. I recently put on a solid blue background, medium blue, but it still seems not so bright. I saw at the LFS tanks with a very bright blue, like sky blue, and the tanks were nice and bright. Would like to see what others think.

 

[Thaiboxer]

I think the lighter colors would also refract paint better into the tank. I may go with a lighter blue and see how that goes.

I like the idea of the OceanVision product, I'll look at that too.

Has anyone ever tried to remove spray paint after using it? Razor blade and elbow grease?

Thanks all!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The coloration of the background depends on the fish and decor you keep. For example, we have black backgrounds on the African tanks because it really makes the fish coloration stand out. But the community tank I have a "scene" which compliments the decor and fish nicely. But then on the 10 gal tank I have the silver mirrored background. It brightens up the tank quite a bit.

 

[BrianNY]

Paper backgrounds whether black or blue look very nice. I like blue in planted tanks but that's just me. Spread a fine layer of petroleum jelly against the back glass to avoid air pockets and you'll have a smooth look. Then tape a some insulating material behind the paper. It will help save a few bucks on heating. I also use foam underneath my tanks for the same reason.

 

[workfortheman]

I personally use construction paper, pretty heavy. Either dark blue or black. I just might try black spraypaint in the near future. To me, the lighter the background the more attention it draws, and I want plants/fish to be the attention

 

[Acer]

have you seen the diy backrounds in the diy forum? try to search backround and you will get a lot more ideas from other people in recent, past posts..
i too had this dilema not too long ago. i just bought a black backround ( 1/2 off! )
and put 4 spacers of 1/4 on top & bottom lenghts of the tank, that way if i do get water back there i dont have to worry about it sticking and looking a mess..

 

[chrism]

I got some plain bacjkground paper from the lfs, its really glossy looking, plain black one side, and plain mid blue the other... i chose the black side & think it looks fantastic! Really does make the fish and plants stand out, i spread olive oil over the back of the tank and stuck the paper to that. although it wasnt the easiest to get all the air bubbles out (still got some) but i hardly notice them...

my opinion, darker colours look better, a deep blue, or perhaps one the fades from a really dark blue to maybe a mid blue towards the top?

Black gets my vote tho!

 

[Thaiboxer]

Black sounds like the way to go. The construction paper idea is good, so is garbage bags.... I'll do some searching in DIY and see what I find. I tend to do pretty much everything my own way, so I'm sure I'll hook on a good idea.

Thanks for all your help - I'm open to hearing as many ideas as I can!