I bought some black spray paint from walmart. On the label it says "fast dry enamel" and its made by plasti-kote. It says it can be used on glass. Will this look ok, or is there a kind of paint you need for your tank? Thanks. I tried searching on this subject but the search function is not the best on this forum. :?
Quick question about painting the back of my tank
- Thread starter manooosie
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mr86mister
Aquarium Advice FINatic
you are going to paint the outside of the glass on the back?
EMTtony
Aquarium Advice Regular
Go with a real aquatic background. Don't paint it. You can get a nice looking backdrop at your lfs for cheap.
QTOFFER
Aquarium Advice Addict
This paint will be fine since you plan to paint the OUTSIDE of the tank. Had you planned to paint the inside, you would have needed a paint designed for constant water immersion.
Most people I know use vinyl backgrounds or foil taped to the back pane. I've even seen a tank with a black garbage bag background that didn't look bad at all. A painted background is a bit more difficult to change, so just be sure you can live with the color.
A word of advice, even though I've never painted a tank.
Tape newspaper to the top and sides, so you don't have any overspray hitting these areas.
Most people I know use vinyl backgrounds or foil taped to the back pane. I've even seen a tank with a black garbage bag background that didn't look bad at all. A painted background is a bit more difficult to change, so just be sure you can live with the color.
A word of advice, even though I've never painted a tank.
Tape newspaper to the top and sides, so you don't have any overspray hitting these areas.I always paint the back except my latest attempt at moss covered cork background. Why not paint the back? It looks better than any fake picture backgrounds and it's more permanent than alot of other things. Not to mention cheaper and I absolutely hate those picture backgrounds. Paint isn't 100% permanent though since I have scraped it off before and redid it in another color. May take a bit of effort on anything bigger than the 20g I did it to but you can never go wrong with black or dark blue.
Note-Don't paint it on the floor of your bedroom no matter how many old towels you have down.... My mom about killed me when I did my first tank.
She's replacing the carpet now that I moved out.
Note-Don't paint it on the floor of your bedroom no matter how many old towels you have down.... My mom about killed me when I did my first tank.
She's replacing the carpet now that I moved out.
severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
Like QTOFFER said, make sure you tape newspaper all the way around the tank so there is no way you can get paint in the wrong places. It would be quite a PITA. 
I painted one of my tanks black and IMO it looks sooooo much better than the tape on backgrounds, which I also use. The color just looks so much richer, if that makes sense. Anyway, I used a can of paint and a brush, and I didn't think it was working at first. I ended up having to do multiple coats. I don't know if spray paint will be the same way but don't get discouraged like I did if you have to do more than 1 coat. It will look awesome when you are done. 
I painted one of my tanks black and IMO it looks sooooo much better than the tape on backgrounds, which I also use. The color just looks so much richer, if that makes sense. Anyway, I used a can of paint and a brush, and I didn't think it was working at first. I ended up having to do multiple coats. I don't know if spray paint will be the same way but don't get discouraged like I did if you have to do more than 1 coat. It will look awesome when you are done. Similar threads
