To paint, or not to paint

[Alyxx]

I just got a used 58 gallon tank. I have been cleaning and cleaning, and now that the glass is nice and clear I am debating painting it. My other tank is painted with a nice faux stone look and a Celtic tree of life is painted in the center. I love the way it looks. For this tank I am debating doing another mural, or perhaps just a solid color or pattern. I dot really want to paint it black because I want to put some black angelfish in it, and I fear they would get lost in the background. The tanks going to be fairly natural, but with a few whimsical ornaments. I have some nice hand blown glass pieces made by a friend that have been the focal point of the tank this one is replacing for a couple years, and I wan to keep it. The substrate will be a mix of black sand and black gravel. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What about a sky blue or a little darker. I've see a few tanks like that and it looks quite nice.

 

[Alyxx]

I've seen it too, and while I like the color in general, it just reminds me of pet store tanks. Light blue has always seemed to be a popular color for the backgrounds of tanks at fish stores, particularly bad fish stores. So I kind of associate it with tanks of sickly fish.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Fair enough I know exactly what you mean. What about a foam background? You can buy them ready made and cut them to size.

 

[Alyxx]

I'm toying with the idea of doing a DIY foam background. Got graduation money today, and I'm planning a trip to Hobby Lobby after work tomorrow for inspiration.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I painted my 10 gallon nursery tank that's in my daughters room and love it
I've seen people do colors such as black, blue, etc. and I wanted a brighter color than that so I chose white.

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[Alyxx]

Woo! I settled on a mottled green background. I got five shades of green paint, mixing jars, and sponges.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Cool start up a thread in DIY to post your progress, I would love to see how it turns out!

 

[BillD]

Personally, I wouldn't paint a tank, as i prefer having a tank with 2 fronts, should I ever need to turn it around.

 

[Alyxx]

Personally, I wouldn't paint a tank, as i prefer having a tank with 2 fronts, should I ever need to turn it around.

Acrylics come off very easily with a razor blade if I ever want to change it up, thankfully. And one DIY thread coming up. Doing a little research and then I'm going to start. I've decided that amongst the marbled green, I am going to hide some lovecraftian runes and images, and some tangled vine shapes, also in the same shades of green. Cthulhu fhtagn! Ia! Ia! Because I am a dork like that.

 

[Alyxx]

DIY thread is posted!