New Tank

[spikey]

I have almost finished painting the house; and it is time to unpack my new tank. I was wondering what people would recommend for the backing. Blue/Black, Pain/Contact, or the latex rock (expensive).

 

[Chisel]

Personally, I painted the back of mine with a few coats of black latex house paint. Goes on smooth and comes off easy if you dont like it or want to change it.

 

[Tank2379]

Well I kind of did something easy and not to expensive I bought some Black Felt Cloth and cut it out to fit the size of my tank and just cut a few squares of velcro and stuck it to the back of my tank looks great and less of a Mess for spray painting I think....

 

[Chisel]

Well I kind of did something easy and not to expensive I bought some Black Felt Cloth and cut it out to fit the size of my tank and just cut a few squares of velcro and stuck it to the back of my tank looks great and less of a Mess for spray painting I think....

IMO, there is a huge issue with this Frank. Salt "creep" can and will get into that felt cloth and won't come off. It might look great now but sooner or later, it wont.

 

[Tank2379]

IMO, there is a huge issue with this Frank. Salt "creep" can and will get into that felt cloth and won't come off. It might look great now but sooner or later, it wont.

How is Salt creep created?

 

[Chisel]

How is Salt creep created?

It's a build up of salt that eventually takes over anything on or near the tank if you dont keep on top of it. But once it gets into that black felt of yours, I don't think you can clean that back to original color.

A little info..

Aquarium Salt Creep!!

 

[Ziggy953]

I have almost finished painting the house; and it is time to unpack my new tank. I was wondering what people would recommend for the backing. Blue/Black, Pain/Contact, or the latex rock (expensive).

I have tanks with black and I have tanks with blue backgrounds. I have found that I like the blue better. It seems to brighten the tank up and look more realistic.

 

[Tank2379]

Oh... Well if it help don't know if it would make a difference but I only put about 52 gallons of my water in my tank so is about 10 inches lower than having it all the way filled to maxium 55 gallons of what i have... I am also using a Canister filter and Protein Skimmer which is Submersible in my tank so there is not alot of bubbles for it to create bubbles.... plus I have a custom Plastic mold that my brother made for the top of my take that protect from any water bubbles that make cause the salt to get everywhere.... if that makes since...

 

[Chisel]

Oh... Well if it help don't know if it would make a difference but I only put about 52 gallons of my water in my tank so is about 10 inches lower than having it all the way filled to maxium 55 gallons of what i have... I am also using a Canister filter and Protein Skimmer which is Submersible in my tank so there is not alot of bubbles for it to create bubbles.... plus I have a custom Plastic mold that my brother made for the top of my take that protect from any water bubbles that make cause the salt to get everywhere.... if that makes since...

It makes sense BUT....creep mostly happens through evaporation. It just gets a jumpstart through spills or splashes. It really doesnt matter how much water you have in the tank. I have to whipe my light fixture's lense cover off once a week to get that stuff off.

 

[Tank2379]

Ah... Now I see.... Yeah I was already wiping down my Plactic cover but luckily i haven't seen anything yet on my felt cloth... but now I see what your saying....

 

[roka64]

Tank, I wouldn't worry, you can always replace the cloth.

 

[Tank2379]

Yeah it wasn't expensive Jo-anns Fabric Luckily for felt is cheap.....

 

[spikey]

Thanks for your advise, and additional comment on salt creep.

I have my small tanks and have a regular cleaning cycle. However I am a little anxious about salt creep with my larger tank , mainly salt creep and the sump and the electricals around.

I think I like the idea of the 'black latex house paint'. Chisel, you mention that you can just remove it easily if needed. How does it go with the silicon on the edges?

 

[spikey]

I suppose it is time to ask all of your opinions on construction of the tank. I have a 300l (100g) tank with a 40l (10g) sump. What type of substrate does everyone recommend, and what size?

I will have 30kg live rock in the main tank, and I was thinking of putting 10kg into the sump; however am lot happy about running a light (global warming save the polar bears and all); although I will be running MH lighting when it comes time.

 

[Chisel]

Thanks for your advise, and additional comment on salt creep.

I have my small tanks and have a regular cleaning cycle. However I am a little anxious about salt creep with my larger tank , mainly salt creep and the sump and the electricals around.

I think I like the idea of the 'black latex house paint'. Chisel, you mention that you can just remove it easily if needed. How does it go with the silicon on the edges?

Painting the back of a tank is not hard at all. I will show what I did for my 55g.

Items needed:

Water
Vinegar
Sponge

1 quart of black latex house paint
1 4-5" paint roller
1 small paint pan
Painters tape (I did not use this but it is optional)
1 small paint brush


First step is the cleaning. This is best to do outside but not on anything you care about. This mix kills grass. In a bucket, mix half vinegar/water. soak the sponge in the mix and scrub (with soft side of sponge), all areas. After this is done, you want to rinse until you can't smell any hint of the vinegar anywhere on the aquarium. After you can't smell it anymore, rinse a couple times more just for good measure. Let dry. Using a soft cloth, buff out any water spots you can find if there are any.

Second step is painting. Prep your area where you will be paining with cardboard, newspaper or whatever you want. This is where you also want to put the painters tape on the edges if you prefer. Open and mix the paint well. Using roller, apply long smooth strokes from one end to the other until surface is covered. Let dry and repeat at least 2 more times to assure coverage.

The latex paint can almost peel off if you don't like it or it can be easily removed with a razor blade.

You asked how this effects the silicone? It doesn't. There should be no silicone on any of the outside edges. If there is, it should be very little and the paint will not effect it.

Good Luck.

 

[spikey]

Thanks will try this on the weekend

 

[Chisel]

Don't take this the wrong way and I don't think you are stupid but I have to mention... Paint the outside of the back, not the inside.

 

[Ziggy953]

Substrate - Sand is your best option. Crushed coral and other substrates trap too much waste and can cause issues in your water quality.

For good filtration you want 1.5-2 lbs of rock per gallon. I have a 120g tank with about 230lbs of rock in it and about 75-100lbs in my sumps.

You can conserve energy by using efficient pumps and lighting systems. I have MHs on my tank and they by far use the most energy of anything on my system. My flow is generated by 2 tunze nano streams that use 7w each, yet produce 660gph flow. There are ways to be conservative and have an awesome tank at the same time.

 

[mike47517]

you could buy a plant backround.

 

[spikey]

"Don't take this the wrong way and I don't think you are stupid but I have to mention... Paint the outside of the back, not the inside" Chisel; thanks for the info, I did know this.

Ziggy953; that seems like a lot of rock, I have been thinking of 40kg (90lbs). Looks like I will have to rethink my live rock. I will eventually be having either 250w or 2x150w MH (14000k). Interesting you say sand; I have had a lot of aquarium shops recommend crushed quartz and shy away from the sand as they say it is dead space. With my water flow I am planning on getting 2 Tunze nano's.

Come Tuesday I will unpack my tank, add some water and live rock (no light), then I will add the substrate a few days later so by the weekend my tank can happily start cycling.