Painted Aquarium

[mitche8359]

Anyone ever paint the outside of the back of the tank?

My wife wants one of those aquarium backdrops but we can't find one that looks realistic. I'd be happy just not seeing the cords to the lights and heater. So I' was thinking of maybe painting the outside of the back of the aquarium. Has anyone tried this? Should be easy enough to do.

 

[Bearfan]

You can actually buy tanks that are "blanked-out" in the rear. I actually just bought a black backdrop. I don't see why you couldn't do it.

 

[KP]

Yes, I have a 50g with a South American theme cycling right now. I used natural cork bark flats on the inside and I painted anything not covered by the bark on the back outside. It looks Great. I used Delta Permenamal Glass Paint that I got at Michaels Arts and Craft store. One of the small bottles should do the back of a whole tank. Keith

 

[Guest]

i got a regular backdrop that is black on the reverse side, just put it on backwards, and there's my black background.

 

[Jack]

I've known people to paint. However, if you are going to paint a solid color, why not go with a backdrop. Black and deep blue backdrops are easy to find. If anything happens to the backdrop, you just replace. If paint started peeling or was scratched, you would have to repaint. Not only might it be difficult in a stocked tank, it could also be harmful to the fish.

 

[roadster3043]

You could also go with a very dark window tinting paper or a black laminated construction paper. There are lots of options.

 

[Bearfan]

You could also paint the entire room black, remove all light fixtures, and put dark room style doors into it.

I vote for the black backdrop.

 

[EMS503]

We have been painting the back of our tanks for awhile now.
Just make sure the glass is spotless and the color is the one you want as it will be there for a long time.
Tape of every thing on the tank you don't want painted (newspaper and masking tape are fine) We have been using spray paint (Blue with metal flakes really brightens the tank up, no more water streaks visible to the back and hides all the wires and so on)
Spray on light coats so you don't get any runs or sags and when dry just keep on applying coats. When you think you have it covered shine a bright light through the back and see how much light comes through.
There is nothing wrong with the manufactured back drops just been there done that
Good luck just go slow.

 

[mitche8359]

Well since I just set the tank back up and it's against a wall, I guess painting isn't an option for a while. I like some of the ideas that I've read here. I have to agree that most of the backdrops that aren't a solid color are too fake for my tastes. Hopefully I can find one that is black on the back.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Do you have a Pet Smart up there in Ohio? I know down here, they sell a back drop scens and one of them is gradient blue on one side and jet black on the other.

Just a thought.

 

[mitche8359]

Do you have a Pet Smart up there in Ohio?

Yep. They don't have a lot of aqurium stuff though. They have a lot of fish, some tanks, the like. But try to find a water test kit. They removed them all last month for some reason.

I'll check out the backdrops there. I dont think I looked at Petsmart. Thanks for the idea.