painting the glass on an aquarium

[TomK2]

I am going to set up a hospital/breeding/QT and want to paint the bottom and back outside glass surface. I figured that the painted bottom would be better than having gravel to clean. I was thinking white, so that I could see fry and other stuff on the bottom.

I checked the archives, and saw spray paint and "delta permenamel glass paint" recommended. Any ideas? suggestions?

 

[austinsdad]

Just be caerful where you spray, if yu spray. Me and the new tank almost got evicted when I did it in my basement. Lesson learned - spray paint mist travels farther than the amount of plastic you can lay on the floor.

 

[xray]

painting is so perminant! Why not paint somthing to use for a backing. The bottom wouldn't be so bad cause if you decicde to do something else with the tank you won't see it. Well I thought about it when I got my 90 and I couldn't do anything that perminant. Maybe I have comitment issues

 

[TomK2]

The bottom wouldn't be so bad cause if you decicde to do something else with the tank you won't see it

Good point. I was actually mostly thinking of the bottom, thought of doing the back while I was at it. It would be easy enough to use a backdrop for the back.

Any paint or technique recomendations?

 

[xray]

Sorry Tom, Like I said I was afraid, So I didn't even look into it. I'm sure someone will pipe in

 

[Meredith]

I once painted the back of my ten gallon aquarium (the outside) with this stuff that is supposed to look like stained glass. It doesn't hide anything, but it does peel right off.

 

[malkore]

use acrylic craft paint, like Apple Barrel brand. it goes on well enough, but comes off with a razor blade.

My 5, 15, both 20's, and the 40g SW tanks are all painted on the glass. Only the 29g and 75g aren't...instead I painted posterboard and then just taped it up.

 

[mattrox]

My friends dad painted a piece of wall paper then used that that as a backdrop. A baby blue colour if I remember correctly. Cheap, Looked good and EASILY removable.

 

[TomK2]

Sounds like anything will work: spray paint, enamel, acrylic. I think I will just do the bottom, so I won't have to worry about not liking the back in the future.

 

[TomK2]

Went to Ace hardware. Only one kind of spray paint said it was for glass. Krylon "home decore" series paint. Bought some flat white, sprayed the bottom only, worked great. Dried fast. Looks good.