Plastic Background - best advice my LFS ever gave me

[Thaiboxer]

Have you ever been frustrated by air bubbles on your background? Places it doesn't stick to the glass? Me too!

Here's what I did:

You'll need:
- a sponge or paper towel
- some soapy water (not very soapy) or petroleum jelly
- scotch tape
- your background, cut to size
- a credit card

The first thing I did was make sure the background fits and tape it in place on the top. Wet your sponge with soapy water and dampen the glass where your background wil go.

Use the credit card to smooth the bubbles out the bottom. The background will stick to the glass. Tape the sides to the glass and you're set.

Make sure you tape the background to the glass, not the frame of the tank.

Good luck!

[7Enigma]

Yup. I used vegetable oil and a cd case. Mine is just starting to peel off a bit at the center, but its been on since April so I might just have to reapply some more oil.

Definatley makes the backgrounds look much more realistic and detailed...

Same here, veg oil and a plastic scraper. Works very well, I had a heck of a time because the tank is setup in it's place and it was hard to get behind it, but it was worth the effort.

[7Enigma]

Exactly the same situation. I had the tank setup for a while before putting on a background and had about 4" of clearance behind the tank. It was NOT FUN..........

[Thaiboxer]

Fortunately, this tank is a 15 gallon - if I have to I can drain 40% and slide it.

My other tank is a 125. I'll make sure it's perfect before I put water in it this time

[Lonewolfblue]

Only problem is after time, it dries and starts to look crappy. Even with petroleum jelly. Then when it does, what do you do with the 125G? Empty it? lol. I love my sprayed on backgrounds. And the nice thing, it peels off when you want to remove it. Occasionally needs a razor blade, but it's not too bad. And it never bubbles or get's the dried-out, I'm ready for more jelly or soap look.

[CaptnIgnit]

Painted background > plastic background

I really wish I had known about painting before I did my 20 gallon... I have to peel off the plastic background and reapply it **** near every time I clean the thing. My 10 gallon is painted and SOOOOO much better.

[Shubunkin01]

I had this same problem just yesterday...
I know how you feel 7enigma!

Shubunkin01

[kmgriff72]

Are you spray painting it? I have thought about doing that also.

[Lonewolfblue]

And if you look in my 29G thread in my sig, this paint tends to peel off easier than regualar spray paints, and the fumes are not bad either. I sprayed mine indoors. Had just a mild scent, but I used a fan anyways pointed out the door.