Are you thinking of a black background??

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Ian086

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
3,096
Location
Drogheda, Ireland
Hi. I was just scrolling through some pictures on my PC and came across these photos. If you are thinking of changing/adding or painting on a black background, I think these pictures are a perfect example of why you should. I read many threads of people asking whether they should paint or stick on a black background. I painted this background on. It's a matt finish(best). These pictures are about 2yrs old and I have since changed the scape. It really shows how the colours 'pop' with the black.....
Click on each picture to enlarge it.
 

Attachments

  • DSCF6215.jpg
    DSCF6215.jpg
    247.9 KB · Views: 623
  • DSCF6296.jpg
    DSCF6296.jpg
    216 KB · Views: 851
Hi Ian, that looks really cool! Never thought off putting a black background on my tank's, it would look really good on my elephant nose tank, I just have the normal background on mine but it's such a pain, it keeps moving!!
Lesley
 
Wow Lesley that was fast!!. Yeah I got sick of my background moving. And the bubbles, don't talk about bubbles. Such a pain in the a***. If you look closely at the first pic, there is a big air gap right down the middle. That tank is tight against a wall and I would have to almost empty it to move it. I done this a few times to fix it and one day I ripped it off in a fit of rage!!. My mate is a painter and he gave me some type of oil(quite expensive) to brush on, you then can put any paint onto the glass. I used matt paint made for iron railings. Some people use a paint called plastidip. It really does make all the colours stand out. If your unsure about painting it, buy one of the black backgrounds to try out first.....
 
Yep! Just signed in ;) I've been wanting to change my background for a while fed up with it. I'll maybe try black card too see if i like it first. I need to do something i hate my background on both my tank's they drive me nuts!
 
Yep! Just signed in ;) I've been wanting to change my background for a while fed up with it. I'll maybe try black card too see if i like it first. I need to do something i hate my background on both my tank's they drive me nuts!
Go for it. A bag bin bag works too!!
 
Hello,
I have a black background on both of my tanks and it looks amazing.
I bought some poster boards at the 99 cent store for 69 cents each and just taped them to the back and it looks great.
So putting a background on my 60 gal and my 20 gal on cost me $2.
But when you put a black background on your tank everything stands out and gains more color.
I love it!
 
Well , im convinced .. I'll be buying black for my 125..
 
I have a blue background on one tank which i don't like but it came with the tank and is a PITA to remove so i left it on. I did have a black background on another tank which i liked but I removed it as it was too thick to use my magnetic scrubber with. I will be emptying both tanks to move them to a 3 tank stand soon. I'll add black background to all three tanks before i set them up.

Edit
Try black gravel or sand as well :brows:
 
im a newb and i went straight to a black background. i used PlastiDip from Home Depot and sprayed the back and one side facing the wall with it. i also used Black Diamond Sand as a substrate. so hopefully its gonna make my soon to have fish in it really pop!
 
Just painted mine black too.
 

Attachments

  • Abbies_4th_birthday_040.jpg
    Abbies_4th_birthday_040.jpg
    220.3 KB · Views: 357
Thanks. The green will come out as soon as I can find the right piece of driftwood.
 
Thank you for sharing this! I am going to talk to my wife about having a black background on the tank we are setting up.
 
Thank you for sharing this! I am going to talk to my wife about having a black background on the tank we are setting up.
I absolutely recommend it. I haven't seen one thread/post where someone has regretted going with one. I definitely recommend painting rather than buying a vinyl background and sticking it on. When(and they often do over time) they bubble, they are such a pain and it will be VERY obvious on a black background. If the tank is small and the rear easily accessible, then vinyl is fine. On a larger tank, it's so much hassle sticking it on and then if you get bubbles, a nightmare to fix.....
Painting it on is so easy, cheap and EASILY removable if you ever need to. If the tank is acrylic, I would be very careful painting it. I have NEVER painted an acrylic tank, as I don't have one, so research it, get the right paint and make sure you research how to remove it if/when you decide to change it....
 
Back
Top Bottom