Black vs Blue

[darknessheir]

I have read just about every thread on here about backgrounds and cant seem to make up my mind. I am setting up a 75 reef and need a background color. I know I want to paint it but cant decide on black or blue. I have heard that black is the best because you can see the colors of the fish best, but the tank would look less deep which is why some people go with the deep blue. Any Advice.

 

[atomiclord]

Spend $10 and buy yourself a piece of paper or background and experiment before you paint it.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Reef tank? After a year it won't matter what color the background is because the back glass will be covered with coralline algae. Assuming you don't clean/scrape it, that is.

(Personally... I like black.)

 

[crushyfish]

personally I like blue, dark blue...

 

[atomiclord]

I think the blue in This Post in the attatched pic is quite nice.

 

[CaptainAhab]

Hey! That's my blue... Not my tank.. But my blue...

 

[kangster]

you should set up a poll...
i personally like black...but i only have a FW tank
maybe deep blue is better for reef tanks

 

[mgamer20o0]

yea i am a fw person and i paint mine black.

 

[severum mama]

I like black for FW and SW.

 

[darknessheir]

ok so i looked at tons of pictures and decided, well my girlfriend decided she wanted a teal background. Well for a year until i have good algae growth. How do I prep tank for painting. I have read that some people clean it with rubbing alchohol. is this that way to do it?

 

[mgamer20o0]

what i do is use windex to clean the back. then i use rubbing alcohol to make sure its fully clean. i wait for it to dry. this is best done out side. i use spray paint since its easy. i tape off the plastic and use newspaper for the sides to cover the glass. one thing you want to do light coats. i do new coats every 15 mins. with black it tends to be 6-7 coats i just keep adding them until i cant see though it.

 

[darknessheir]

ok will try a small section on my sump before I attempt my whole 75 gal

 

[arabela]

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[GhostKnife]

There was an article in aquarium hobbyist mag and there was a study done on light deflected into the tank. This was done on a tank that had a painted back glass panel and a non painted back panel. The tests came back that less light was put into the tank with the back glass painted. Many many people paint the back and their tanks are thriving I thought I would throw this out there.