What would YOU do?

[darkmule27]

Since I'm sitting around waiting to find a cheap tank, I'm trying to decide on decor and such. I'm working on a Amazon biotope-y aquarium. I can't decide what to do with the back though! So, what would YOU do?

 

[HN1]

I'm a big fan of black painted panes.

 

[fisch]

I'd go with black or a really dark blue.

 

[Mystery]

I like to have an aquarium where you can see it from both sides.

 

[happygirl65]

Depends on what you are putting in it, fish only, fish and fake plants, fish and real plants...etc.

My favorite in almost all cases is all black, or dark blue graduating to darker blue.
I tried a styro 3D background once, drawback is you have to tear down the tank to remove it....not cool if you like to change your look now and then.

 

[darkmule27]

Thanks for the input. The more I think on it, the less I like black even though it won by far. I'm going to play with colors first, but I think I'm probably going to be going with a dark green, blue-green, or grey. Maybe something like: http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/73901520081002_131623_1_big.jpg

 

[mgamer20o0]

I'm a big fan of black painted panes.

i 2nd or 3rd or what ever number we are up to for black.

if you are unsure dont paint it. paint some paper cardboard or something. heck for my 120 i used fabric since i couldnt paint the back because it was already set up.

 

[happygirl65]

I agree, if you are having trouble deciding do something that is easy to change out. Then you can change with your whim.

 

[darkmule27]

That's exactly what I'm planning on doing

 

[neurotik]

i 2nd or 3rd or what ever number we are up to for black.

if you are unsure dont paint it. paint some paper cardboard or something. heck for my 120 i used fabric since i couldnt paint the back because it was already set up.

I've been wanting to add a black background to my tank too, but it's already set up as well and I've been trying to decide what the best way to do this would be. With the frabric you used on your 120, did you just buy fabric in whatever color you wanted your background to be? And did you use any particular type of fabric?

Oh, and my vote is for black if you couldn't already tell

 

[bs6749]

Black is good. I had it on my 55g tank with rams and the colors popped. However, I wouldn't think about putting a black background on a discus tank. As mentioned above, it really depends on what you plan to put into the tank. I think blue would be nice.

 

[darkmule27]

I'm planning on black neons, otos, and (most importantly) marbled hatchets. At the very least, a live floating plant...probably some other plants.

I'm fairly sure I'm not going to use black because (a) I want it to be at least somewhat natural looking, (b) I feel it would dampen the colors of the hatchets, and (c) I realized I have yet to see a tank with a black background that I've liked. I dinked around with it on our 20 g and it just didn't do it for me.

 

[mgamer20o0]

I've been wanting to add a black background to my tank too, but it's already set up as well and I've been trying to decide what the best way to do this would be. With the frabric you used on your 120, did you just buy fabric in whatever color you wanted your background to be? And did you use any particular type of fabric?

Oh, and my vote is for black if you couldn't already tell

went to walmart and bought the black fussy fabric. i know there is a name to it but i dont know it. its thick and you cant see though it. i used Velcro to attach it to the tank. since its in the corner there is limited space i used velcro. i put it on the sides to doesnt look bad at all.


before

after

slipped a little but was fixed after i took the pics. it was put in before the walls were painted. its a old school tank very heavy. the stand is all soild wood and is super heavy. no way i was going to move that.

 

[thominil]

I would go for the dark green, like an evergreen green.

 

[glassbird]

I put a dark green painted background on my 75 gallon tank before I set it up, and when all three coats were nice and dry and the water was added....I realized that it looked like I had a serious algae problem. The tank looked neglected...and it was only 10 minutes old. I lived with it for about 24 hours. And then drained it, turned it around, and scraped all three coats off with a razor blade. Three coats of black went on...much better! All attention is on the fish, as it should be, and the algea that did eventually build up on the back is not even noticeable.

Just another opinion...
Cathy T.

 

[Sicklid]

You can also paint a background on a tank which is set up already with a "hot-dog" type of paint roller... It's a mini roller on an extended handle, fits great in a space only a couple of inches wide.

 

[thresholdoftime]

I like the way it looks with no background at all. I think it takes away from whatever kind of thing you got going on at the bottom of the tank. Having an all black background might be nice too, or something monotone that would go along with whatever theme you may have. Like if you had nothing but dark rocks and slate with black sand I bet a black background would look great.

 

[cwt]

for my 10G tank, with the black moon sand, I got a black 20x30" foam-core board at a local craft store. Cost $5 or so. A few sharp knife cuts and a firm wedging under the HOB filter, and it is in place with no fuss. The leftovers are handy for when you want to hide tanks from one another due to MTS.

 

[martiniduck]

I use to have a glass ten gallon tank and came across a mirror that fit the back of the tank. I used silicone adhesive to stick it to the back of the tank. It made the tank look twice as big.

 

[thresholdoftime]

I use to have a glass ten gallon tank and came across a mirror that fit the back of the tank. I used silicone adhesive to stick it to the back of the tank. It made the tank look twice as big.

that's a really neat idea