A "color changing" background for your reef tank! What do you think?

[Appoloreefer]

My only problem with this is that it would take away from the other lights and the view of the tank with the corals and I am not sure I would like it.

 

[mattgsa]

My tank has a back back gound, you would not be able to see the light either way. Not to mention when the main lights are on I would think it would be difficult to see the background light.

 

[Justin_Reef]

I have a Philips hue light strip which backlights by tank. Back wall is clear acrylic and it looks great. It's set to be cool blue most of the day but ramps down to what hue calls a sunset color which is yellowish/pink/red and then finally to a faint blue moonlight. It's all synced with my main lights. Does not take anything away from my main lights at all, in fact the tank looks horrible to me if I turn this off, I have become so used to it.

I did this because I dislike black backgrounds, especially people who go so far to create a nature looking reef but then have this blackhole behind it.

 

[Justin_Reef]

My only problem with this is that it would take away from the other lights and the view of the tank with the corals and I am not sure I would like it.

It does not, it's not strong enough at all. It only compliments the lights you have over the tank.

 

[Justin_Reef]

My tank has a back back gound, you would not be able to see the light either way. Not to mention when the main lights are on I would think it would be difficult to see the background light.

Not true. I thought the same thing but was pleasantly surprised when I first tried it. It definitely subtle but if I turn off my backlights, the tank just looks dull and lack the depth it has when they are on.

The backlights add a lot of depth... surprisingly.

In your case with a background, this would of course be pointless though.

 

[ReefRondo]

Not for me personally. Fish and corals are the attraction for me. Cool idea though and I can see why you did it. Good job.

 

[Flexin]

Keep the rear glass clean...

 

[vetteguy53081]

NO. My fish freak out enough as it is,

 

[NanoMan16]

Who is ever able to clean the back glass in salt water reef tanks? This would look good if you started a tank with this in mind. Fresh water would look really good with this. I’m a salty guy so...

 

[Arringar]

It’s funny you mention this… because it’s the exact look I’m going for. While my video shows the filtering of the light colors… the entire intent is to have an open ocean look when viewing the tank and the light kit will be set to a sunrise/sunset type look…. It won’t be constantly filtering through all of the colors that the light offers.

This is one of the main reasons I went with a peninsula and then set it up in a standard position. No overflow or any equipment on the back glass. I’m imagining looking into the tank and seeing a deep ocean… the scape will utilize NSA - negative space aquascape. The center will be open water and I’ll have a scape on the left and on the right.

I can see it in my head… just hoping it comes out the same way.

This sounds really nice. Very clever idea.

The simple fact is, we use a lot of artificial things in reef tanks to achieve a natural look and mimic a natural environment.

Even the way we typically view and appreciate our reef tanks is artificial, because truthfully very few of us display these animals as they appear on a reef under natural light.

It is also worth pointing out that we combine many species of fish and corals that do not normally reside together in nature to achieve this “natural” look.

Enjoy your reef tank the way you like it. Using technology to express a little creativity is no different from any other tool one might use to achieve a certain look and feel.

 

[Totlxtc]

I have it on my planted tank and would consider it on the right saltwater tank. I would use the blues to create some nice depth and highlight the rockwork but not over power it.

 

[stevewright1]

I also have a black tank background , Ok, black with purple highlights would be more accurate LOL?
Its not something that appeals to me but I can understand why others would like it

Its something that to me "Looks nice on someone else's tank, but I don't want one"

 

[walloutlet]

I will say that having lights in the background does offer a nice “at night” ambience and if you don’t have moon lights in your tank the lights provides a little bit of good night time viewing.

Mines red because it’s an alarm telling me to fill out my AWC containers but it made me think of this thread and some benefits of having lights in the background.

 

[Ef4life]

I’ve had my pico backlit for over a year, I love it. It’s nice mood lighting, and can totally change the look of the tank.

 

[Branespikin]

 

[walloutlet]

I like this! ;Woot

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I’ve had my pico backlit for over a year, I love it. It’s nice mood lighting, and can totally change the look of the tank.

Super sweet and clean!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Very cool!

 

[Sam816]

i can't keep 3 sides clean don't want to add another one to my list of to-dos. anyways i wouls rather have a GSP background then this.

 

[Branespikin]

Very cool!

Still fooling around with colors. Tank us still new. Def wont go with crazy colors. Going to keep the blues during the day to work with my lights then ill get it to the orangish during sunset seems to work pretty well. We will see. I did not put the frost on back just clear glass