Back glass cover ?

[brianguz760]

What's up guys. I've been really on my tank as of lately just been getting refocused on it and I wanted to cover the back board glass in some way to where you won't see any hoses or cables. And I do not want to spray paint it. Any advice on what I can do ? Thanks in advance guys. Any advice is good advice . thanks again !

 

[Joel B in FL]

There are vinyl "stickers" for lack of a better term you can add to the back. They sell them in black or blue at the LFS I shop at. You could also let something grow on the back. I have GSP growing on the back of my tank and I think it looks good.

 

[hejjo]

I have a sheet of plexiglass painted black on the back of my tank

 

[brianguz760]

I have a sheet of plexiglass painted black on the back of my tank

Plexiglass? So you just slide it back there painted ?

 

[hejjo]

Yup jus paint it n slide it in. Mine sits on the trim so it doesn't take much to secure it. I assume vinyl would be cheaper but if it's close to the wall then plexi would probably be easier.

 

[hejjo]

Idk if it would be cheaper but if you plan on goin the vinyl route maybe a roll of window tint lol.

 

[brianguz760]

Idk if it would be cheaper but if you plan on goin the vinyl route maybe a roll of window tint lol.

Yeah I might just get plexiglass just because its hard to get back there and since I've had it set up for a year I haven't moved it. Where did you get your glass at?

 

[dunc101]

On my previous 90 gallon tank I took some black construction paper and laminated it and then got some velcro strips and attached to the 4 corners and the middle. Worked out great.

 

[brianguz760]

On my previous 90 gallon tank I took some black construction paper and laminated it and then got some velcro strips and attached to the 4 corners and the middle. Worked out great.

Hmmmmm very creative. How did it look? Was it really noticeable?

 

[dunc101]

You couldn't tell it was there, imo, at least from the front. The aquarium was up against the wall so no-one never even noticed it wasn't painted black.

Below is a picture where you can see the back.



And here's a video way back in 2012 to give you a better picture of what the back looked like in person.

 

[Psiber_Syn]

Home depot sells plexi in sheets they say they won't cut it but I have had them cut it before course you can do it yourself with skilsaw or something like that

 

[brianguz760]

You couldn't tell it was there, imo, at least from the front. The aquarium was up against the wall so no-one never even noticed it wasn't painted black.

Below is a picture where you can see the back.



And here's a video way back in 2012 to give you a better picture of what the back looked like in person.

That looks great man thanks for sharing I've only been in the hobby a year and first thing I learned was patience. Is it possible to have success on a reef tank one like mine using a canister filter ?

 

[brianguz760]

Home depot sells plexi in sheets they say they won't cut it but I have had them cut it before course you can do it yourself with skilsaw or something like that

I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Thanks for the info !

 

[dunc101]

I definitely think so. I've personally never used a canister filter, but the main things I have learned is 1.) patience and 2.) stability (I pretty much only tested my alkalinity once a week and tested calcium maybe once every couple of months). 3.) Make things easy. I personally didn't like doing water changes, so I automated it. (I changed 1 gallon a day on that tank). For me personally, the first year was a huge learning and my corals didn't look great until the end of year 2 and beginning of year 3. Then things all of a sudden started to grow.

 

[brianguz760]

I definitely think so. I've personally never used a canister filter, but the main things I have learned is 1.) patience and 2.) stability (I pretty much only tested my alkalinity once a week and tested calcium maybe once every couple of months). 3.) Make things easy. I personally didn't like doing water changes, so I automated it. (I changed 1 gallon a day on that tank). For me personally, the first year was a huge learning and my corals didn't look great until the end of year 2 and beginning of year 3. Then things all of a sudden started to grow.

Yeah I just don't have the room for a sump and the tank is right inside the front door of my house. I bought my tank at pet smart 55 gallon and it came with the stand it be as on special I paid like almost $300 for it and the stand has the two cabinets I just don't have much room to work with . I'm definitely changing the factory hoods and putting some nice lights on there before I start messing with corals. My main concern right now is this green algae. I've posted it on here before and they've told me its good algae I just don't like how it looks and I don't want to bleach it. Check it out for youself

 

[Psiber_Syn]

Algae comes and goes bro grab a good cuc and algae eating fish they make them do the work for you also the lights have a lot to do with algae growth you mentioned having stock hood what type of lights and color spectrum natural daylight bulbs cause a fair amount of algae growth ime I think that's what stock bulbs are

 

[brianguz760]

Algae comes and goes bro grab a good cuc and algae eating fish they make them do the work for you also the lights have a lot to do with algae growth you mentioned having stock hood what type of lights and color spectrum natural daylight bulbs cause a fair amount of algae growth ime I think that's what stock bulbs are

I have 10 hermit crabs 2 Halloween crabs 2 turbo snails 1 star snail 1 coral Bandit Shrimp and 1 emerald crab for my cuc. You think that's enough ? Hahaha. And yeah the factory hoods came with factory lights. But I replaced those with 2 blue lights which to me they look purple I forgot the name of them but i have the boxes at home. How much light do you think I should give my tank per day?

 

[Bpultz]

I use blue poster paper

 

[Psiber_Syn]

If say model your light schedule around nature no more than say 12hrs but to be honest that's prolly too much although if your just running blues not sure how that works also look into a lawnmower blenny or something like that mine is my fav fish he watches me more than I watch him and they are super cute reminds me of a dog mine will eat mysis right out of my hand just about

 

[brianguz760]

If say model your light schedule around nature no more than say 12hrs but to be honest that's prolly too much although if your just running blues not sure how that works also look into a lawnmower blenny or something like that mine is my fav fish he watches me more than I watch him and they are super cute reminds me of a dog mine will eat mysis right out of my hand just about

Yeah I'm just running the blue lights. Until I get a light set up with different options. And I would love to have a blenny althoughbibdobt think I can. I have crush corals for the bottom not live sand.