Black back or no?

[HOOPDEEZ]

I used kylon spray paint in black, I just taped around bulkheads and right up to the silicone(paint won’t stick to silicone). I think one coat did it for me, but 2 won’t hurt. I used the vinyl backing stuff b4 and hated it, so painting is the way to go.

 

[Lukas75]

I've always just used krylon, just make sure you protect all of glass you don't want painted either with newspaper or cardboard and painters tape. Another trick I learned is to paint the bottom an off white. That way if the sand gets blown around and exposes the bottom of the tank it's less obvious. So much so that I pointed out a bare patch to my wife and she hadn't noticed until I told her.

Oh and definitely on the outside!

 

[saintsreturn]

Ugh that sucks. I’m gonna need serious help moving it cuz I’m going w a larger tank and it has to go down an extremely awkward set of stairs to my basement. Looking forward to those threads if u find em

Yeah its never fun, but worth it in the end. post number 18 above had the pics for you. Good luck

 

[Mariette]

Blue before:

Blue with more whites in my lights

Black backdrop with blues on

Ooohhh I’m thinking maybe I go blue

 

[saintsreturn]

Ooohhh I’m thinking maybe I go blue

Yeah this was an accident for me... lol. I had extra laying around from a sample we did for our craft room. Just cheaped out and used that. ended up loving it for the most part. drawbacks are it shows the back glass better. Any algae will stand out versus the black back. It also hides some of the coral popping colors due to the way it makes the tint of the water shine. I loved it. But as i said, i will stick with black for the foreseeable future. Plus black always matches your wall color choices.

In the end, the AI's and the Radion's kinda glimmered more for me with the blue back. I loved it, which is why i wanted to share them both with you. Good news is its paint. So if you hate your choice, you can scrape it off and go a different route. That is, before you set everything up LOL.

 

[Mariette]

Yeah this was an accident for me... lol. I had extra laying around from a sample we did for our craft room. Just cheaped out and used that. ended up loving it for the most part. drawbacks are it shows the back glass better. Any algae will stand out versus the black back. It also hides some of the coral popping colors due to the way it makes the tint of the water shine. I loved it. But as i said, i will stick with black for the foreseeable future. Plus black always matches your wall color choices.

In the end, the AI's and the Radion's kinda glimmered more for me with the blue back. I loved it, which is why i wanted to share them both with you. Good news is its paint. So if you hate your choice, you can scrape it off and go a different route. That is, before you set everything up LOL.

It’s beautiful. How easy is it to scrape paint off?

 

[saintsreturn]

It’s beautiful. How easy is it to scrape paint off?

on a scale of 1-10 I would probably go with about a 5. Super easy on the glass with a razor blade, but the edges can be entertaining.

 

[Mariette]

on a scale of 1-10 I would probably go with about a 5. Super easy on the glass with a razor blade, but the edges can be entertaining.

“Entertaining”. Love it.

 

[saintsreturn]

yeah, I try to approach frustrations as entertaining and problems as opportunities. Keeps me a little more positive LOL

 

[vetteguy53081]

I love black background. I just dont paint. I use construction paper from Walmart at $ .97 each which resist wetness and looks solid. Easy to remove if needed or upon sale of tank

 

[aquadog]

You could do an internal black background.

 

[Eye H8 Empty V]

I don’t mean to hijack but has anyone tried what Current USA is selling? It’s basically an opaque white film with a controllable LED bar at the bottom. They’re advertising it as a freshwater solution, not sure why. I was able to piece the parts together myself for around $30 but haven’t tested anything out yet.

 

[Crazyfishguy]

My Personal opinion is the black background. Cause it helps hide any cords and makes the overflows not as big to me. And alge doesn’t look near as bad on black!

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I have black also, put my tank outside put paper on the opening and holes, 2 coats of Lowe’s paint and done. Only trick, watch how you spray to avoid runs.

I have also always thought about painting the back the same color as the wall it is going on. Unless it is white might be kinda cool.

 

[RtomKinMad]

We have black on our 8’ fish only tank and I hate it! Too dark for me! But our 300 gal 6’ reef we did not paint but used insulated board against back glass. We painted the insulated board with three colors of wavy blues and white and have secured to corners of back of tank. We only did this because the tank is against a window, only place to put it. We Lov the blue back ground! But now covered in coraline algae. It’s a personal opinion but I like the blue with blue lights better than the black. Our painted tank is clean and easy and matches the overflow.
Good luck!

 

[DuckSlayer627]

I used RUST-OLEUM enamel and rolled on 3-4 coats. I think BRS did a video on this a few years ago. This has worked great for me. A lot better than the stick on backgrounds that always seem to get salt creep in them. Mine is black but its now mostly covered in coraline.

 

[Picesduh]

I had this debate 8 months ago before I set in my 130 gallon tank and went with no background — instead pained the wall behind the tank a blue grey and now it has added a bit of depth to the tank. I love it.

 

[MartinWaite]

I went to my local sign writer and got some black vinyl wrap off him cost me a couple of £ so he could get himself a pint. And it lasts on cars, wagons, and signs without any problems it's good enough for the back of a tank.

 

[Hemmdog]

Wow I think I’m the only person who actually likes clear glass backgrounds. I have white walls and I like to see the color shift of the lights throughout the day on the back wall. I’m doing a side 40b build and I really considered painting it, I had more than enough time, but nah, I want everyone to enjoy my fancy purple pipes, haha.
It will be completely covered in coraline in a year anyways.

 

[Crustaceon]

I paint all of my back glass with plastidip. If you mess it up, it’s easy to remove and redo.