paint

mallorieGgator · May 15, 2012

What is a good paint to use on the back of my 20 gallon? It needs to be inexpensive and non-toxic.

I'm not sure if I want to use blue or black. Maybe blue will make it look bigger?

btkrausen · May 15, 2012

Pretty sure Krylon is reef safe, but it its on the 'back' of your tank...it shouldn't matter if its reef safe or not

cdness · May 15, 2012

Honestly the best stuff I have used is either Krylon or "the real" Rustoleum black spray paint...

Did you see the article on Advanced Aquarist though about how to get the most out of T5 lights? It has PAR values showing that painting the back of the tank can affect your PAR in a negative way and it was suggested to get one of the plastic tank backgrounds in black or blue instead so the glass retains it's reflectiveness...

Equipment Review: Getting the Most from Your T-5 Lights: A Look at Reflectors and More — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

mallorieGgator · May 15, 2012

huh, no I didn't read that. We are going to use LEDs so I wonder if that changes it or not? I have the back of my 120 painted black and yeah, the back area is not reflective. I guess I can put up the background (even though I HATE them because of the tape I have to use).