What color do you paint your back glass?

don_chuwish · Mar 21, 2018

Black. BUT I'd really like to try some deep dark blue next time, more like the faintly lit ocean depths.

Reef-junky · Mar 21, 2018

I did light blue this time to make a shallow reef look. After the blue dried I put a coat of black on. I was inspired by a glass bottom boat trip we took over a reef.

Wicky48 · Mar 21, 2018

Ok so home now. Its hard to see as lights are still a little bright and yes i have not read the articles on aquarium photography yet but from here it looks great. I did kind of swirly waves on the back ground and then you can see the pirate skull clearly in one puc.

hllywd · Mar 22, 2018

Will Milberger said:
Starting a new build. Just curious. I was thinking blue.

White frosted window film. Picks up the color of the light nicely.

hllywd · Mar 22, 2018

hllywd said:
White frosted window film. Picks up the color of the light nicely.

stefanm · Mar 22, 2018

@hllywd, that looks great, very tempted to give that a try. Nice to see the clowns not in one place!

CarChase · Mar 22, 2018

I used to use blue for all my tanks. Currently I have no paint on the back of the tank and I think it still looks good.

Mike Reef Addict · Mar 22, 2018

Will Milberger said:
Starting a new build. Just curious. I was thinking blue.

None my main DT Is a partition between the living-room and the kitchen/foyer but it is bare bottom an I used Rustoleum satin black for the bottom so light didn't shine through the stand. Very light coats so it didnt run I did about four of them one can about 3/4 full did a 55g.

MartinWaite · Mar 22, 2018

I wrapped the and one side in black job was done and finished in 5 minutes and no waiting for paint to dry. Yet if i sold or moved the tank it would only take a couple of minutes to remove the wrap. Paint is so old fashioned nowadays.

7hogwarts · Mar 22, 2018

MartinWaite said:
I wrapped the and one side in black job was done and finished in 5 minutes and no waiting for paint to dry. Yet if i sold or moved the tank it would only take a couple of minutes to remove the wrap. Paint is so old fashioned nowadays.

Isn't salt creep an issue though getting in between the glass and the wrap?

shred5 · Mar 22, 2018

7hogwarts said:
Isn't salt creep an issue though getting in between the glass and the wrap?

I have never had a issue with vinyl... As far I know all Redsea reefers come this way, mine did.

Will Milberger · Mar 22, 2018

That is really nice!

UWC said:
Having some issues getting some of the images to upload. Anyways... The smoked glass look is absolutely beautiful in person. Changes colors as your lights change

Right after install. Best representation of the “actual look”.

MartinWaite · Mar 22, 2018

shred5 said:
I have never had a issue with vinyl... As far I know all Redsea reefers come this way, mine did.

In short no neither does it affect the tank fittings on my Oceanlife overflows. In fact some tank manufacturers are doing this on their tanks.
The other benefit is you should be able to remove the wrap without emptying your tank depending on your tank is situated for reaching around the back and its size.

Quartapound · Mar 22, 2018

I just wrapped my 120g in black vinyl. It was easy and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Ferrell · Mar 22, 2018

Had blue over the years, black on the last build. Black is my new go to. So much more definition in everything

Wh00pS32 · Mar 22, 2018

I've been using black since around 2001 but i've always fancied doing a red, orange, yellow gradiant so that it looks a bit like a sunset.
I always chicken out though.

UWC · Mar 22, 2018

Wh00pS32 said:
I've been using black since around 2001 but i've always fancied doing a red, orange, yellow gradiant so that it looks a bit like a sunset.
I always chicken out though.

I’d recommend backlighting it then so you can change the color

JoeIII · Mar 22, 2018

I have had black and blue. I FAR prefer the blue to teh black - the black tanks always looked "dark" where the blue tank looks bright and beautiful. The blue doesn't distract from the inhabitants in my opinion, instead giving a feeling of depth to the tank and making everything feel more natural.

That being said... I've been seeing more and more clear tanks and I really like the lack of a "back wall" in the look. especially with a lighter or beige wall behind it. I feel this gives the look of a light box that a lot of people were trying to achieve years ago and loosk very nice with the light spilling out the back of the tank on the wall behind. see broadfield's reefer for an excellent example of how nice this look can be.

chicago · Mar 22, 2018

I have used Blue cellophane wrapping paper whic looked like gave Tank more depth

SFKINNC · Mar 23, 2018

I have used printed plastic backgrounds that are sold in aquarium shops on my freshwater tanks and on earlier marine tanks and I have liked them very much. For the FW tanks, a light coating of green algae on the glass helps these printed scenes to seem more natural.

I have also used simple plain black plastic trash bags stretched, cut to size, and taped to the back of tanks. They’re cheap, waterproof, and easy to apply and remove. They hide the wires and filters and look just as good as any paint job.

My current SW tank is a Biocube 32 which comes with a black background. I find myself scraping brown algae off it much too often.