How should I do my tank background?

Well I got a 75g glass tank for my new ref. It will be drilled, but my question is about the background.

I like a black background, personally. It makes for great photos and the corals really pop in front of the black. Dad's aying for the tank, so he gets some say in what happens with it. He like the blue(like an ocean).

On my 29g I pray painted the back with matte black Krylon. It's permanent, but I don't see a problem with it. Dad doesn't like that it is so permanent. He suggested we use a taped or stick-on background.

I think they look tacky...they can also be difficult to see through the glass. When I first had a background, it was taped on and It was hard to see because it would not stick to the glass.

I know it is just aesthetics, but what are your thoughts?

-Black or dark blue?
-What material should I use?

 

I use a black background from a petstore and taped it on the back. For me I just like the look because alot of the things we put in the tank (pumps, tubes, overflow boxes, etc) are black so it helps hide that a bit.

 

in 2 years time it will not matter Seano
when you look at the back of the tank then, it will probably be purple anyway



Steve

 

That's one thing I thought of as well. In the DT will be 6 powerheads and duel overflow boxes...all black. I like the hide as much as I can.

 

I actually scrape all glass sides for coraline. lol.

 

wow, even the back? cool if you do
I did mine last August, but its almost purple again now

dark blue does look good also IMO

maybe not a very politically correct thing for me to say but
if your dad is going to contribute towards the cost of stocking the tank etc
then it may be smart to go with his preference on the background

my thinking is
the more he likes it, the more likely he is to purchase things to put in it

do not tell him that Steve Wright said that please

Steve

 

Yes, even the back. I like it in tip-top shape! Or at least look it...haha

 

Steve makes a very good point. There are some glues that can be used to attach the background so it will not bubble and come loose.

 

well really nothing you do is permenant since paint scrapes off with razor blade, albiet sometimes not easily. Latex paint should be removed easier.

 

Tell your dad its not actually its not that hard to remove the paint from the back of a tank, I used a razor scraper and a vacuum cleaner and a little bit of time, and that was a 75 gallon tank.

When that was done I put some Oceanvisions Self Adhesive Aquarium backing on it. The tank is almost 3 years old and it still looks great.

Oh yeah, make it black, I think a blue background is to distracting. Also latex paint is not a good idea, if you get it wet not only will it make spots you can see depending on how wet ti gets it might start peeling, the best paint to use is Krylon or Rustoleum Plastic paint, it sticks to glass the best.