acquarium background suggestions

[twong727]

I used aquarium gel to attach the background outside my 125g fish tank. After coming home from ACA, I guess due to the heat and high humidity in the room half of the background fell off and the rest shows lots of bubbles. What do I do about it? Should I paint the entire back wall and what paint do I use? Should I use 3D background? Should I use those kind of permanent stick on background (I only see choice of blue and black in the market)? Thanks for your feedback in advance. Tony

p.s. sorry for the typo under my title, for some reason I can't edit the title.

[Tony]

Hey Tony,

I prefer to keep it simple - Black paint. If you have the funds for one of those molded show backgrounds, I would certainly go in that direction as they are awesome.

Don't have the funds? There are a lot of DIY threads all over fish forums on the Intrewebs. Some are a lot of work, but look great in the end.

If you don't want to tear down the tank to move it to paint, I find that black craft paper, threaded behind the tank and simply taped on looks almost as good and is cheap, easy and quick.

[twong727]

I love the idea of doing it cheap (craft paper sounds like a great idea)!!!! If I want to paint it what kind of paint should I use? I assume it must be oil based, right?

I have seen a lot of DIY 3D background videos, looks like a difficult project.....

[slimbolen99]

Buy some cheap spray paint (I like to use the "outdoor" spray paint).
Tape off ANY surface you don't want paint spray on. I would recommend spraying in an area where anything within a 20 foot radius, you won't mind getting paint spray on. Trust me, it drifts A LONG WAY. Make sure to tape or otherwise AIR TIGHT seal the opening of the tank, unless you want paint dust covering your tank.
Spray a very light coat. Wait a couple of hours. Spray another light coat. Wait a couple of hours. Spray a slightly heavier, but still light coat. Bingo. You're done. I painted eight 75 gallon tanks this way, and it was extremely easy and looks great. Flat black works fine, but really any black will work great.
I would NOT recommend the textured sprays as if you ever bump into the tank, or want to take it off, it will scratch the glass.
Hope that helps and best of luck to you.

[twong727]

Thanks, Brian! Now my only question is how I can do the painting with my tank already filled with water, rocks and fish....

[pitdogg2]

Thanks, Brian! Now my only question is how I can do the painting with my tank already filled with water, rocks and fish....


aaaa no not a good idea. The only good way to paint with fish in the tank is with a brush. IMHO

I have bought vinyl from a sign shop and sprayed sudsy(dish soap)water on the side i want against the tank and used a squeege to get air out of it and seal it to the back. Just a little tape on the edges and your golden for a long time

[twong727]

Thanks for all these valuable ideas!!! You guys are so creative!!!

[slimbolen99]

aaaa no not a good idea. The only good way to paint with fish in the tank is with a brush. IMHO

I have bought vinyl from a sign shop and sprayed sudsy(dish soap)water on the side i want against the tank and used a squeege to get air out of it and seal it to the back. Just a little tape on the edges and your golden for a long time

Absolutely true. I guess I assumed the tanks were empty. Even with a roller, splatter will still go EVERYWHERE, no matter how careful. I would suggest a "dry approach" in this specific situation.

[Gill Plate]

I cut mat board and duct tape it to the back of the tank always looks good and get the darker colors.

[twong727]

I finally went to a dollar store and bought a black vinyl shower curtain liner. I cut and taped it up and it looks quite good. My final cost of this project: $1.99 plus tax, not bad at all....

[slimbolen99]

That's a great idea! Did you use just plain tape, or double sided? Just curious.

[twong727]

I used clear packaging tape and taped it along the 2 sides and top rim.

[Mike Wise]

Black electrical tape is more waterproof and tends to hold up better in damp conditions. I've also bought rolls of black plastic tarpolin for multiple backgrounds; cheap and works.

[Pam Chin]

Paint is so permanent! For my utility tanks sure, painting the back makes sense. But for my show tanks I use all sorts of things for backgrounds. There are easy to change out. I like using the 2" shipping tape to stick to the tank. I really like the idea of mounting it to cardboard and then putting on your tank, I am going to steal that idea!!

Over the years I have used many posters, not all fish related, wrapping paper, construction paper, Garbage sacks, poster board, material, curtains, flags etc!!

It is your tank, so put a color, or printed back ground on your tank that you are going to enjoy! Thats what it is all about!

Cichlid Power!
Pam

[hawkman2000]

If you have spare time and money, you could do what I did. I made a tile insert for my 46bf. 1/4" hardy backer,mastic,backsplash tile, grout, silicone to seal the back and edges. Looks fantastic. My JDs would lay eggs on it.

Check it out.

386nrevSffY

[brijar]

Petsmart sells double sided (black on one side, blue on the other) for pretty cheap. That's what I put on my 75gal (black side against the glass), cut to size and tape it on. just make sure they give you an extra 6 inches in length since they never cut it straight.

[Tradewatertropical]

With halloween coming on I have seen several people pick up those black vinyl table cloths and using those with great results.

[Narwhal72]

I like the textured spray paint myself. I use the Fauxstone from Krylon. Light and Dark grey seem to look the best. Add a second coat of black on top to make it more opaque.

I have been experimenting with adding in stripes of different colors to create a layered effect. My first attempt was fair but I find that solid black works good with a lighter background and my next attempt will use white with a dark background.

Andy