Aquarium background

[RottoInspired24]

Hey guys,
I've got a second hand aquarium that's been setup for 6 months now. It looks great but the background poster that is taped to it is bugging me. I'm wanting to have a different background for it, but was wondering will it have the same effect if I was to paint the wall directly behind the aquarium rather than the aquarium itself? Has anyone done this and is happy with the results? Thanks

 

[UTCReefer]

I havent done that, but if you stop scraping the back glass it will eventually be covered in corraline. Or you could do what I do and grow GSP all along the back glass.

 

[RottoInspired24]

Thanks for the idea! I guess Im wanting something in affect until I have any corraline to make a decision about how/where it grows haha but the rest of the room is a bright yet darker blue. So maybe I'll do it anyway and see how it goes. Guess I'll have to move the tank slightly while doing g a water change and getting it a bit further from the wall lol. ...and that's pretty clever with the GSPs.

 

[billdogg]

I've found it easiest to just paint the back glass with the color of your choice. I use black latex enamel in a can with a foam roller. 2 coats and call it a day.

 

[EdgeN]

Unless you plan on scraping the back glass on a regular basis, Coralline algae will take over... (pink, purple etc)

 

[kfisc]

A painted wall can be great. I had a 40 gallon breeder in a sunny, white-walled location and it was the best tank ever. I think the key is not so much the paint as the light source. Direct daylight with a white wall background for me meant the coralline, green star polyps and pretty much everything else loved it.

The big thing is minding the water quality.

 

[mcgyvr]

but was wondering will it have the same effect if I was to paint the wall directly behind the aquarium rather than the aquarium itself?

No it will not have the same effect at all.
The color won't be nearly as visible/pronounced as if you painted directly on the back of the glass..
But you will certainly be able to see the color through the glass.. Its just not nearly what it would be if painted on the glass..

 

[RottoInspired24]

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'm going to paint the wall, then see how it looks and if I'm not happy with that then I'll do the back of the tank too. It'll just be hard to get a decent coat with the small gap I have between the tank and the wall.

 

[ZenGuitarGuy]

I've found it easiest to just paint the back glass with the color of your choice. I use black latex enamel in a can with a foam roller. 2 coats and call it a day.

This is what I did as well as well. Straight-forward.

 

[MurphyLong]

On my small tank, I put a mirror on the back glass, so the fish could watch themselves get freaky-tiki...

It lasted about a day before I got tired of seeing myself looking back at me when I was checking out the tank.

 

[koz99gst]

Black krylon fusion works great. Just mask off the top of the tank really good

 

[Jekerry]

We took the advise of poster board and love it. I bought 3 colors so we could test them. Ended up with black, but liked the blue and will use that when the board we have stars to look shabby. Great idea!

 

[RottoInspired24]

Update: Ive just ordered an acrylic board in blue for the background, so much less hassle than painting or posters! Anyone done this?

 

[RottoInspired24]

Also I took the poster background off of mine and it looks naked at the moment!.... Sorry if the photo comes through pixelated, it doesn't look it on my phone (Google pixel) but others have said it is for theirs.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Dmorty217]

I've found it easiest to just paint the back glass with the color of your choice. I use black latex enamel in a can with a foam roller. 2 coats and call it a day.

+1 I did this with my 220g and was very happy with the outcome.

 

[sde1500]

Try choosing medium when posting pics on Tapatalk, not large or best. Your pics are absurdly large.

I used some jet black background from petco, works well enough for me. Next time I'd probably paint the glass though.

 

[RottoInspired24]

Here is the updated photo with the new background. Does look darker than I thought it would but I do still really like it.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[heathlindner25]

Move the heater,it's killin me.

 

[RottoInspired24]

Move the heater,it's killin me.

Haha where do you suggest?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[sde1500]

I'd say off to the right corner where the cord is coming from.